Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

GPS Direct w/o WAAS

Asked by: 4502 views FAA Regulations, General Aviation, Instrument Rating

I found a couple of related questions in this forum, but could not find an answer to the following question. This is taken from the AIM:

Aircraft using un-augmented GPS (TSO-C129 or TSO-C196) navigation equipment under IFR must be equipped with alternate approved and operational means of navigation suitable for navigating the proposed route of flight.

Should I interpret that to mean that I cannot file and fly an airport-to-airport direct route using a non-WAAS GPS since I would not be able to navigate that same route using VOR (assuming there are no on field VORs at the airports or the distance between them does not provide navigation reception along the entire route).

I'm asking this question from a legality standpoint, not a best practices standpoint.

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. Best Answer


    John D Collins on Sep 09, 2017

    The supplemental means of Navigation restriction does not mean you may not file point to point direct. It means you may not file point to point direct without another means of navigation, in particular VOR. So your GPS fails or RAIM is unsatisfactory, fly to the nearest VOR or airway and continue your flight. There are also certain restrictions on planning (RAIM) and on the choice of a filed alternate you must comply with, IOW the alternate or the destination must have an approach that is not based solely on GPS.

    +4 Votes Thumb up 4 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Russ MacDonald on Oct 16, 2017

    What John wrote is correct, but you can request ‘direct’ to any point with any equipment and ask for own navigation. ATC will then check your equipment suffix, and if you do not have the proper equipment for own-navigation they can still issue a direct clearance as long as you will remain in radar contact. Technically, it will be a radar vector when they issue this clearance. Back in the VOR only navigation days, I used to go direct from one VOR to another when they were spaced over 300 miles apart (plains states USA), as long as I climbed to 10,000 feet to remain in radar contact. Then, when the ‘from’ VOR signal disappeared I would simply remain on the current heading until the ‘to’ VOR began to be received. If I strayed off-course a little, ATC would correct my heading. Today, IFR pilots request and legally receive direct routings using a non-IFR gps (even an ipad) as long as they correctly list their navigation suffix on their flight plan (it’s illegal to file /G without IFR GPS). ATC will see from your suffix that you do not have certified equipment for direct, but they verify that you will be in continuous radar contact and they don’t care how you get there, because technically you will be on a radar vector. On the other hand, it is illegal to file on a T-route without an IFR GPS, because the route could theoretically be out of radar contact.

    +2 Votes Thumb up 2 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.