We occasionally get a letter from a reader objecting to the very substance of an article. I’m not talking about those notes pointing out a goof or some other little error we may have made. I’m talking about an objection to the article topic itself.
This past month I received just such a letter from a highly experienced pilot, with an extensive background both in the airlines and in GA. He earnestly claimed that the CDFA/CANPA (continuous descent) technique of flying a non-precision approach in small planes is a bunch of hooey.
He may well be right.
At IFR we pride ourselves in not telling you how to fly, but instead giving you all the—often disparate—information you need to decide the right techniques and choices for yourself. Since constant-angle descents have been a peripheral topic as we’ve discussed various other aspects of instrument flight, it was past time to publish an article that gave detailed information about how you might actually fly one of these—if you want.
Between our May 2014 article on CANPA and the thorough discussion of dive-n-drive the previous month, we pointed out the pros and cons of each and how and when you might want to use one or the other. Or not. It’s up to you. We also explained that CANPA became popular with airlines for reasons not necessarily applicable to GA. But you might still find them useful. So, we tell you about ‘em.
We long ago ignored the lawyers who told us to provide proven, safe and conservative advice. Instead, We try to give you real-world information to help you make real-world, practical, high-utility decisions. Along with that information comes the obligation to apply it appropriately to your individual skill, level of comfort, equipment and situation.
We avoid one-size-fits-all conservative solutions. Instead, we want our articles to stimulate your neurons, cause you to do an analysis of what we’re discussing and see if there’s a place for it in your flight bag. If you go through that process, regardless of whether you do what we appear to be promoting, we’ve done our job well.
After all, where else can you find conflicting articles in consecutive issues, one promoting dive-n-drive and the other promoting CDFA? Pick what works for you and ignore the other. You could even write to tell us why.
Write for Us?
We also get an occasional inquiry about how one might submit an article for consideration. We’re always seeking fresh viewpoints from new contributors. We look for authors with ideas for topics we should cover. If we like the topic, we’ll ask you to write the article.
So, if you write well and are interested in writing for IFR, send me a note, [email protected], with an idea you’d like to turn into an article. You might also include a pitch for it, saying why you think it’s important and what the readers’ take-away should be. That’s the fast path to becoming immortalized on these pages. We even pay (modestly).
—Frank Bowlin
