Divergent pattern experience?

Vance Breese

Vance Breese

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Oct 10, 2014
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Santa Maria, CA
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Vance Breese
My experience flying into uncontrolled fields seems divergent from many of the posts on the traffic pattern threads.
For example an uncontrolled airport near me is Santa Inez (IZA).
Runway 8 is a right pattern and runway 26 is a left pattern.
It is not uncommon for people to make a ten mile straight in for runway 26 from over Lake Cachuma.
More than once I have been in a left pattern for runway 26 and had someone make a straight in for runway 8.
Gliders make a right pattern for runway 26.
Helicopters approach from both the north and south on the east end of the airport.
There is a recommended 210 degree departure from runway 26 for noise abatement that passes very close to the inbound traffic on the forty five.
Most uncontrolled fields I have flown into that have parachute jumping the jump plane uses a very nonstandard pattern often descending across the pattern.
Some airports have unique local customs where geographic factors limit a standard pattern. These are often not published in the facilities guide.
At some airports that are popular for practicing ILS approaches the IFR pilots do not use the typical reporting points and do not fly the pattern. Some are not on frequency.
I have been to Paso Robles (PRB ) when both runway 19 and runway 31 are in us with an occasional runway 01.
At my home airport, Santa Maria (SMX) when the tower closes many pilots continue to make straight in approaches sometimes while talking to Santa Barbara Approach and not on the CTAF.
I have been in a left pattern for runway 30 after the tower has closed and found myself nose to nose with someone making a straight in unannounced of runway 12. Runway 12 has a right pattern.
I thought all this was typical and am surprised at the apparent outrage over pattern confusion.
Most of my flying has been in California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona so maybe this is a western thing.
Is my experience unique?
 
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Read Advisory Circular 90-66A and look at the illustrations. Then look at AC 90-42F for communications advice. Both are available at www.faa.gov.

Bob Gardner
 
Thank you Bob.
I am familiar with the circulars and I work to do things as spelled out in the circulars.
There are many pilots who don’t and I tried to share some specific examples.
Reading some of the threads on this forum a pilot might get the impression that it is unusual for any of the things I have detailed to happen.
At least in the areas I typically fly it is not at all unusual for these things to happen.
I puzzled over the divergence.
It appears to me my aviation world is less black and white than many of the posters here.
 
No, your experience is not unique, just typical of what happens at nontowered airports, and as far as I can see, nothing you described violates the Part 91 flight rules. Keep your eyes open as well as your radio ears.
 
You can add New Mexico to your list of States.

Those were normal expectations here at Double Eagle (AEG) until Heather Wilson decided that the airport should be upgraded to Class - D.

Pilots quickly learned (if not local) to maintain situational awareness on the radio and back announce to those flying "against" existing traffic. (We also tended to use consensus when wind changes caused the active to change -- we'd "vote" over the air and then let all traffic in the vicinity that we changed.)

And we also had a problem with conflicts between arriving and departing traffic, since both tended to use the same 45* leg (( overfly the "sludge plant" while using RWY 22 -- inbound or outbound )).

You just get used to it
 
Thank you for the addition Gwen.
I never get used to some pilots haphazard approach to a non-towered airport and I find that it takes some of the joy out of flying for me.
It always feels nice to hear a welcome voice in the tower at my home airport (SMX).
Just Tuesday we had a 22 knot wind shifting around 50 degrees between favoring runway 12 and 20 with a thirteen knot gust spread.
ATC had me aim for a straight in for runway 20 and gave me a wind check two miles out so I could decide if I wanted to change to a left downwind for runway 12.
Anytime runway 30 is not in use it seems people are unable to find and fly a normal pattern and the tower does a great job of keeping things sorted out.
The tower knows there is turbulence over the trees when 20 is in use and helps people who are unfamiliar.
I feel like ATC is looking out for me.
It gets ugly at SMX when they go home.
 
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