"Stan Prevost" wrote in message
...

A local field with part-time tower (Class D airspace when tower is open)
has restricted areas in close proximity. When these areas are active, ATC
will not approve the SIAPs. There is no notation on the approach plate,
nor any NOTAM, that says the approaches are not allowed when the
restricted areas are active. There is no AWOS/ASOS reporting over the
radio or telephone, but recently the field began putting METARs into the
system. I don't know if the tower personnel are certified weather
observers or not, so I don't know if their observations qualify as
"reported" visibility, nor do I know if the METAR visibility report
qualifies as "reported ground visibility".


If these observations didn't qualify as "reported" visibility they wouldn't
be in the system.



I was hoping someone knew of
some rule that allowed a substitute for an official ground visibility
report.


There is no substitute.



There is certified weather observing at a larger field five miles
away, but I don't suppose that would do.


Nope.



When the restricted areas are active, there is no way to get back into the
field in IMC other than a visual or contact approach. MVA is 2400 MSL,
about 1700 AGL. Well, there may be two. One is to fly the ILS into the
adjacent Class C airspace, then cancel and maneuver around the restricted
areas at 1000 AGL if cloud conditions permit, which would require 3 miles
visibility. The other possibility is that there is a PAR approach
available sometimes. I haven't asked if they will approve it when the
restricted areas are active. The problem, I think, is the missed
approach. Circling is not allowed east of the runway due to terrain, and
for the two published IAPs, the missed goes on the west side, which is
where one of the restricted areas is. Since there is no published missed
for the PAR approach, or for a visual or contact approach, I don't know
what they will do. I have flown a visual into the field when the ceiling
was overcast at 2400 MSL, but it was a stretch to say I had the field in
sight. A contact approach would have been better.


What field is this?