On Apr 13, 5:36*pm, Andy Hawkins wrote:
Hi,

In article ,
* * * * * *Peter wrote:

IIRC, the military called the procedure GCA for Ground Controlled Approach
and the major hub (airline) airports that could provide a similar service
called it PAR for Precision Approach Radar.

I have no idea whether the civil version still exists.

I've done a number of PAR approaches for my IMC rating training this week
(albeit at a Military field in the UK). IIRC correctly, the system minima is
something like 200 feet.

Andy

GCA approaches are simply not common where I fly, but since there's
both horizontal and vertical info available to the pilot I would not
be surprised if minimums weren't about the same as ILS. The few I've
flown were at the request of approach for controller practice: as I
remember (it was some time ago) somewhere maybe starting at 1000 feet
agl I was told not to respond via the radio and if I did not hear the
controller for something like 5 seconds I should climb on whatever
heading I was on. This was in VMC. This was to a runway that also had
an ILS, and as I remember the controller pretty much had me a dot or
two high on the glide slope most of the way down.

News reports state the airplane crashed on its fifth(!) approach --
that is, they flew four missed approaches.