IFR Pilots: Where is the BLOOD?

On a severe clear (VFR) Saturday afternoon in early spring, you are flying into Troy, AL (KTOI), a field non-towered on the weekends, practicing your IFR skills on the ILS RWY 7 approach. The VFR “weekend flyers” are out in the pattern getting their currency (practicing landings) as this is their first flight since a rainy winter started in Alabama. You come up on the final approach fix about to join the glide slope and make a proud radio call on CTAF, “Troy traffic, Commander 727BR, BLOOD inbound runway 7, Troy Traffic.”

But there is a problem. You just told those VFR only pilots NOTHING.
- They have no idea what BLOOD refers to.
- They have no idea where you are.
- They have no idea what you are about to do.

How do you fix the problem?
- Save the fix/intersection reports for ATC.
- Use standard VFR position reports when flying to uncontrolled fields “….5 mile final runway 7”.

I fly IFR on every flight I crew. When VFR or IFR conditions prevail we almost always perform an instrument approach even when backing up a visual approach. We always use the position reports we learned flying the mighty Cessna 152 during private pilot training. It is important in ensuring other pilots maintain their situational awareness so that they can make adjustments to compensate for our straight- in instrument approaches.