Passed checkride

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Tommar98

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Tommar98
Glad to say I am now among the IFR rated. Passed my check ride on Friday. What a stressful endeavor it was. Approx 2 hour oral and not a single weather question! Lots of other stuff including an exhaustive conversation about electrical failure. 3 approaches, crazy unusual attitudes, rain and very blustery winds made for a challenging flight.

Now on to plane purchase since rental limitations will make it hard to enjoy the real advantage off this license.


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dtuuri said:
Good for you! What was the lost comm scenario you had?
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Well it wasn’t a straight lost comms scenario. First assume the radios were deteriorating and they finally go. Assume previously cleared to KBTV Rnav 15 approach. Ceilings at minimums. If ammeter goes to zero how much battery life do I have? What can you do to reserve power? If Concord airport was VFR would you go there? How long would it take to get there? How much fuel would I need? What’s your decision. Then assuming I was cleared from the south 30 miles away direct STAEV when can you descend if your last clearance was 8000?

IMG_1023.jpg

The RNAV has several quadrants with altitudes. BUT they are not labeled MSA so they are in the TAA and expected to be used to step down. This was new to me actually. I opted for not descending until in the procedure turn (likely requiring several laps). There was more but that was the basic scenario thy went on for some time.


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Tommar98 said:
Then assuming I was cleared from the south 30 miles away direct STAEV when can you descend if your last clearance was 8000?

The RNAV has several quadrants with altitudes. BUT they are not labeled MSA so they are in the TAA and expected to be used to step down. This was new to me actually. I opted for not descending until in the procedure turn (likely requiring several laps).
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Good answer! Yep, even if you were last cleared to maintain FL410 — you'd stay there until the IAF under 91.185(c)(2).
 
dtuuri said:
Good answer! Yep, even if you were last cleared to maintain FL410 — you'd stay there until the IAF under 91.185(c)(2).
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Actually it’s a bit confusing. Those quadrants are not MSA altitudes. They are part of the approach altitudes. One ATC person responded as follows:

“No MSA on this chart, but rather a TAA. MSAs are for used for emergency purposes only and guarantees obstacle clearance, but not necessarily NAVAID, radio, or radar. TAA's give you all that. If cleared for an approach, you can descend to the value on the TAA. In your case from the south and you are cleared for this particular RNAV approach, 30 nm from YUNUD you can descend to 7100. 11nm from YUNUD you can descend to 4600. From YUNUD to STAEV you can go down to 3200, and you can continue on until landing.”

In the scenario for lost comms it would still apply since ATC would consider those altitudes as part of the approach. This was new to me.


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Congrats fellow cloud-borer!

Yes, the limitations of the rental fleets are a standout problem now that you’re Instrument Rated.

It wasn’t long after getting mine that my wife and I stepped into ownership.

Lots of great info here.
 
Tommar98 said:
Actually it’s a bit confusing. Those quadrants are not MSA altitudes. They are part of the approach altitudes. One ATC person responded as follows:

“No MSA on this chart, but rather a TAA. MSAs are for used for emergency purposes only and guarantees obstacle clearance, but not necessarily NAVAID, radio, or radar. TAA's give you all that. If cleared for an approach, you can descend to the value on the TAA. In your case from the south and you are cleared for this particular RNAV approach, 30 nm from YUNUD you can descend to 7100. 11nm from YUNUD you can descend to 4600. From YUNUD to STAEV you can go down to 3200, and you can continue on until landing.”

In the scenario for lost comms it would still apply since ATC would consider those altitudes as part of the approach. This was new to me.


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Ah, I didn't catch the part where you were cleared for the approach. You said you were 30 miles away which is a might early for an approach clearance. At any rate, the AIM says this in Chapter 5:

"An ATC clearance direct to an IAF or to the IF/IAF without an approach clearance does not authorize a pilot to descend to a lower TAA altitude. If a pilot desires a lower altitude without an approach clearance, request the lower TAA altitude from ATC. Pilots not sure of the clearance should confirm their clearance with ATC or request a specific clearance. Pilots entering the TAA with two-way radio communications failure (14 CFR Section 91.185, IFR Operations: Two-way Radio Communications Failure), must maintain the highest altitude prescribed by Section 91.185(c)(2) until arriving at the appropriate IAF."​

The MSA is unrelated to a TAA discussion. Totally different concept.
 
dtuuri said:
Ah, I didn't catch the part where you were cleared for the approach. You said you were 30 miles away which is a might early for an approach clearance. At any rate, the AIM says this in Chapter 5:

"An ATC clearance direct to an IAF or to the IF/IAF without an approach clearance does not authorize a pilot to descend to a lower TAA altitude. If a pilot desires a lower altitude without an approach clearance, request the lower TAA altitude from ATC. Pilots not sure of the clearance should confirm their clearance with ATC or request a specific clearance. Pilots entering the TAA with two-way radio communications failure (14 CFR Section 91.185, IFR Operations: Two-way Radio Communications Failure), must maintain the highest altitude prescribed by Section 91.185(c)(2) until arriving at the appropriate IAF."​

The MSA is unrelated to a TAA discussion. Totally different concept.
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Thanks for the AIM reference. Surprisingly I posted this on a FB site for ATC and I received multiple different answers. This seems more definitive. Appreciate it. I’m glad I stuck with my answer.


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Congrats. Now get out there and use it! It’s amazing how quickly skills atrophy
 
Congrats now start maintaining your proficiency.
 
Congratulations on passing your IFR checkride.

Enjoy your license to learn and be safe!
 
Rgbeard said:
@Tommar98

How are you doing now that it's been a month?
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Well I blasted off for a trip to ME last night. Filed just so I could stay with it even though VFR. Landed at a small uncontrolled airport in ME. Very hazy and approach had to drop me at 3500 since that was their mva. I landed (after one go around - runway surrounded by trees so it was a challenge). Then got a clearance by phone which was something new and headed home. It was good just to get in the system and file and get amended clearance and feel like a real grown up. Lol


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luvflyin said:
What about the Maximum Holding Altitude at STAEV?
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I'd say it doesn't apply to lost comm when you're governed by:

Sec. 91.185

IFR operations: Two-way radio communications failure.

(a) ...
(b) ...
(c) ...
(1) ...
(2) Altitude. At the highest of the following altitudes or flight levels for the route segment being flown:
(i) The altitude or flight level assigned in the last ATC clearance received;
(ii) The minimum altitude (converted, if appropriate, to minimum flight level as prescribed in Sec. 91.121(c)) for IFR operations; or
(iii) The altitude or flight level ATC has advised may be expected in a further clearance.
​
AFAIK, I would not interpret a "route segment" to mean a holding pattern on an IAP, since ATC doesn't assign those altitudes unless where published in the IAP that they do.
 
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