Must file to an IAF?

Ron Rosenfeld wrote:

And if your destination does not have weather reporting? (Or even nearby
weather reporting) and has multiple IAF's?

Just so. Bigger airports will often be using more than one IAF
simultaneously, especially if the winds are not strong. The preferred
approach at my home airport in Ottawa (CYOW) is LOC (BC) 25, but ATC will
normally give you ILS 32 if you ask, especially if you're coming from the
south. When the weather goes down low, the wind tends to shift to the east,
and then they land ILS 07 or possibly LOC (BC) 14. The active approach can
change every few minutes in marginal weather.

It would be a futile exercise to file to an IAF, but filing to a STAR makes
sense, since you can pretty-much predict your STAR based on your direction
of arrival (at least in Ottawa).


All the best,


David