In an article comparing constant-angle, nonprecision, straight-in instrument approach procedures (IAPs) with “dive-and-drive” (stepdown) IAP designs (“Continuous Descent,” ASW, 7/13), the article’s source makes a case against airline flight crews’ continued use of dive-and-drive IAPs.
In dive-and-drive, the pilot flying passes the depicted final approach fix (FAF) — or, if not depicted, the point where the aircraft is established inbound on the final approach course — at a specified altitude. He or she then typically descends, possibly with one or more stepdown fixes, to arrive at the minimum descent altitude (MDA) prior to reaching the missed approach point (MAP). On many IAPs today, a vertical descent point (VDP) provides a defined point on the final approach course from which a “normal” (usually 3.0-degree glidepath) descent from the MDA to the runway touchdown point may be commenc…
