Question

At a higher elevation airport, would you change your approach speed?

Options:
a) Increase Indicated Airspeed (IAS)
b) Decrease Indicated Airspeed (IAS)
c) Maintain the same Indicated Airspeed (IAS)
d) Switch to Groundspeed for approach

Answer 1

For approach speeds at higher elevation airports, a pilot should maintain the same Indicated Airspeed (IAS) because IAS adjusts for air density and is the critical speed needed for lift.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question pertains to approach speed adjustments at higher elevation airports. At higher elevations, the air density is lower which causes a reduction in aerodynamic performance. Since lift is generated by the flow of air over the wings, lower density at higher altitudes means that the aircraft must move faster through the air to produce the same amount of lift as it would at sea level.

However, Indicated Airspeed (IAS) takes air density into account and shows the speed needed to maintain lift. Hence, pilots maintain the same IAS for approaches regardless of the elevation of the airport. The answer to the student's question is: c) Maintain the same Indicated Airspeed (IAS). Groundspeed, which is the actual speed over the ground, may be different at higher elevations due to differences in wind speed and direction, but this does not affect the IAS you fly the approach at.