Good news/bad news--my ADF works!

[Perezhr]

ADF? What's that?
Seriously the last time I shot and NDB approach for real (not practice) was 25 years ago. When I purchased my Mooney it came with an ADF which I quickly removed to make space for another box and to clean up the exterior (antenna). I think I picked up another couple knots.


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[NoHeat]

That does sound much better than an approach with just one NDB.

And it would provide redundancy, too. If one transmitter goes out, you could still do a regular NDB approach, which would be much better than being unable to do any approach.

 

[dtuuri]

That does sound much better than an approach with just one NDB.

And it would provide redundancy, too. If one transmitter goes out, you could still do a regular NDB approach, which would be much better than being unable to do any approach.

What about with only one ADF onboard? A USAF crew tried it with disasterous results:

"Aircrew errors also contributed to the crash, investigators reported. During mission planning the crew failed to note the Dubrovnik approach required two automatic direction finders. The CT-43 had only one. An error in planning the route added 15 minutes to the planned flight time and may have caused the crew to rush the approach.

According to the report, the pilots did not properly configure the aircraft for landing before starting the final approach. They came in 80 knots above final approach speed, without clearance from the tower. The rushed approach, late configuration and a radio call from a pilot on the ground distracted the crew from adequately monitoring the final approach, which proved to be nine degrees left of the correct course, Coolidge said.

The pilots also failed to identify the missed approach point. If they were unable to see the runway at that point, they should have executed a missed approach. If they had done so, they would have turned away into a holding pattern and would not have hit the mountain, which was more than a mile past the missed approach point."
​

You can see a Flight Safety depiction of the plan view in Fig.2 page 6 here: http://flightsafety.org/fsd/fsd_jul-aug96.pdf
Can't say I agree that the approach "required" two ADFs though.

dtuuri

 

[Clip4]

I think folks get enamored with the precision of a localizer and glideslope then forget the concept of the non-precision approach is to get one safely to a lower altitude in the general vicinity of an airport.

Since beacons in the US tend to be poorly monitored/maintained these days it was an easy decision to pull the ADF from the 'kota. That said, I think NDB approaches are a good exercise for the reasons Tony mentioned.

Non-precision approaches that put you in the general vicinity of the airport (off field navaid with a long final leg) are few and far between these days. They have been replaced by GPS approaches.

 

[kenjr]

...my PPL examiner said that they are cracking down on folks that just put INOP on the ADF. They want to see a legitimate logbook entry and they'll test it to make sure it's actually not working as well (including checking the fuse...that's an easy one. )

YMMV, but if you have one you either 1) better learn how to use it 2) really break it so you can put INOP on it or 3) take it out.

 

[Henning]

I went flying in my plane with my CFII for the first time in several months. We recently had been working in the Redbird AATD on some things that I think are easier to teach in the sim than a real plane, and the timing worked well because our weather has been so crappy. So, it was good to get back up in a real plane.

Previously, I had never been able to get the ADF in my plane to work properly. Turns out it was pilot error, coupled with a non-functioning LOM/NDB at my home airport. After my thorough review of the POH, we made a point to test it on various stations on our flight. The good news is that it functioned perfectly. The bad news, is that now I can be tested on NDB approaches when I go to my check ride.

At any rate, I am happy that the ADF will greatly increase the functionality of my plane. It only has two NAV/Coms, and an ADF, with no GPS or DME. A lot of the ILS/LOC approaches in my area seem to say ADF REQUIRED.

NDB approaches are as simple as they come, don't sweat it, just learn it, no biggie.

 

[SCCutler]

NDB approaches are as simple as they come, don't sweat it, just learn it, no biggie.

Plus, they are fun and mentally stimulating.

 

[EdFred]

...my PPL examiner said that they are cracking down on folks that just put INOP on the ADF. They want to see a legitimate logbook entry and they'll test it to make sure it's actually not working as well (including checking the fuse...that's an easy one. )

YMMV, but if you have one you either 1) better learn how to use it 2) really break it so you can put INOP on it or 3) take it out.

Easy enough to disconnect the wire and tape it off. Doubt the examiner is going to crawl under the panel to look for that.

 

[PPC1052]

NDB approaches are as simple as they come, don't sweat it, just learn it, no biggie.

Thanks. I am actually looking forward to it. To me, there is satisfaction in meeting the challenge and succeeding.

Again, with respect to actual functionality, the big issue for me is that so many of the airports around me require an ADF for their LOC/ILS approaches.