Turning dep - track guidance

26.08.2009

Submission:

A long standing bone of contention for procedure designers in NZ is the PANS OPS requirement for a turning departure to have track guidance ‘available’ within 10km after completion of the turn. What does ‘available’ mean? If it means the aircraft must be following a track defined by a navigation aid within 10km of completion of the turn, then this drastically restricts the angle of turn. Or does it mean that the aircraft must be within the service volume of a navigation aid within 10km, so that tracking can be utilised once the turn is complete? No such requirement is specified for missed approaches, which leads me to believe the second interpretation is preferable. This is further supported by the fact that an omni departure, with no track guidance at all, can be designed for a location – but if a turning departure is specified from the same location it cannot be prescribed due to the 10km ‘rule’? This would not make sense.

What do others think?

Jerry Willmot - Airways Corporation of New Zealand