Legendary Captain

Han Qi never had high hopes for the bureau's efficiency. Since Xu Xian was inevitably going to be questioned, he probably wouldn't be able to leave.

Since the person had kindly come to help, Han Qi naturally wanted to help Xu Xian handle the aftermath. Of course, Han Qi wouldn't let Xu Xian work for nothing; appropriate material thanks were necessary. However, now wasn't the time to say so explicitly.

"No problem!" Kunlong Operation Control wisely took on the task and continued, "There's one more thing! The instrument landing system at Qianyang Airport is unavailable; we can only use the VOR/DME approach on runway 19."

"Neither blind landing system is usable?" Han Qi asked, puzzled. "I just checked the announcement and there was no mention of blind landing being unavailable on the 19th."

As Qianyang Airport is an alternate airport for air routes, relevant information about Qianyang Airport is included in the NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen).

Han Qi's pre-flight preparations were always exceptionally meticulous, and he rarely missed any important details. He was fairly certain that the NOTAMs for Qianyang Airport did not contain any information stating that runway 19 was unavailable for ILS (Instrument Landing).

The Qianyang No. 01 blind landing system has been under maintenance for some time now, so the fact that it's unusable is nothing new. However, the fact that the No. 19 blind landing system is also unusable is quite unbelievable to Han Qi.

Qianyang Airport isn't exactly a hub airport, but it's still the airport of the provincial capital, so its passenger traffic is decent. It's really ridiculous that such a reasonably busy airport wouldn't have its instrument landing systems (ILS) operational on either side.

"A crew just reported that the glide slope signal for ILS No. 19 was unstable, so the airport immediately shut down the ILS system for No. 19," Kunlong Operations Control explained.

"So it was shut down in an emergency, no wonder!" Han Qi suddenly realized, his memory was indeed working.

However, to be honest, Qianyang Airport is incredibly careless. The ILS (Instrument Landing System) on runway 01 is constantly under maintenance due to unstable ILS signals. However, since the wind direction at Qianyang Airport is relatively stable, and runway 19 is the primary runway, with runway 01 usually unusable, the problem wasn't too serious. But the unstable ILS signal issue has directly spread to the primary runway, which is quite remarkable!

Kunlong Operations Control: "Qianyang Airport has restrictions; approach procedures must be strictly followed."

There's a small restricted area near Qianyang Airport, which means that although it's a radar-controlled airport, it's actually operated primarily according to procedural controls. Han Qi already knew this, so he wasn't particularly surprised.

If it's just a VOR approach, it doesn't have much of an impact; it's all the same.

"Is there anything else we should be careful about?" Han Qi asked.

Kunlong Control: "No more for now."

Towards the end of the call, the Qianyang air traffic control contacted them again: "Kunlong 9543, altitude 6000 meters, contact approach 125.85, goodbye!"

"It's alright, contact us after landing!" Han Qilin gave a brief instruction to his operations control team, then switched transmitters and replied to Qianyang control: "Altitude 6000 meters below ground, contact approach 125.85, Kunlong 9543!"

"6000, 19700 feet! Confirmed!" Han Qi said. Since Xu Xian was in control, Han Qi was setting up the MCP board.

"19700 feet, verified!" Xu Xian replied.

Han Qi: "Altitude layer changed, N1, MCP SPD! Method verified!"

After completing the altitude change, Han Qi contacted the Qianyang Approach: "Qianyang Approach, Kunlong 9543, altitude 6000 meters, communication D."

When deciding to divert to Qianyang, Han Qi requested a communication radio from Qianyang Airport. The radio did not mention the unavailability of the ILS (Instrument Landing System) on Runway 19. Therefore, Han Qi was so surprised when his own operations control informed him that both ILS routes were unavailable.

Firstly, he clearly remembered that there was no relevant information in the airport's NOTAMs, and secondly, the communication radio did not mention it either. Normally, such important information would be reflected in the communication radio.

"Kunlong 9543, current waveguide is E! Continue descending to 4200 meters! Runway 19 is in use. Qianxi 11A approach, VOR/DME approach. Now flying directly to the 20 nautical mile starting point," the Qianyang approach commander announced.

As expected, after the ILS on runway 19 stopped working, the waveguide was modified. And as the operations control had previously stated, only VOR/DME approaches are now possible at this location.

At this point, the approach method on the CDU had not yet been changed. Han Qi simply pondered the approach chart for a moment: "Approach, the 20-nautical-mile starting point is the IAF point at 20 nautical miles along the 330 radial line of the local area?"

To be honest, VOR approaches are rarely used in China nowadays. Han Qi asked this question simply to confirm, to avoid any trouble.

"That's right, 20 nautical miles from the airport, 330 radial line. There is a restricted area around the airport, please strictly follow the standard approach procedures," the approach control officer instructed.

"Received. Fly directly to the 20-nautical-mile starting point. Runway 19, Qianxi 11A approach, VOR/DME approach, lower standard pressure 4200 meters!" Han Qi repeated the approach control instructions again.

Immediately, Han Qi began to revise the approach procedures and methods on the CDU. Previously, he had planned an ILS approach for runway 19 with RNAV approach, which needed to be completely changed.

During this time, Han Qi also spoke with Xu Xian: "It will fly on autopilot in a little while. This VOR/DME approach has a DME arc, so it's not easy to fly manually."

The so-called DME arc is not significantly different in meaning from a regular circular arc. In this VOR approach procedure, it is a circular arc with a radius of twenty nautical miles centered on the local area. Its starting point is the IAF point mentioned earlier, and it continues to the position of the five-way loop.

This type of arc-shaped flight path is normally flown using horizontal navigation and autopilot, which minimizes deviation. If flown manually, the pilot would need to constantly correct the course, increasing the workload significantly and making it difficult to guarantee accuracy.

Furthermore, Qianyang Airport has repeatedly demanded strict adherence to the entry procedures. Taking everything into consideration, it's best not to create unnecessary trouble for ourselves.

Of course, would it be possible to force Han Qi to manually fly the DME and strictly adhere to the approach route?

Sure! But it's not necessary!

Han Qi has long passed the age of being competitive and obsessed with showing off his skills. He doesn't need to prove himself through meaningless high-difficulty moves.

"Should we use autopilot?" Xu Xian glanced at the navigation page and saw that Han Qi had already entered the new approach procedure, and the flight path to the starting point had been generated. Xu Xian decided to engage autopilot first to save himself the trouble of manually controlling the aircraft.

After confirming that the aircraft was in a stable state, Xu Xian pressed the autopilot activation button. However, after pressing it, the CMD display did not appear on the PFD.

After trying a few more times, Xu Xian's expression became increasingly embarrassed.

Why does it seem like the autonomous driving system isn't working?

If autonomous driving is not working, does that mean we have to manually fly the DME arc?