PilotEdge Forums

I'm not quite an IFR student yet, but will be starting to learn soon. I'm just curious about IFR equipment requirements: Whether it be an 'unknown' rental plane or a flight simulator rendition, how can I find out what kind of GPS-based approaches my equipment is capable or authorized for? Are there any examples you can provide and perhaps refer to some charts?

Not looking into anything too in-depth, but rather add some authenticity to my PE future IFR sessions.

Thanks!

First let's break down what the equipment suffixes mean. The AIM has a reference table here... http://www.faraim.org/aim/aim-4-03-14-276.html

Unless you're flying above FL290 (29,000'), we can ignore all equipment pertaining to RVSM.
Ignore TACAN, unless you're in a military aircraft.
On PilotEdge, you can assume you have a transponder with mode C (altitude reporting)
So that basically leaves us with (ordered most to lease likely)...
1) GNSS (/G) - Global navigation satellite systems, or GPS systems
2) DME (/A) - Distance measuring equipment. For distance readout, used with ground based radio navigation, IE: VOR/ILS
3) No DME (/U)
4) RNAV, no GNSS (/I) - RNAV (Area navigation) but not based on satellite navigation. Mostly found in older model aircraft. IE: IRS/LORAN

Based on that info, you most likely would be /G.

For types of GPS approahes, that's a whole different topic. There are RNAV (GPS) and RNAV (RNP) approaches. RNP requires the aircraft and crew to be certified to fly these approaches. Airliners and business jets would fall into that category. So you'd want to use the RNAV (GPS) approach plate.

GPS approach minimums will be (in order of lowest sensitivity to highest sensitivity)...
1) LNAV (laternal navigation only)
2) LNAV/VNAV (lateral and verical navigation for baro aided GPS)
3) LPV (precision approach, GPS equivelant of an ILS using WAAS technology)

If you have no way of knowing what your GPS is capable of, most units will tell you when you load/activate the approach by displaying "LNAV", "LNAV/VNAV", or "LPV", choose you approach mins accordingly.

Hope this helps,
Scott

Yeah, Scott that helps a lot! So just to paraphrase and confirm understanding, assuming a GA aircraft I'd be picking an RNAV (GPS) approach or radio-aid based approach and if I'm picking approaches in the GPS unit it will automatically show me all the approaches it is capable of? Cool! Looking at the charts...I gather that's what the 'Y' and 'Z' designators define as well?

Thanks!

This is covered in the workshop on approaches. If there are multiple approaches of a given type (ILS, RNAV, VOR, etc) to a given runway, they will be distinguished by a letter, such as X, Y or Z.