visual approach
An approach flown by reference to the runway and terrain rather than by following an instrument procedure.
A visual approach needs the weather to be good and the crew to have the field in sight, and it lets controllers shorten the track miles considerably. For spotters it is the unpredictable one: the aircraft can turn onto final much closer in and from a different angle each time.
Nearby in Aviation
- V1 — The takeoff decision speed: past it, the takeoff is continued even if an engine fails.
- V2 — The takeoff safety speed — the minimum speed to be held on the initial climb after an engine failure.
- VOR — A ground beacon that lets an aircraft determine its bearing to or from the station.
- VR — The speed at which the pilot begins to raise the nose for takeoff.