Activate approach question

I'll give it a go. When you select an approach, you choose either an IAF or vectors to final and it gets added to your flight plan. I only activate the approach when cleared for the approach at the selected IAF or when assigned a heading and being vectors to the final approach course. There are a number of other scenarios that exist where you may or may not have to press the activate approach LSK but I don't think you are asking about those...yet.

Thanks, your feedback and the simulator really lets me see how this plays out. Great unit, well worth the wait.

Before departing off of my home airport I entered the destination airport since it is only 13 miles away. I entered the procedure, the RNAV 29, WOBIL intersection. My intent was to get all of that entered before departure and activate it after airborne.

My reason for not activating the approach on the ground is that I would have to re-enter direct to WOBIL  once airborne because the course line would no longer be valid.

  After I was airborne, the activate button was no longer there.  I pressed the direct button and activated direct to the IAF of WOBIL but is that is the same as activating the approach?

I did the same scenario on the IFD simulator and the Activate Approach button stayed alive no matter how long I waited to activate it.

My question, What is the proper procedure here? Should the Activate Approach button disappear like that?

During approaches to this airport last week I did the RNAV LPV approach to each runway.  I never got a vertical deviation indicator for either approach on the Aspen EFD 1000.  Back at my home airport I did the RNAV LPV and did get the vertical indicator.  Any reason for that?

I did a LOC approach to another airport.  Shouldn't I be getting a DME on the Aspen?

To Kentucky Captain,

You said: "I did a LOC approach to another airport.  Shouldn't I be getting a DME on the Aspen?"

Do you expect the distance via your DME receiver or the GPS?

Which DME distance do you expect? If there is a DME distance associated with the Approach it is generally near the localizer transmitter shack. If there is another localizer approach in the opposite direction, it may well use the same DME transmitter.  The distances shown on the chart will be the ones from the location of the DME transceiver, not necessarily either end of the runway.

Minneapolis is another odd one. The DME transmitter is located near the glide slope antenna for the northwest runway. When landing to the northwest, the distance will be to that spot. When landing to the southeast, they still use the DME distance to the glide path shack for the other runway. I see no practical way to show a DME distance via GPS for any localizer approach. If there are step downs based on a DME distance, it should show the name of the fix and that will certainly be accurate via GPS regardless of the distance to the DME transceiver site.

There are a few localizer associated DME distances that are based on a close by VOR/DME, but that will be shown on the individual chart.

Any help at all?

Happy Skies,

Old Bob

Hello Kentucky Captain-