Visual approach clearance to an airport without a control tower

Termine

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I was trained that the following two statements are accurate:
  1. An aircraft must report either the airport, the runway, or a preceeding-aircraft-to-follow in sight before being issued a visual approach clearance.
  2. Aircraft arriving at an airport with an operational control tower are cleared for a visual approach to a specific runway. Aircraft arriving at an airport without an operational control tower are cleared for a visual approach to the airport in general.
But a careful reading of 7–4–3 does not actually support either statement. Both are implied but never spelled out in so many words.

Regarding statement #2, 7–4–3a says that even if an aircraft is being vectored for an instrument approach, a visual approach may be initiated if the pilot reports the airport or runway in sight (operational control tower) or the airport in sight (no operational control tower). There are two possible phraseologies listed:

CLEARED VISUAL APPROACH RUNWAY (number)

and

CLEARED VISUAL APPROACH TO (airport name)

. It certainly seems like the first phraseology should be used at a towered airport while the second should be used at an untowered airport, but this is not made clear and both versions are listed under 7–4–3b, not a.

Regarding statement #1, the most basic criterion for issuing a visual approach clearance is listed at 7–4–3c1: "The aircraft is number one in the approach sequence." That's the only requirement, for them to be number one. It doesn't say anything about the airport being in sight at all! 7–4–3c3 does mention the airport or runway being in sight in the context of there being a sequence, but if there is no sequence c1 applies instead of c3, and c1 doesn't require the airport to be in sight. And 7–4–3a from above isn't relevant if the aircraft was getting vectors for a visual approach from the start.
However there is a note at c2 (the aircraft reports only the preceding aircraft in sight) which specifically says "the pilot need not report the airport/runway in sight," which does imply—but again does not actually say—that they do need to report the airport/runway in sight otherwise.

I'm not claiming that we should be giving visual approach clearances without getting an "in sight" report, because obviously that's dumb. I'm wondering if other people see what I'm saying and if this is something that should be clarified in the .65, or if the statements above are so obvious that I should sit down and go play with my toys over in the corner.
 
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