So, my article will explain why the name I gave it can be defined as memorable, as well as being the name of one of my favorite airplanes, the “EPIC” with its long range, 330 + knot cruise speed, pressurization and short-field performance. Juliet Juliet (JJ) are the last characters of the N-number of the Piper Lance that these events took place in.
After finishing an instrument rating with a pilot, I like to fly with him/her six months afterwards to check for any unusual habits that developed and to raise the pilot’s proficiency level. The pilot of Juliet Juliet completed his instrument rating last fall, so it was time see how his instrument flying was going, and the review turned out to be excellent!
The original flight was planned to fly to Dubuque, Iowa and do two ILS approaches, but because I saw some rather unusual behavior with his avionics, it gave me a topic to write about.
His aircraft has two Garmin 430 navigators driving two Garmin G-5 displays with a GFC-500 autopilot. The leg from Lone Rock (KLNR) to Dubuque (KDBQ), along with the first ILS approach, was to be flown on the autopilot with weather being good VFR. After an autopilot climb to 3,500 feet with a routing to JAYEX intersection, then to GOLDN IAF, all went well. After contacting the Dubuque tower 10 miles north, Juliet Juliet was approved to fly to the GOLDN intersection (FIG-1) and maintain at or above 3,000 feet until crossing GOLDN and report GOLDN. Juliet Juliet was in the nav mode on the autopilot and after receiving permission for the approach, a descent was made, and the approach mode was selected on the autopilot. Both the approach light and the nav light were illuminated on the autopilot — a situation I had not seen before.
On the Garmin 430 navigator, and on most navigators I have seen, it allows pilots to load an approach at any time. Then at the pilot’s discretion, the pilot may select to activate the approach, which takes the aircraft direct to the initial approach fix (IAF) or the transition fix selected. If the approach is other than a GPS approach, the navigator will insert the frequency of the ILS or VOR into the standby frequency window on the navigator. The pilot is now responsible to use the frequency flip flop button to move the ILS frequency to the active NAV window on the navigator. As a pilot preference, he/she may select to have the navigator auto switch from GPS mode to VLOC mode once established inbound on the approach. Juliet Juliet had this option enabled.
Upon reaching GOLDN, the pilot of Juliet Juliet reported to the tower passing GOLDN and was told to report established inbound on the approach. The Garmin autopilot flew the approach flawlessly, proceeding outbound from GOLDN and making the procedure turn. The navigator then changed from GPS to VLOC mode, and the color of the HSI needle on the G-5 changed from magenta to green, signifying we were in VLOC mode. I want to note that the flight director function on the G-5 attitude gyro functioned perfectly during the course reversal procedure turn. We should be all set to capture the localizer as the green needle came alive and we had a capture from the autopilot. Next is where things got interesting, as we had both the approach and NAV lights illuminated (FIG-2). Checking for the confirmation Morse Code, we opened the audio path on the aircraft audio panel — all confirmed. We now waited for the glide path indicator to come alive, but this never happened. Rather than wasting this approach, I called for autopilot disconnect, and the pilot started a descent down to localizer-only minimums. What did we do wrong not to get a glide path and why did the autopilot display the approach and NAV lights during this approach, which I had never seen before in this aircraft? What technology could we have missed? We decided to do this approach again and made a request with the tower and were cleared back to GOLDN with a procedure turn for another approach. We used the Garmin autopilot to fly the approach again, but this time I tried to force the autopilot into approach mode with no NAV light on but was unable to do so. This approach was identical to the first one with no glidepath shown.
We now decided to fly to another airport with an ILS approach and chose Freeport IL (KFEP) (FIG-3) and proceeded on autopilot with the airport being our destination in the flight plan. About 15 miles from the airport, we loaded the ILS approach to Runway 24, activated the flight plan and moved the ILS frequency 108.3 MHz from the standby to the active position on the Garmin 430. Our next step was pushing the approach button on the Garmin 500 autopilot. To our amazement, the NAV light went out and we were proceeding direct to ADOSE for the course reversal / Procedure Turn. The approach was flown perfectly along with a second ILS 24 approach to Freeport. We then returned to our departure airport of Lone Rock (KLNR) for an RNAV/GPS approach to Runway 9 and a circle-to-land to Runway 27 to complete the Instrument Proficiency check.
After this flight, we asked ourselves several questions as to why no glidepath on the ILS approaches to KDBQ, and why did we get it on the KFEP approach? The first item of interest was NOTAMs for KDBQ stated the ILS was “unmonitored,” which was also on the ATIS. It was apparent that the localizer was operational as we had a signal identified by the Morse Code ID, and the localizer needle on the G5 responded appropriately. My understanding is that if the ILS or a VOR station falls out of specs, the Morse Code ID is turned off. Is this just for the localizer or does it include the glideslope? In my early days of flying, I remember having to additionally tune the frequency of the glideslope receiver which operates from 329.15 MHz to 335.0 MHz to match the localizer of some of the early radios (FIG-4). Assuming the glideslope was out of service, did the Garmin 430 navigator detect any signal from the glideslope transmitter and not allow the approach mode to be selected on the autopilot? After consulting another avionics expert, this is my best conclusion. I am looking for your thoughts, e-mail me at captmick@me.com.
So why mess around with that ILS approach anyway with GPS approaches available to almost any runway?
On April 16th at approximately 2:00 PM CDT while conducting an RNAV/GPS approach at Lakeland/Noble F Lee Memorial Field (KARV), the Garmin 650 alerted us that the approach had been downgraded from LPV to LNAV. I have not seen this in the Midwest before, so it caught my attention. A few days later the Internet was buzzing with reports of downgraded approaches and GPS outages due to a solar flare. Let’s always consider our options when flying instrument approaches. Fly safe and be alert for surprises.
DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this column is the expressed opinion of the author only, and readers are advised to seek the advice of their personal flight instructor and others, and refer to the Federal Aviation Regulations, FAA Aeronautical Information Manual, and instructional materials before attempting any procedures discussed herein. © Copyright 2025. All rights reserved!
