★ PTS mapping: This lesson aligns to FAA-S-8081-20A (Nov 2023), Area of Operation V — Instrument Procedures (per Lesson→Area map). It is a PTS, so items are Tasks/elements (no ACS K/R/S codes); read the exact Task lettering and tolerances from the current published PTS. Read DA/MDA, the precision/nonprecision tolerances, and which approach types are required straight from the current FAA-S-8081-20A — do not rely on figures memorized elsewhere.
Fly precision and nonprecision approaches to minimums — and execute the miss cleanly when required.
A precision approach provides electronic vertical guidance (a glideslope/glidepath) — the classic example is the ILS; approaches with WAAS LPV vertical guidance are flown like precision approaches to a Decision Altitude (DA). A nonprecision approach (VOR, LOC, LNAV, NDB) provides lateral guidance only and is flown to a Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA) that you must not descend below until the runway environment is in sight and the descent to land can be made normally. At a DA you make an instantaneous go/no-go decision; at an MDA you may continue to the missed-approach point at or above MDA looking for the required visual references.
At ATP level the standard is a stabilized approach: configured, on speed, on course, on glidepath, with a steady descent rate and only small corrections, reached by a defined point and maintained to landing or the decision point. Brief the approach fully — frequencies, courses, minimums, missed-approach instructions, and aircraft-specific approach speed — before the final segment. Track the course centered, intercept and follow the glidepath from below, and lead each level-off and configuration change. Helicopters can fly slower, steeper, and to lower visibility on some Copter procedures, but the stabilized discipline is unchanged.
| Element | Precision (e.g., ILS/LPV) | Nonprecision (LNAV/VOR/LOC) |
|---|---|---|
| Vertical guidance | Electronic glideslope/glidepath | None — step-down fixes / VDP technique |
| Decision reference | Decision Altitude (DA) | Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA) |
| At the decision point | Continue or go around instantly at DA | Hold MDA to MAP, then land or miss |
Execute the miss promptly at the DA (if visual references are not adequate) or at the missed-approach point on a nonprecision approach. The standard sequence is: add power / arrest the descent, establish the climb attitude and airspeed, then navigate the published missed-approach track (climb straight ahead or as charted, then the holding/turn instructions). Configure and clean up as the climb stabilizes, advise ATC, and reset navigation for the hold or next clearance. Decisiveness matters — a late or hesitant miss near the ground is dangerous. Fly the published track exactly; obstacle clearance depends on it.
For a multi-engine helicopter flown to ATP standards, an engine failure on approach changes the picture: you may have only OEI power available, so the achievable approach profile, climb gradient on a miss, and the decision to continue or go around are governed by OEI performance. Category A/B and performance-class planning determine whether a missed approach climb is assured on one engine. Brief OEI contingencies as part of the approach brief: where you would continue versus where you are committed to land, and the OEI airspeeds and power limits for the actual aircraft.
✈️ Your test aircraft: the OEI / one-engine-inoperative approach and missed-approach material applies only to multi-engine turbine helicopters. The single-engine R-44 has no OEI case — a power loss is an autorotation; OEI continued-flight applies only to multi-engine test aircraft. ATP-H practical tests are normally flown in a turbine and/or multi-engine, IFR-capable helicopter — use your actual test aircraft's OEI procedures, performance classes, and airspeeds from its RFM/POH for items marked aircraft-specific.
Curated reference clip — “The 5 C's of Going Missed | IFR Missed Approach” · FlightInsight (YouTube), verified via oEmbed. Embedded with the creator's player; we don't host or alter it.
✈️ Your test aircraft: the R-44 fill-in values cover its single-engine, piston, VFR figures. Instrument approaches are normally flown in an IFR-approved trainer/simulator or the actual turbine ATP aircraft. ATP-H practical tests are normally flown in a turbine and/or multi-engine, IFR-capable helicopter — use your actual test aircraft's data (OEI/IFR/limits/performance as relevant) from its RFM/POH for items marked aircraft-specific. For OEI tasks: the single-engine R-44 has no OEI case — a power loss is an autorotation; OEI continued-flight applies only to multi-engine test aircraft.