BRANSON RNAV (GPS) RWY 32

Until the recent slowdown in travel because of the COVID-19 virus, Branson, Missouri, was a top destination in the Ozarks for families with kids, boasting a host of live shows, restaurants, golf courses, museums, hiking trails and much more. While everyone hopes the lull in flying to getaways such as Branson will be short, the current downtime offers pilots a perfect opportunity to tune up their IFR chart-reading skills.

- Rob Mark and Jason Blair

This time, we offer up the RNAV (GPS) Runway 32 approach into Branson’s privately owned, public-use airport (KBBG), sporting a 7,140-foot runway where most of the traffic is itinerant, not local flight training.

A. ALIGNING WITH THE FINAL APPROACH COURSE

Most pilots generally expect vectors to the approach when transitioning from the en route environment, but this isn’t always the most efficient arrival method. Branson’s RNAV (GPS) offers three initial approach fixes posted in a standard T-bar configuration. Approaching from the north or east, a pilot might choose either the AFPAM waypoint or the Dogwood VOR to start the transition. From the south or west, a pilot might choose the Harrison VOR or the UYULA intersection. But why not accept radar vectors? Because using one of these arrival points often establishes an aircraft on a course—and sometimes at a lower altitude than with vectoring. This is the case at KBBG, located some 50 nm from Springfield, Missouri, where the FAA staffs the terminal radar approach control.