xyzzy wrote:
Dave Butler wrote:

Ron Rosenfeld wrote:

So, you're filed to RDU, and the weather requires an alternate. You
obtain
"appropriate weather reports or weather forecasts, or a combination ..."
that indicate the weather at TTA will be severe clear at your time of
arrival. According to a strict reading of those regulations, you still
could not use it as an alternate; although it would be perfectly OK
to use
some grass strip as an alternate. Makes no sense to me.



You can't use it to satisfy the requirements for *filing* an
alternate. You can *use* whatever you want. Right?


Right, couldn't you file, say FAY, as an alternate then on your way
there when you break out cancel IFR and land at TTA?

Sure, except there's no requirement to cancel IFR. Just tell ATC you've decided
to go to TTA. There's no requirement to actually go to the alternate that you
filed. You just have to file it. When you divert, you decide where you're going.
ATC will say something like "say intentions". You say (for example) "I'd like
to try for a visual approach at TTA". ATC does not know what alternate you
filed. The approaches marked NA might also be viable choices. You just can't
*file* TTA as an alternate expecting to use one of the NA approaches.

Dave