|
They should not have failed you for not formally "activating" the approach with a Garmin. Personally, I think it's safer not to use that button. The 530/430 will activate itself once you activate a leg to the IAF or select "direct to" the IAF (or some other fix in the approach). "Activating" an approach in a Garmin 530/430 just swaps the next fix on your flight that you are navigating to, changing it to the IAF you selected. You could always just go "direct to" or "activate leg" to that fix on your own, or any other fix on the approach, and the Garmin would sequence from there without "activating." Loading the approach and selecting "direct to" or "activate leg" when ready after you decide at what point you are going to join the approach is, I think, a better practice than "activating approach." Since "activate approach" in a Garmin takes you to the IAF, it is not as flexible as navigating to a fix on your own, and could have you back-tracking to the IAF behind you unexpectedly in some scenarios.
The IFD is similar, only it dispenses with Garmin's unnecessary "activate" button unless you chose "vectors to final." When you add the approach to the FPL, there's usually a discontinuity between the last fix in your flight plan (typically, the destination airport) and the first fix in the approach. All you have to do is navigate to any fix on the approach in the FPL and the IFD will sequence from there without need to "activate," just like the Garmin. If the IAF is already in your FPL route, when you select that approach it will already be "activated" and will fly the approach from that point without any discontinuity. If you do have a discontinuity, you can choose to delete it and the FMS will connect the fixes, but then you might go to the airport first and then the IAF. If that's not what you want to do, activate a leg on the approach or go direct to some fix on the approach.
|