How far out is short final?

[asicer]

I'm trying to remember if I've ever heard "short final" anywhere besides a towered airport.

I have and it was in this context:

I only call short final when another plane is moving in the runup or toward the runway. I had pilots jump out in front so I could practice a go around.

As in "You'd better hold SHORT or else this will be your FINAL flight." Luckily it wasn't directed toward me.

 

[Hank S]

That was just my gut response without giving it too much thought.

BUT if it put a little more thought into it, let's say you use 200' agl. At a 500 fpm decent rate, that's 24 seconds. If you're doing 65 knots ground speed, you are going to cover 0.433 nm in that 200 feet, so I'd say we're not too far off.

Actually, I turn base at 500 agl, so "short final" is the last 40% of the distance. I only use it talking to aircraft on the ground, or behind me in the pattern. Never heard it at a towered field, but I don't go to many of them, hanging out at 3000' and 4000' fields instead.

 

[Blue Doughnut]

Heard a guy on "extreme short final" during a flight yesterday. Took a minute to wrap my head around that one.

 

[simtech]

Extreme short final...I would say that's inches from the numbers...

 

[Radar Contact]

I think, as mentioned, it's very subjective to the pilot and plane based on speed. Short final to a G-V and short final to a J3 are two very different things. I did get to see a premier jet do a J3 short base to final at OSH a few years back and that didn't end well.

 

[azpilot]

Actually, I turn base at 500 agl, so "short final" is the last 40% of the distance. I only use it talking to aircraft on the ground, or behind me in the pattern. Never heard it at a towered field, but I don't go to many of them, hanging out at 3000' and 4000' fields instead.

Interesting. I wonder where my math went wrong. If you are flying patterns that tight, you are probably descending at more than 500 fpm.

I would actually prefer to fly this way, but I typically operate out of airports with Class Delta towers, and I'm sharing the pattern with several other airplanes. There are a lot of the part 141 flight schools and they fly ENORMOUS patterns.

 

[Hank S]

Interesting. I wonder where my math went wrong. If you are flying patterns that tight, you are probably descending at more than 500 fpm.

I would actually prefer to fly this way, but I typically operate out of airports with Class Delta towers, and I'm sharing the pattern with several other airplanes. There are a lot of the part 141 flight schools and they fly ENORMOUS patterns.

I don't pay a lot of attention to the VSI, but when I do its generally between 300-400 FPM. Roll wings level on final at 500 agl, 85 mph, and decelerate to 30-50 agl, 70 mph, over the threshold. Makes the math more difficult.

If I'm high or fast, I'll go a little wide and/or long on downwind.