Before you initiate a descent on the inbound leg of a HILO approach, you must be established on the _________ course

Before you initiate a descent on the inbound leg of a HILO approach, you must be established on the _________ course

• A. inbound
• B. outbound
• C. final
• D. cross

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that you must be properly aligned with the leg you’re about to fly before you start descending on it. For a HILO approach, the descent occurs on the inbound leg toward the runway, so you need to be established on the inbound course to ensure you’re tracking the correct path with minimal cross‑track error. Being centered on the inbound course confirms you’re on the intended alignment, which helps maintain the proper descent gradient and obstacle clearance. The other options don’t apply because the setup condition described is specifically about being on the inbound course before descending on that inbound segment. Being established on the outbound course is part of getting aligned for the approach, but the instruction targets the state required just before descending on the inbound leg. Final or cross course states don’t fit this step in the HILO procedure.

The key idea is that you must be properly aligned with the leg you’re about to fly before you start descending on it. For a HILO approach, the descent occurs on the inbound leg toward the runway, so you need to be established on the inbound course to ensure you’re tracking the correct path with minimal cross‑track error. Being centered on the inbound course confirms you’re on the intended alignment, which helps maintain the proper descent gradient and obstacle clearance.

The other options don’t apply because the setup condition described is specifically about being on the inbound course before descending on that inbound segment. Being established on the outbound course is part of getting aligned for the approach, but the instruction targets the state required just before descending on the inbound leg. Final or cross course states don’t fit this step in the HILO procedure.