Planning a GPS Approach? Don't let this happen to you!

I had a recent educational experiance which I thought I would share with those that fly instrument approaches into small airports. Last weekend I went from my home airport near Memphis into I66, Clinton airport in southern Ohio. It was medium nasty IFR from beginning to end. I did my usual scouting of the weather on the computer, then called the Jackson FSS for a "standard" briefing and filed my flight plan.

The trip proceded uneventfully all the way to the approach portion, at which time the Dayton approach controller informed me that the GPS 21 approach that I was ready to do had been notamed out as "not authorized." I had to flip pages and then mentally prepare for the VOR-A approach into Clinton. Why did I not get this during my preflight briefing, one might ask? The answer is, I didn't ask! I have been too reliant on the briefer to give me all the information that I need.

Here's the point. If you plan a flight into an unfamiliar airport, you will not necessarily get all applicable notams from a briefer. You WILL get them if you use DUATS, but if you happen to be in a place where you don't have internet access, you must ask the briefer to put down the phone, pick up a publication called NOTAP (notices to airmen publication) and check for the notams on your particular destination. This is because there are notams which have existed FOR YEARS which have been purged from the computer database and now exist only in written form. This affects things such as my approach, or other details such as increased minimums, etc.

I guess I should have read the July issue of "IFR Refresher," which was sitting on my nightstand at home when I got back, because there's an aritcle about this very topic in there called "Notam Neverland."

I don't want to walk over and grab the AIM-- three types of notams, near, far and FDC. ? how'd I do? make that ' local and Distant' I usually ask "any FDC notams affecting my route?"

would that have helped?

thanks, mark

ps. 5 hrs actual on my ARL trip. I learned three things. study the DP's ahead of time, ask what the wx is up higher, and say "I'd like to cancel...." sooner.

Yeah, three types - L (local), D(distant) and FDC (Flight Data Center) notams. The problem is that the notams which have been purged from the computer data base are still on the "books," and may not be visible to the briefer unless they look in the NOTAP. Asking for notams applicable to your route of flight does not guarantee seeing every notam. The two ways you CAN get them are: 1) Go to www.faa.gov and hit the link to the NOTAMS page, and 2)get a DUAT briefing, where NOTAMS include those listed in the NOTAP.

good stuff. question.

the NAS just got updated on 7/7 yet purged from computer...

but the approach plate and or overlay still shows a GPS 21 huh? VOR-A/gps.

The approach plate being published in the current cycle does not mean everything is OK. An FDC notam that is years old could have, for example increased minimums by two hundred feet on the approach, and this would not be reflected on the approach plate.