Definition
Instrument approach procedures designed specifically for helicopters that use GPS as the primary navigation source to guide the aircraft from the en route environment down to a missed approach point at an airport or heliport. These procedures are titled with the prefix 'COPTER' on the approach chart, are restricted to helicopter use only, and typically feature lower minimums, slower approach speeds, steeper descent angles, and tighter course requirements than fixed-wing GPS approaches.
Plain English
A type of instrument approach made just for helicopters that uses GPS to guide the pilot down to the airport or heliport in low visibility. Because helicopters can fly slower and turn tighter than airplanes, these approaches can bring the pilot lower and closer to the landing spot than a regular GPS approach would.
Context Anchor
Seen on helicopter instrument procedure charts and in instrument flight planning for airports, heliports, and hospital or off-airport landing sites.
Derivation
Copter' is a shortened form of 'helicopter,' which comes from the Greek 'helix' (spiral) and 'pteron' (wing). 'GPS' stands for Global Positioning System. The term identifies an approach designed around the helicopter's unique flight capabilities and built on satellite navigation rather than ground-based aids.
Why Pilots Care
They give helicopter pilots reliable access to landing sites that lack conventional instrument procedures and often allow continued operations in weather that would ground fixed-wing traffic.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as simply “a helicopter flying toward a place while using GPS.” In FAA use, a Copter GPS Approach is a specific published instrument procedure with protected routing and instructions.
Example Sentence 1
The pilot briefed the Copter GPS Approach to Runway 18 and confirmed the helicopter-only minimums before beginning the descent.
Example Sentence 2
During the recurrent training flight, the instructor demonstrated how Copter GPS Approaches provide vertical guidance all the way to the landing zone.