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Vfr practice surveillance approaches

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FAA Regulations, Private Pilot

Hello and greetings. My question is this; can a private pilot(without an instrument) rating, fly a practice surveillance approach, as long as it is VFR conditions and no hood is worn? Is there any FAR disallowing this?

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2 Answers



  1. John D Collins on Oct 23, 2013

    No. As long as the pilot remains VFR and does not accept an IFR clearance, a non IFR rated pilot may practice an IFR procedure including a surveillance approach. If they have a safety pilot, then they may do it under the hood. What they can’t do is accept an IFR clearance, but a practice approach does not require an IFR clearance.

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  2. Bob Watson on Oct 24, 2013

    You can even call up ATC and work the system in VFR. Just tell them that you’d like to shoot practice approaches in VFR conditions. They’re usually happy to oblige (workload permitting)–at the very least because then they’ll be talking to whoever might be lining up for an approach (e.g. you) enabling them to coordinate traffic better.

    More practice for you. More safety for everyone else. Win-Win!

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