John Clonts wrote:

snip

Somewhere along the way I had picked up a
suspicion that I couldn't legally descend from MDA until aligned with the
runway.

I've seen this recommended as a conservative rule to keep yourself safe on a
circling approach, but it's not regulatory. On some approaches it will be just
about impossible. You'll find that in order to descend using "normal" maneuvers
you'll need to start your descent before alignment with the runway.

Consider what happens if you are circling with visibility near the minimum for
the approach and don't descend from MDA until you are aligned. Will you be able
to get down?

OTOH, whenever you decide to descend below MDA, you are giving up the obstacle
protection that the approach designers built in, and substituting your own
visual obstacle avoidance. It's a tradeoff.

snip

Dave
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