Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

1 Answers

GTN 650 “LPV” approach mode in yellow

Asked by: 3108 views , ,
Instrument Rating

I have a pilot friend who took his instrument checkride recently, and he was setting up to fly an LPV approach when a few miles from the FAF the examiner went into the GTN650's menus and disabled WAAS.

The mode annunciator showed "LPV" like it normally would as you approach the FAF, but the color of the text was yellow. I'm not sure if WAAS was disabled before or after the integrity check was done (which is performed 60 seconds prior to reaching the FAF).

I looked through the Garmin GTN 650 manual and could not find an answer to why the text was yellow and what that means. The manual mentions either the possibility of the approach being downgraded to LNAV or a message appearing essentially saying to abort the approach since GPS integrity is so bad it can't even meet the LNAV requirements.

On the checkride, my pilot friend simply went "missed" early and that was acceptable to the DPE, but he didn't notice any messages appear and doesn't know why the text color was yellow for the LPV approach mode. We assume it has something to do with loss of integrity or the DPE disabling WAAS.

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.

1 Answers



  1. John D Collins on Nov 23, 2020

    Yellow is Amber. The annunciation changes from Green to Amber if the integrity is inadequate for the annunciated approach. You can expect the downgrade to LNAV if it shows as amber.

    The DPE may have disabled WAAS in the SBAS setting. Normally this will disappear the WAAS satellites and WAAS LPV and LP procedures, although when it is done may affect an already loaded approach.

    On the satellite page, if you see VFOM parameter above 60 feet, expect to see the downgrade for an LPV with a DH 250 feet or more. For a DH less than 250 feet, usually 40 feet is needed.to avoid a downgrade to LNAV.

    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.