"Jose" wrote in message
. com...

Fred's station is in fact at the airport in question, and Fred is there
waiting to pick Susan up after she lands.


I see. But Fred must still be some distance away from the observation point
or he wouldn't have to go "down to wherever he can make certifiable weather
observations".



If Susan had to call Fred at the house, and Fred had to drive over to the
airport, yes, it probably would be quicker and easier to just fly the IAP.


It's probably still quicker to fly the IAP. Fred still has to go to the
observation point, take the observation and get it into the system. If
Susie flys the approach while she's waiting she'll likely be on the ground
before that's done.



But if Fred is already there, and they are already in communication ("Hi
honey, are the kids in bed yet?") and the IAF is twenty miles in the other
direction, and Susan is in and out of the clouds over familiar terrain, a
quick call on the radio could save half an hour. Especially if the
approach minima are very high at this airport (for any number of reasons).


Fred is at the field but not at the observation point and communications
with Susie accomplishes nothing with regard to the weather observation. The
IAF is twenty miles away? What kind of approach is this? I realize this is
a hypothetical situation, but a hypothetical with no real world similarity
is not particularly useful. Do you know of any real-world small airstrips
that have weather reporting and an IAP with an IAF twenty miles away?



Yes.


How does a small airstrip generate enough traffic to justify a certified
weather station yet remain a small airstrip?



Yes.


Describe the IAP.



Sometimes. I'd even venture =usually=. But my hypothetical is aimed not
at what would be easier, but whether such a scenario would be legal,
because that helps illuminate exactly where (in the regs) the hangup is.


Your hypothetical has Susie telling the controller she's talking to a
certified observer and he says the ground visibility is one mile or more.
No competent controller will issue a contact approach clearance based on
that.