When should you descend a flight?
A good rule of thumb is to allow yourself two minutes for each 1,000 feet of altitude you need to lose. So, if you’re cruising at 10,000 feet above field elevation, start descending 20 minutes before your planned arrival.
How far from the airport do planes descend?
A: Normally an airliner will begin its descent around 100 to 120 miles from the destination (assuming the cruising altitude is above 30,000 feet). The point of initial descent varies depending on the cruise altitude, the amount of traffic going to your destination and weather conditions.
What is the difference between minimum descent altitude and decision altitude?
An MDA/H differs from a Decision Altitude/Height in that the aircraft must be flown in such a way that it does not descend below the MDA/H unless the required visual reference has been established.
What is a minimum descend altitude or height?
The minimum descent altitude (MDA) or minimum descent height (MDH) is a specified altitude or height in a 2D instrument approach operation or circling approach operation below which descent must not be made without the required visual reference.
How do you read minimum sector altitude?
Minimum sector altitude is depicted as a circle. The center of the circle is a radio navigation aid: this is the reference for the pilot. The MSA applicable zone is 25 NM around this reference. In each sector, the altitude (expressed in mean sea level MSL) value is written.
What is a Minimum Descent Altitude ( MDA )?
What is a Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA)? According to the AIM, MDA is, “the lowest altitude expressed in [MSL] to which a descent is authorized…in execution of a standard instrument approach procedure, where no electronic glideslope is provided.”
When to descend to a crossing restriction altitude?
We’ll need to descend at 1,000 FPM to make the crossing restriction. Keep in mind, much like the pattern altitude example, this calculation will put you right at the fix at your crossing restriction altitude. It also doesn’t account for increased ground speed in the descent.
When to start your descent from the airport?
We need to start our descent 9 NM out to make it to 2,000′ at the airport. Keep in mind, doing a calculation like this would put you at 2,000′ right over the top of the airport. Chances are, you want to get to pattern altitude at least a mile or two before the airport, so you can make a pattern entry and not have to ‘chop and drop’.
How does the 60 : 1 rule help you plan a perfect descent?
Step 2: Next, we need to figure out how many miles away from the airport we need to start that descent. Since we’re traveling at 90 knots ground speed, it means we’re traveling 1.5 miles per minute (MPM). Now all we need to do is multiply our MPM by the number of minutes we need to descend, which was 6.