Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

Descent on HILPT

Asked by: 1868 views
Instrument Rating

Reference ILS or LOC RWY 35 at Asheville Regional (KAVL).  You are proceeding on the feeder route from SUG to BRA at 7,000.  Asheville Approach tells you to maintain  7000 until established on a segment of the approach, cleared ILS  runway 35.  My question is this:  When can I descend to 5200?  My old USAF regs permitted me to descend on a HILO (HILPT) at IAF station passage.  The only descent guidance I see in the AIM or Instrument FAAHs is for Procedure Turns which would (in this case) permit me to descend at station passage as well.  Is there specific descent guidance for HILPTs or do we use the PT guidance?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

2 Answers



  1. Russ Roslewski on Nov 27, 2019

    Once you’ve passed the IAF BRA and are turning outbound to enter the holding pattern, you are established on a segment of the approach and can descend to the appropriate minimum altitude.

    For most FAA purposes, a HILPT _IS_ a PT, so the rules are the same.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Mark Kolber on Nov 27, 2019

    I’ll try to take Russ’ answer one step further (and yes, the rules are the same). Whether or not you may descend upon station passage depends on the way the HILPT (or any PT) is depicted on the chart.

    On the one you asked about, you may descend to 5,200 once outbound because this is what is depicted on the chart. Arrow in both directions and only one altitude depicted. Compare that to to the HILPT for the LOC 8 at Danbury, CT (DXR). In that one, you may only descend to 2300 when outbound, but need to wait until inbound to descend to 2,000, as shown by the two altitudes on the “holding side” of the profile..

    (The dual altitude is not uncommon with a full barbed PT, but I was surprised I actually found one for a 1-minute HILPT!)

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.