VOR approach- when to descend from the FAF

On Tue, 19 Feb 2008 08:07:11 -0800 (PST), Greg Esres
wrote:

pstanley wrote:

You do not need pos course guidance to start descent.

Such a statement needs documentation, IMO.





This is being treated like some kind of academic
angels-on-the-head-of-a-pin question. It is not.

Stuff happens. I have seen enough "competent" pilots screw up a
course intercept to know that it doesn't take all that much for a
pilot to end up well below the FAF altitude with no positive course
guidance, if he starts his descent with none. Distractions can mount
up in a hurry, and one can find himself in a situation with a high
pucker factor in a hurry. Few pilots who find themselves in this
situation then take the proper corrective action, in my experience.
They usually "try harder" to reintercept the course while going still
lower. This practially always ends up in a situation that could be
disastrous in actual conditions.

Advising someone new to instrument flying that it is an OK thing to
start a descent with no positive course guidance is a really bad
thing, in my opinion, and I base that opinion on watching a lot of
pilots, many of them experienced and instrument rated, screw
approaches up pretty badly, for any number of reasons.

I don't care what the "book" says.