ILS / LOC at KSAN

[jonnevin]

Does anyone know why Runway 27 (primary) at San Diego - Lindbergh does not have an ILS and only a localizer approach? I know that 9 has an ILS but is rarely used due to weather patterns.

[tyketto]

Does anyone know why Runway 27 (primary) at San Diego - Lindbergh does not have an ILS and only a localizer approach? I know that 9 has an ILS but is rarely used due to weather patterns.

If you have ever seen pictures of SAN and the area surrounding it, you'll see that the approach path to the runway flies directly over downtown San Diego, including some very tall buildings and Interstate 5 before getting down to the runway threshold. Because of that, there is no clear path for any sort of glideslope instrumentation to guide your way down since you'd have a pretty sharp drop over the last 1/4 of a mile on final. You have that luxury with the ocean. So the LOC gets you aligned to the runway.

Also, depending on the marine layer, and I've seen this firsthand, you may see arrivals on 9 and departures off of 27, like noise abatement at LAX. it's less about winds with that and more about visibility.

BL.

[jonnevin]

Thanks...appreciate the insight

[Greg01]

With all of the buildings, there would probably be too much interference with the glideslope...therefore, it wouldn't be too useful when you really want it.

[KSYR-pjr]

Not meaning to be too pedantic but the approach to runway 27 at KSAN is actually north of downtown, not directly over it.   Thus, it is not the tall buildings of downtown San Diego that directly influenced the design of the localizer approach but rather the hills above the airport that hold Interstate 5 and lots of residential homes.  Additionally, down closer to the approach end are many three and one at-least five story building.

A quick search of Google Images turned up this excellent picture of what the approach looks like:

[pocho]

The view from the top of that parking garage must be awesome.

[tyketto]

The view from the top of that parking garage must be awesome.

Yes, but no. The operators kick anyone off who planespots from the top of it. They watch that just about all the time. Great view, yes.. if you can manage to stay on there long! There are a couple of homes next to it though, but then again, rental in San Diego...

BL.

[LAPTOP GAMER]

Word has it they want to tear down that parking garage as it is a bit of a safety hazard

[cactushp]

The view from the top of that parking garage must be awesome.

Indeed. Here is a shot I took last year. Unfortanently I was kicked off with an angry look about 5 minutes after the shot was taken.

[pete5668]

Great shot! Thanks for taking the risk.

[KSYR-pjr]

Word has it they want to tear down that parking garage as it is a bit of a safety hazard

"They" have been saying that word for at least twenty years, back when I had family there and used to travel to SD three times a year.   Something tells me that this destruction ain't going to happen anytime soon. 

On a somewhat related note, just recently AOPA with the help of local volunteers legally forced a San Diego contractor to remove the top few floors of a large condominium building that was built too tall for the nearby Montgomery Field (KMYF).  This action actually exposed local government corruption that allowed this to happen, despite regulations that specifically prevented it, and at least a few officials were removed from office.   During the presumed costly condo deconstruction AOPA had a live webcam page linked on their site that showed the daily status of the removal of the top few floors.

Here's one of many articles that reported this "chalk one up for the good guys" story.