"Iain Wilson" wrote in message thlink.net...
My CFII's IR notes have a bold entry for "Always file to an IAF" and that's
what I do. Not saying this is correct or not, hopefully this thread sorts it
out. Perhaps I haven't come across the situation with an intersection fix
not on the charts in my limited experience.

This is actually an interesting topic.

If you follow Don Brown's interesting columns for AvWeb, a few months
back he emphasized "always file to an IAF". (If you don't follow them
you should).

On the other hand....he also made a statement indicating that he
believed every approach contained an explicit transition from the
Victor airway structure -- IOW, that it's straightforward to include
the transition from the enroute structure to the IAF in your flight
plan. (My paraphrase)

Well, I think that was true once, but enter the RNAV/GPS approach
where (from what I understand) it's considered a transition if an
airway or intersection simply lies in one of the TAA sectors (with
no charted way for ATCS or pilot to readily Get the Picture). And
I know some RNAV/GPS approaches where I don't even think that's true--
certainly not of any VOR or intersection that anyone shooting the
approach would realistically want to fly to, first.

The bottom line is: my obsolete Palm VIIx can hold every VOR, navaid,
intersection, and airport in its measily little memory, but the ATC
computers can't. So if you're planning to shoot a GPS approach,
or if the IAF is not part of the enroute structure and your destination
is served by a different ARTCC than your departure point, there's a
pretty good chance filing to the IAF will only bollix the works.

OTOH, if the IAF is on the enroute charts, if it's an h-class VOR
or an intersection defined by airways, file it.

The whole filing thing is more to do with Lost Comms than anything else.

Mmmm. Well. I have two radios, two antenna, extra headset jacks, and
a handheld radio with headset adaptor. I could be wrong, but I think
the most likely reason for me to lose comms (other than temporarily)
would be electrical failure.

In that case, I think the best thing for me to do is beat it to the
nearest VFR wx.

If I do lose comms for some other reason, I'm going to land at the
nearest practical airport. Let's say I'm flying into BWI. Think
ATC wants me to follow lost comm procs, hold at the IAF for one of
the ILS then shoot the approach? Or do they want me to skedaddle
down the GPS approach into some airport along the way and get out of
their hair ASAP? I know which gets my vote.

Unless I've specifically requested the Full Procedure- ABC Transition, then,
as stated by another poster, you always get vectored to final.

Um, no. If you are flying into airports where the ATC facility can
provide radar vectors to the FAC, you almost always get vectored to
final. However, there are many airports and many approaches where this
isn't true, and you'll be flying the full approach including the PT or
other course reversal.

"Slav Inger" wrote in message
om...
Question: take a look at the VOR Rwy 28 approach at Marshall Brooks
field (RMY). I've filed IFR to airports where the VOR IAF happened to
be the VOR which was no problem, I'd just have that VOR be the last
fix in the route box on flight plan form. In RMY's case, the IAF
appears to be the intersection ALBIO. So, on the flight plan, should
the route terminate at ALBIO? That intersection isn't even on the
enroute chart.

Slav, if the intersection isn't on the enroute chart, it's not likely
to be in the ATC computers unless your departure is served by the same
ATC facility. So I wouldn't file it.

JMO.

Best,
Sydney