​Chart Wise: West Lafayette, Indiana (KLAF) VOR-A

A trip to West Lafayette, Indiana, to visit Purdue University (see feature on page 44), or perhaps getting some flight training there while in college, might just find a pilot with a need to fly the VOR-A approach. Or it just might be that your CFI (or mean old DPE on your IFR practical test) is putting you through the paces and asking you to fly it. It’s an old-school kind of approach. So let’s dig into some of the things you might want to take note of when trying to land at Purdue University Airport (KLAF).

This Article First Appeared in FLYING Magazine

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A. Not to ‘A’ Runway

The “A” (Alpha) indication on this approach means the approach is not to a specific runway unlike most approaches we fly. The intent of this approach is to get you to “the airport” and then let you transition to landing on a runway of your choice that would be best for the conditions. In this case, the pilot will be approaching the airport from the northwest and then, after breaking out, enter a pattern procedure to land on one of the runways. You just would not be able to land on Runway 23 at night, according to one note that says: “Circling Rwy 23 NA at night.”

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B. Circling Minimums

The only minimums for this approach are for circling to a runway. The lowest of them, for aircraft slow enough to use approach category A or B are 1,160 feet msl (554 feet agl). If you are doing this, be sure to recognize that you will be flying a “pattern” at a lower altitude than the standard 1,000 feet agl. Keep your maneuvering close to the airport, and take care that your turns are not too steep. Don’t descend below those minimums until you are in a “position to land.”

C. Start at the VOR

The initial approach fix (IAF) for this approach is at the BVR (Boiler) VOR, where a hold is depicted to get you established onto the approach if ATC isn’t giving you vectors. A pilot might start here, execute a course reversal out to the northwest or even take a lap in the hold before they proceed inbound on the 143-degree radial toward the VOR toward the airport. 

D. BVT to UPUKE and then FAF at BATLE

After leaving the VOR inbound at 2,400 feet msl or above, the pilot can descend to 2,300 feet msl until they pass the UPUKE intersection, which is 5 DME from the VOR, and then down to 2,000 feet msl on the way to the BATLE intersection at 7 DME, which is the final approach fix. These intersections can also be identified using DME from the VOR, an IFR GPS system, or, if you happen to still have a functional ADF, you could even use a bearing from the EARLE NDB. Now we are really reaching back to old-school style on this approach, with intersections made from VOR radials and NDB bearings.

E. Missed at DME or Time

Figuring out when to go missed on this approach if the airport environment isn’t in sight offers a couple of options. An IFR GPS will cue up the missed approach point, but the pilot could also use 10.1 DME from the VOR or go with time as noted in the bottom right of the chart. The time would start from the FAF at BATLE. If the pilot was flying the approach at 90 knots ground speed, it would mean they would go missed after 2:04 had elapsed on the time, assuming they didn’t forget to start the timer when they crossed the final approach fix.

F. Misses Approach: Back to the VOR

The missed approach on this is a straight-ahead climb to 2,300 feet msl and then a right turn to 2,400 feet msl back to the BVT VOR. The good news is that it is the same hold you might have started with, so it should be familiar by this point if you had to go missed.

This column first appeared in the August Issue 973 of the FLYING print edition.