The Fading Legacy of the NDB Approach

Question: I am working on my instrument rating and a lot of the talk in the FBO is about the instrument approaches that the FAA has put out of service. The airport used to have an NDB [non-directional beacon] approach, but that was replaced by an RNAV a few years ago. Pilots tell horror stories about flying the NDB. Are there any NDB approaches still out there, are they difficult to fly, and do I need to know how to fly one?

Answer: According to the recently issued Instrument Flight Procedures Inventory Summary for the FAA, there are presently 76 NDB approaches in the U.S. The number breaks down to 72 NDB and four NDB/DME. That’s down from 149 a year ago.