World's Most Demanding Approach Busan RW18L&18R

Well here is my first blog for the World's Most Demanding Approach,in Asia during this season the notorious typhoons came out of nowhere disrupting operations in busy airspace such as Hong Kong,Korea,Japan,Taiwan and causing frustating delays for passenger.

Before we go let me introduce myself,my name is Tristan Ken and i have been flight simming for these last 12 years and today is my anniversary of it so i decided to make tutorial for you guys to help you fly the difficult approaches in the world.

First let's talk about Gimhae airport (RKPK),this airport is located in Busan known as the one of the most beautiful places in South Korea even the world (which btw is my favorite country in Asia),on regular operations landing in this airport is fairly easy due to assistance provided by the ILS which is only available in RW36L&36R but what happens during this season when the operation shifted to runway 18L&18R (this aiport for me is a double edge knife) the pilots are then directed to do a circle to land approach which is guided bye the guide in light, this is due to the mountains surrounding the airport and this is where things gets a bit interesting.

Here we are descending from our crusing altitude of FL280 to 3500 feet as stated by the FMC,the weather for the past few days in Korea hasnt been very kind,there is no "drama"on the initial approach except the beautiful mountain scenery of Busan but thanks to low visibilty conditions today we can't see any.

For today's approach the wind is around 20KTS and a light rain so for me is not to hard nor to easy for me just a perfect condition to practice the elbow grease,the braking action is good today so we will have autobrake 2 selected,here's a little fact since 2015 i heard the Korean Aviation Autorithy changed the procedure for how the RW18 landings is conducted due to help the traffic seperation,prior to 2015 the procedure is much easier than today,you intercept the LOC of RW36L and hold the altitude at 1500 during the time if the ATC cleared you for the approach you break left and look for the guide in lights after that then you follow the light then you are good plus there is also the specific fmc route (which is now removed) that helps you decide on when to turn.

Ok now back to 2017 where the new approach procedure comes in now you come in from the side of the airport and the altitude you need to conduct the approach is now 1700 feet and that is in the waypoint ZUBBI so to help you guys,just place a 5M fix at the FMC of waypoint ZUBBI at that point you need to be fully configured on the approach (the gears are down,the flaps are set,the spoilers arm and you need to be leveled at 1700 feet) now things can get a bit challenging especially at low visibility you need to be able to spot the guide in light but luckily the HUD on the 737 helps a lot.but if you cant see the lights that means you need to go around! 

As soon as you spot the lights the A/P and the flight directors go off (but this time i have to leave the auto throttle on so i can take the screenshots lol)then you break left to follow the lights this means that now you are on a visual approach and you got nothing else to help you beside the lights since they removed the RNAV procedure on the Navigation Database Update but no worries since we still have the lights,this approach for me is a mix of the legendary Kai Tak IGS 13 and Madeira Approach.

Right as we turn in and follow the lights we start a gentle descent of 700-1200 fpm (note i disabled the terrain system on the 737 so the EGPWS can stop barking at me!) notice the 15KTS tailwind there kicking in,so just continue the turn gently and trust the lights as the lights will lead you to glory (this is me being a bit poetic)

Notice that you can see a red checkerboard that means that we are near the runway and also the Namhae Expressway which i suggest you don't fly north of it as it will upset the locals and the authorities.

Now as you can see the runway lights ,we are a bit high here but don’t worry this thing could happen at a visual approach and just keep flying

Here we are 2 Yellow and 2 Red that means we are on right glide path!

As soon as we are leveling the wings notice the wind starts to kick us a bit to the left don’t worry just keep the crab until touchdown

Coming in nicely for a good flare,for you guys new to the 737,the 737 is designed with a low angle of flare to avoid tailstrike unlike the airbus so if you flare too much you will risk a tailstrike and ground effect so remember that especially airbus pilot! who flies the 737 during this approach

Notice the angle during the flare is only around 3.5 to 4 degree

So touchdown speedbrakes up! (my touchdown rate is 242 fpm a bit firm for some but this is to avoid hydroplaning at wet runway conditions)

Well here we are as we have are arrived at Gimhae airport,the reason i did this approach first on my blog is to show my utmost respect to my fellow Korean friend's flying in VATKOR skies and also the ATC's there as they have inspired me for flying more,helped me at improving my skills and very kind to me

Here are the guys who have been flying with me at FSX and P3D please check out their youtube channel as they are a very good pilots and also they do live stream quite often so please subscribe to their channel!

Mr Lee's Flight Simulator World (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVN5ixasoHDFxxhxHdOZ7VA)

파이 Aka "Paie"
(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZfElHz8ZprK_vs2e6P8NoA)

So this is my first post of the World's Most Demanding Approach for the next post i will be doing the infamous Kai Tak approach in which i saw a lot of pilots give up or just try the ILS 31 at Kai Tak

I do apologize for some mistake and if i have some wrong information please feel free to correct me thank you

Your Captain TKL