Man, I hate to side with McNicholl but...

wrote in message news:cjlgf.4216$pF.687@fed1read04...
Steven P. McNicoll wrote:
wrote in message news:CX9gf.1261$pF.1153@fed1read04...

It's a problem during a coupled approach especially if the pilot is
planning to do an autoland.



It's not a problem if the weather is good.


Not so, Steve. It can cause control problems and certainly adversely
affect an autoland. That is why your handbook contains a caveat about
such approaches.

Approach couplers and autoland systems are weather independent.~

The only "caveat" in the .65 regarding coupled or autoland ILS approaches is
in 3-7-5b. This simply requires an advisory to aircraft of "ILS/MLS
CRITICAL AREA NOT PROTECTED" when the weather is at or above 800-2.

So, if the weather is good (or good enough) all the pilot executing a
coupled or autoland gets is a warning (ie, a reminder not to trust the
electrons too much). For all practical purposes the ILS critical areas are
not in play. Nobody gets held at the instrument hold lines. In other
words, it's not a problem if the weather is good.

As for the original question of the critical areas when the tower is closed,
I'm not sure it's really that big of a problem.

-The actual critical areas aren't really that big. The chances of them
overlapping onto non-movement parking or refueling areas doesn't seem too
likely to me (could be wrong though)
-A flight check may have verified that the critical area isn't really all
that critical at that particular airport
-Airport management can put signs at the instrument hold line(s) "Do not
proceed past this point when the weather is below 800-2 and the tower is
closed "
-The ILS can be published as unusable when the tower is closed
-Aircraft on the ILS during those times and in that weather are in the "You
pays your money and you takes your chance" category