Tight Pattern...

[Torque]

How do you fly the pattern?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6q2VKsvQEQ


Tony

[David Pavlich]

The video was well done!

David

[Daidalos]

I liked the video, My first 16 hours of flight and solo were in a J3 as shown in the video. No flaps or any bells & whistles tail dragger.

We always picked the touchdown point in I and I had to make it power-off from there. I still fly that way. At my home airport I cannot believe how far out guys go on final.

[RyanShort1]

If I have to choose one, it's idle it in, however, different techniques are more appropriate in different situations.

Ryan

[FastEddieB]

If I have to choose one, it's idle it in, however, different techniques are more appropriate in different situations.

Ditto.

When I got my private and then taught at Opa Locka in the mid-70's, wide patterns were the bane of my existence. It was a very popular training airport, and you might have six or more planes in a touch and go pattern at any given time. It only took a single one of them to fly an extended downwind or go excessively wide for no discernible reason to screw the whole pattern up.

If it was just a single plane, and I was following it, I might call the tower and say, "Opa Locka Tower, Cessna 12345, any chance I can sequence ahead of that traffic on extended downwind? I can fly a really tight base if that will help." About half the time, the controller would come back, "Cessna 98765, extend your downwind, you're now number two behind a Cessna about to turn base. Cessna 12345, you're now number one, turn base when able and cleared touch and go." There were even times the controller would initiate this unasked.

I would tell my student that, failing that, in order to keep the field within gliding range, the best thing to do if following traffic going way wide would be to stop, let him fly his pattern and the continue once he was on short final. Of course, we can't just hover, so what's the next best thing? Slow down and get partial flaps down early and do slow flight (at a safe speed, of course) at pattern altitude - the more slowly you can safely do this, the less you'll be dragged wide with the traffic.

But more common would be to have the student robotically use the normal speeds and power settings, which could eventually put him at maybe 400' AGL on a base leg 2 miles from the airport. Instructors need a sadistic streak, so of course this was the perfect time for the student to "lose" the engine and reflect on the error of his ways. On choosing a site for the emergency landing, the question put to him would be, "Why not just glide to the airport?" Typical answer? "We're too low for that!". "Exactly." - and hopefully a good habit was on the way to being ingrained. I was taught that way and it's held me in good stead over many years of safe pattern flying.