Is 91.175 enforced in the USA?

Peter wrote:

"Chris" wrote



That may well be, but the fact remains that there is no prohibition
(which means it IS allowed) for homemade instrument letdowns in the
UK, i.e. G-reg aircraft.

If you can find an article in the UK Air Navigation Order which
details such a prohibition, I and may others would be very interested
in seeing it.

The USA does have such a prohibition, in the form of 91.175. As per
aviation regs generally, that applies to all operations of FAA reg
aircraft no matter where it is flying.

91.177 works with 91.175 to prohibit roll-your-own IAPs.

Related aside: Are IAPs themselves Air Regulations in the UK? Public
IAPs are in the U.S.; not so with most countries.

Peter wrote:
Sam Spade wrote


Related aside: Are IAPs themselves Air Regulations in the UK? Public
IAPs are in the U.S.; not so with most countries.


Not sure what you mean. Could you elaborate?

I don't know if this is relevant but AFAIK there is no law here in the
UK specifying what equipment is to be used at any time (private flight
context, similar to your Part 91). Only equipment to be *carried* is
defined, for different airspace classes, etc. This has led to
suggestions that e.g. an NDB IAP (one in Class G, where there is no
requirement to carry an ADF for IFR) can in fact be legally flown
without actually carrying an ADF. I don't think you can do this in the
USA...

Each IAP in the U.S. is an amendment to Federal Aviation Regulation Part
97. Thus, all the notes, altitudes, etc, are regulatory.

Peter wrote:
The purpose of my original Q here was to see how it works in the USA.
I guess it works because the US has plenty of instrument approaches
available, whereas most general aviation airfields in Europe don't
have an IAP so many pilots just do it themselves.

Most private airports in the US (these outnumber the public airports)
do not have instrument approaches. A few do, but this is an expensive
luxury. There are also more than a few public use airports without
instrument approaches. Pilots based at such airports have basically
two options, and both are in common use. What I mean by this - I know
lots of people who use these options, and they know lots of people -
and nobody has been busted. Also, no insurance policy that I have ever
seen excludes coverage for FAR violations. I've known people to have
accidents with expired BFR's (not legal to act as PIC) carrying
passengers, and the insurance still paid.

So what are the options?

Those that are located reasonably close to a public airport with an
instrument approach will generally fly that approach, cancel IFR, and
scud run to their actual destination. If the conditions are too poor
for this, they will simply land and wait it out or get a ride home.
Since we don't have large landing fees anywhere but a few of the major
internationals (we consider anything over US$20 large) it's not a huge
problem.

This practice is not actually prohibited, but the legality is about the
same as any scud running - minimum altitudes, visibility and cloud
clearance requirements, etc.

Those that are not located reasonably close to a public airport with an
instrument approach are generally quite centrally located in the middle
of nowhere. There is no official weather reporting anywhere close.
There might be an automated system, but those are known to be
notoriously unreliable. FAA inspectors are almost never found at these
airports - and at many private airports FAA inspectors only show up in
extremis, and only in groups - a single inspector might disappear
without a trace. So pilots do exactly what they do in the UK - make up
their own approaches. This is quite frankly illegal, but ATC cares not
a whit once the pilot reports the airport in sight and cancels IFR, so
really the only way to get busted is to have someone report you to the
FAA - and the sort of people who do that don't last long at that kind
of airport either.

The system works not because the rules allow for this, but because the
rules are generally not enforced.

Michael

Michael wrote:

FAA inspectors are almost never found at these
airports - and at many private airports FAA inspectors only show up in
extremis, and only in groups - a single inspector might disappear
without a trace.

Does that mean the local pilot group will murder an FAA inspector out
there all by him/her self?