Learn how pilots fly London City Airport’s 5.5° steep approach, including aircraft approval, descent rates, configuration and go-around criteria.
In real-world aviation, pilots fly London City Airport’s 5.5° approach only in an approved aircraft under a steep-approach procedure. They intercept the published guidance already configured, hold the calculated target speed, accept roughly twice a normal descent rate, stabilise by their operator’s gate, and go around if speed, path or required visual reference is lost.
Why is the London City approach so steep?
London City Airport’s published ILS glide paths for runways 09 and 27 are 5.5°, compared with roughly 3° at a conventional airport. The angle accommodates the airport’s constrained urban setting and associated obstacle-clearance and environmental requirements.
The runway is only about 1.5 km long and 30 metres wide, surrounded by the Royal Docks. Its steep approach does not reduce the landing roll, so crews must satisfy both steep-approach and landing-performance requirements. They calculate against the published landing distance available, not the apparent length of pavement visible from the cockpit.
How do pilots fly the London City steep approach?
The approach is planned as a specific aircraft procedure, not as an ordinary ILS flown with a higher vertical speed.
- Confirm aircraft, operator and crew eligibility. The particular aircraft variant and configuration must be approved for London City and steep approaches. The operator needs the appropriate procedures, while pilots require the specified training and checking.
- Calculate landing performance. Crews use the expected runway, wind, aircraft mass, runway condition, braking assumptions and current declared distances. A wet or contaminated runway, tailwind or technical defect may make the landing unavailable even though the approach itself remains flyable.
- Brief the approach and missed approach. The briefing covers the 5.5° path, configuration sequence, target speed, stabilisation criteria, autopilot limits, minimums, touchdown requirements and the published missed-approach routing.
- Configure before the steep final segment. Gear, flap and any aircraft-specific steep-approach system are selected according to the approved procedure. Arriving high, fast or clean leaves little time to dissipate energy once established on the glide path.
- Track the published guidance. On the ILS, pilots centre the localiser and follow the 5.5° glideslope using only permitted autopilot, flight-director or manual modes. Small, coordinated pitch and thrust corrections maintain path and speed; selecting an approximate vertical speed is not a substitute for tracking the glideslope.
- Flare using the type-specific technique. The runway appears lower in the windscreen and grows rapidly during the final seconds. Pilots follow the aircraft’s approved call-outs and flare procedure, touch down within the permitted zone and begin the planned braking and reverse-thrust sequence without allowing a long float.
Exact flap settings, steep-approach modes, call-outs and autopilot-disconnect heights differ between aircraft. Current charts, the aircraft flight manual and the operator’s procedures always override a general description.
What descent rate does a 5.5° approach require?
A 5.5° glide path requires approximately groundspeed multiplied by 9.8 to estimate vertical speed in feet per minute. That is about 1.8 times the descent rate required on a 3° path.
| Groundspeed | Approximate descent rate |
|---|---|
| 100 kt | 980 ft/min |
| 110 kt | 1,070 ft/min |
| 120 kt | 1,170 ft/min |
| 130 kt | 1,270 ft/min |
These figures are cross-checks, not commanded settings. Wind changes groundspeed and therefore the required sink rate. A crew that fixates on the vertical-speed indicator can begin chasing it and depart from the actual glideslope.
Can every aircraft or autopilot fly the approach?
No. Being small enough to use the runway does not automatically make an aircraft approved for London City’s steep approach.
Approval can depend on the exact variant, installed equipment, flight-control software and performance data. Some aircraft deploy additional drag or alter flight-control behaviour through a dedicated steep-approach function; others use a conventional configuration backed by specific certification. Operators may also impose tighter wind, mass or runway-condition limits than the aircraft’s basic limits.
Autopilot use is similarly type-specific. An approved aircraft may track part of the approach automatically but require disconnection by a prescribed height. Ordinary ILS capability does not imply that autoland or a standard approach mode is approved on a 5.5° glideslope.
What commonly makes a London City approach unstable?
Most failed approaches begin with poor energy management before the aircraft reaches short final.
| Common error | Why it causes trouble | Correct response |
|---|---|---|
| Configuring too late | The aircraft accelerates or exceeds flap-selection limits while descending steeply. | Configure at the points specified by the approved procedure; go around if the sequence cannot be completed safely. |
| Adding unnecessary speed | Extra approach speed increases landing distance and encourages floating. | Fly the calculated target with only the authorised wind correction. |
| Chasing vertical speed | Sink rate changes with groundspeed, while the glide path is the controlling reference. | Track the published vertical guidance and use vertical speed as a reasonableness check. |
| Flaring for a normal 3° sight picture | An early flare consumes scarce runway; a late flare leaves excessive descent rate. | Use the trained sight picture, approved call-outs and aircraft-specific flare technique. |
| Trying to rescue an unstable final | There is little height or runway margin for large corrections. | Initiate the published go-around promptly. |
A go-around is required whenever the aircraft breaches the operator’s stabilisation limits, loses the required visual reference, cannot land in the permitted touchdown zone or encounters an unsafe runway or wind condition. Our broader explanation of stability limits and go-around decisions on steep approaches covers those principles in more detail.
How should simulator pilots practise the London City approach?
Simulator pilots should first use calm conditions, an aircraft model that supports a credible steep-approach procedure and accurate approach data. Capturing the 5.5° ILS in an unsuitable airliner may be physically possible in a simulator, but it does not represent an authorised real-world operation.
Begin fully briefed and configured, observe how rapidly the runway perspective changes, and practise going around rather than forcing a poor landing. Our visual-approach guidance on runway perspective and energy control helps with the sight-picture element. FSX users can also install an airport scenery update covering London City’s dockside runway and taxiway environment before practising the approach.