Was up surfing YouTube last night and stumbled upon approaches for NYC airports. Saw a great video showing the LGA Runway 31 Visual - Expressway. Essential you fly a radial towards LGA, when you see a couple of large white fuel tanks, you punch off the autopilot and hand fly, following the Long Island Expressway. Once you pass the old Shea Stadium, you bank left and align with RWY 31. After seeing the video, I flew this in my W/T CJ4. Quite enjoyable, all the landmarks in the video are present in the sim, including the Home Depot that you fly over as you align with the runway. Next up is the Canarsie Approach into JFK. If anyone has some approaches they particularly enjoy flying, post them here! Here’s the YT video I mentioned above, check it out!
KGSO 23L takes me almost directly over my apartment, and it’s nice seeing the familiar landmarks around me. Beyond that, I also love flying into TNCM over Maho Beach, and then a quick hop over to TFFJ and the hillside approach. LSGS (Sion) is also fun. Dropping into that valley makes for a very scenic approach and landing.
I’ve been a passenger on many flights using that approach. The view is stunning. Also spent a few hours at the park directly across from the RWY 19 threshold. Some great plane spotting to be had. I’ll fly that one today. Thanks Captain!
Barcelona (LEBL), RWY25R. As Barcelona is my hometown, I have flown (before pandemic) this approach dozens of times (as passenger, I am no pilot), and the view of the city from the right-side is stunning. Also, seeing this sight was always implying I was getting home, after a (usually tiring) business trip.
I have recreated this landing in MSFS, you can see it here:
(Barcelona has one of the best photogrammetries in the game, by the way). The airport (LEBL) as seen in the video is not the stock one, but LatinVFR payware version.
I would love to get to experience it in the real world! If you are the type to buy third-party scenery, I can vouch for the KDCA and DC landmarks scenery. It is well worth it if you fly in there a lot.
Out of all the new places I’ve explored, I’d put Rwy24 at Manila, Philippines (RPLL) as my favorite approach. I think it’s the unique color scheme and lack of any real symmetry with the buildings which makes it quite an eye-catcher.
It’d be even better with some ‘World Update’ love.
Fun seeing that one as I’ve many times been sitting up on the roof watching the Manhattan skyline while watching planes fly this approach, as my apartment in Ridgewood, Queens was maybe a mile SE of the big fuel tanks in East Williamsburg.
Question for the RL pilots - per the plate, the approach requires a minimum of ceiling of 3000’ and 5 mile visibility. As such, can I assume that this approach is also used at night?
San Diego Intl. (KSAN) Runway 27. Great visuals, San Diego downtown is really close when on final, the runway is a bit on the shorter side for an airliner, so you are need to fly “by the book”.
PMDY - Trees at both ends of RW in FSX. MSFS has more upto date scenery. However, even if wide open, you got to find it, no navaids period, well the GPS can find it, but no VOR, etc. Not long RW either, so suggest you be a minimum Airspeed, and deploy spoilers just before touchdown, hit the reverse thrust fast. In FSX with aftermarket free scenery, watch out for the B-52 Parked in middle of taxiway being loaded with weapons, it’s a real enough thing, to cause crash. SFO in real bad weather is also a challenge, using about 270 approach, but have not done that one in years.
Although I don’t regularly fly into San Diego that is also one of my favorite approaches. Having grown up in San Diego, I had the good fortune of being able to sit and watch all the planes landing at Lindbergh Field – or what is now San Diego Intl (KSAN). Back when I was a kid (in the 60s and 70s) some brainiac thought it a grand idea to build a multi-story car park directly under the approach to runway 27. It really made the last little bit of the approach even more dicey than it already was. Just an idea of where this car park, the only thing between this car park was the street intersection of Pacific Highway and West Laurel Street and the airport perimeter fence.
