APPROX FIFTEEN MILES FROM DFW; B757 RECEIVES AN UNPLANNED VISUAL APCH CLRNC; CAUSING COCKPIT DISTRS AND LATE FREQ CHANGES.

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DALLAS FT WORTH APCH CTL (REGIONAL APCH) IS NOTORIOUS FOR NOT TELLING CREWS WHAT RWY TO EXPECT UNTIL THE LAST MIN. ATIS LISTED VISUALS TO RWY 31R; 35C; 35R; 36L. WE USUALLY GET RWY 35C; SO WE GUESSED; AND BRIEFED A VISUAL APCH FOR RWY 35C AND SET UP ALL BACK-UP FREQS AND BUG SETTINGS. AT AROUND 15 MILES FROM THE ARPT; WE WERE TOLD TO COME TO 360 DEG HEADING; INTERCEPT THE LOCALIZER FOR RWY 31R AND LOOK FOR A FOKKER ACFT TO FOLLOW FOR A STADIUM VISUAL RWY 31R. WE WERE ALSO TOLD TO SLOW. AT THIS STAGE; IT WAS ALL HEADS DOWN TRYING TO SET UP; FIND VISUAL APCH PROC; SLOW; CHANGE FREQS AND THEN LOOK FOR THE FOKKER. WE INTERCEPTED AND TRACKED THE LOC ON RWY 31R. COULDN'T FIND THE FOKKER; BUT CALLED FIELD IN SIGHT. WE WERE TOLD TO HOLD 3000 UNTIL ABEAM LOVE FIELD; CLRED STADIUM VISUAL RWY 31R. WE REMAINED ON THE LOC AND THEN REALIZED ATC WANTED US TO LEAVE THE LOC; FLY OVER THE STADIUM THEN RETURN TO THE LOC. ATC DID NOT MAKE THIS CLR. THEY FIRST PUT US ON THE LOC THEN DIDN'T TELL US TO GO TO THE STADIUM AND LATER RETURN TO THE LOC. THE PROB WAS THAT SINCE WE DIDN'T FLY OVER THE STADIUM; WE WERE EXTREMELY CLOSE SPACING ON THE FOKKER; WHEN WE FINALLY SPOTTED IT VISUALLY. CTLR NEVER SWITCHED US TO TWR; BUT WHEN WE FINALLY SWITCHED ON OUR OWN; TWR WAS UPSET THAT WE HADN'T DEVIATED OVER THE STADIUM AND WERE TOO CLOSE TO THE FOKKER. HERE'S WHERE REGIONAL APCH ERRED: 1) DIDN'T PUT STADIUM VISUAL APCH ON THE ATIS 2) DIDN'T GIVE IT TO US EARLY ENOUGH TO REVIEW IT AND BRIEF IT AND SET UP FREQS AND BUGS 3) WHEN THEY DID GIVE US THE STADIUM VISUAL; IT INCLUDED THE REQUIREMENT THAT WE INTERCEPT THE LOC RWY 31R. THIS IS NOT THE WAY IT IS DEPICTED. THE DEPICTION CALLS FOR PLTS TO FLY TO THE STADIUM (WHICH IS OFF TO THE RIGHT OF THE LOC) AND AFTER XING THE STADIUM AT OR ABOVE 3000 FT; YOU ARE TO CONTINUE TO A GOLF COURSE AND THEN TURN L AND JOIN THE LOC RWY 31R. 3) APCH NEVER HANDED US OFF TO TWR AND SINCE TWR HAS 2 DIFFERENT FREQS; YOU DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE TO USE. I CHOSE THE WRONG ONE; AND BY THAT TIME; WE WERE SCRAMBLING TO PERFORM THE LNDG CHKLIST; GET LNDG CLRNC; SWEATING A GAR DUE TO EXTREMELY TIGHT SPACING ON THE FOKKER ON THE RWY. DFW REGIONAL APCH AND DFW TWR CONSISTENTLY ARE DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH AND WON'T PLAN AHEAD AND CAUSE ANGER; FRUSTRATION AND UNSAFE CONDITIONS. ANY ACR CREW WILL TELL YOU THAT THEY HATE PASSING THROUGH DFW BECAUSE OF THE HIGH LIKELIHOOD OF BAD HANDLING AND CONFUSING PROCS; BOTH IN FLT AND ON GND CTL; AND THEN GET ANGRY AND SCOLD THE FLC. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR WISHED TO EXPRESS HIS DISMAY AT RWY APCH CHANGES WITHIN TWENTY MILES OF DFW. THE PLT STATED THAT FMS CORRECTIONS TAKE A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME; WHICH HE BELIEVES THAT CTLRS ARE NOT FACTORING INTO THE TIME AND COMPLIANCE PERCEPTION WHEN ISSUING 'CLOSE IN' APCH CHANGE CLRNCS. THE RPTR ADVISED THAT WITH AN ATIS WHICH ALERTS TO A POSSIBLE SIX RWY CONFIGURATIONS; IT BECOMES ALL BUT IMPOSSIBLE FOR FLC TO COMPLETE REQUIRED FAA AND COMPANY CHKLIST BRIEFINGS IN A TIMELY MANNER PRIOR TO FINAL APCH COURSE INTERCEPTION. THE RPTR ADVISED THAT THIS CONSTANT PROB IS CAUSING INCREASING FRICTION BTWN THE PLTS AND THE CTLRS.