LongRoadBob
Cleared for Takeoff
Inspired by questions that came up for me after reading the straight in landing thread. I'm not experienced, and wanted to know more about real world practices. Technical details.
Feel free to answer any or all questions. I just numbered the questions to make it easier to reply to selected ones if you want.
Let me just say, in the few flights I've had (11) with some different instructors, at our untowered airport we have only done a pattern on return from practice 2 times, and both times were because the wind was not in the prevailing direction but shifted so we were using runway 12 instead of 31.
I think maybe my airport where I am learning is a bit of a strange situation maybe. Maybe because of noise abatement (lots of neighbors) we are not allowed to do TNG's here, have to fly to another airfield to practice those. Also on the east of the airfield, not far away, is a nuclear storage or some kind of facility that has restricted airspace over it. Further, we tend to use the practice areas south of the airfield, where a large lake bounds the airfield from the south.
So the "norm" here as far as I can tell is straight in approach over patterns. When entering the runway for takeoff, that is where we are looking hardest (we of course look every direction). So I am not familiar yet with "normal" pattern flying.
1) Separation in the pattern: What is the most crowded, nearest or least separation you've experienced in a pattern? What is the "normal" in feet?
In other words, how crowded is it at a normal busy airport, and how crowded can it get before it is unsafe?
2) controlling separation: I've been feeling dumb trying to figure out about how a pilot controls separation and right of way. So far have had slow flight, etc. practice but thinking of being in a pattern and the plane ahead is slower, to slow down I think I could (once anyway) use flaps, but if I change throttle alone, would lose altitude, or if I change pitch for slower airspeed I "zoom" up out of the desired pattern altitude. I'm probably missing something really obvious with this.
Main point, I'm trying to figure out how you adjust to the other traffic. Sort of like cars do when traffic slows down, keeping distance (separation) but matching the other vehicle or even slowing down less than it.
3) right of way in the pattern: I'm thinking too that patterns are like being in a roundabout, driving. Even with right of way, those in the roundabout (pattern) have right of way? So a plane joining from a 45 deg. on the downwind would have to somehow (how?) adjust where he breaks into the pattern to have the right separation?
4) full pattern vs. partial: Before I started flight lessons, just read a little, I thought that one joined the pattern on the upwind side, then crosswind, then downwind, base and final. I'm getting the idea from here and elsewhere that the norm is just entering on the downwind side. Different takes on if one crosses midfield at +500' above pattern altitude, to come back to join the downwind leg. Is that right?
Sorry , its a lot. Just keep trying to picture coming in on a 45 Deg. to join the downwind, and seeing a plane in the pattern to my left. How or if I can judge well enough the distance, (again using driving, like merging onto a highway, requires some spacial/speed judgment) and what to do if you find it wasn't enough? Do a bank and come back in again?
Feel free to answer any or all questions. I just numbered the questions to make it easier to reply to selected ones if you want.
Let me just say, in the few flights I've had (11) with some different instructors, at our untowered airport we have only done a pattern on return from practice 2 times, and both times were because the wind was not in the prevailing direction but shifted so we were using runway 12 instead of 31.
I think maybe my airport where I am learning is a bit of a strange situation maybe. Maybe because of noise abatement (lots of neighbors) we are not allowed to do TNG's here, have to fly to another airfield to practice those. Also on the east of the airfield, not far away, is a nuclear storage or some kind of facility that has restricted airspace over it. Further, we tend to use the practice areas south of the airfield, where a large lake bounds the airfield from the south.
So the "norm" here as far as I can tell is straight in approach over patterns. When entering the runway for takeoff, that is where we are looking hardest (we of course look every direction). So I am not familiar yet with "normal" pattern flying.
1) Separation in the pattern: What is the most crowded, nearest or least separation you've experienced in a pattern? What is the "normal" in feet?
In other words, how crowded is it at a normal busy airport, and how crowded can it get before it is unsafe?
2) controlling separation: I've been feeling dumb trying to figure out about how a pilot controls separation and right of way. So far have had slow flight, etc. practice but thinking of being in a pattern and the plane ahead is slower, to slow down I think I could (once anyway) use flaps, but if I change throttle alone, would lose altitude, or if I change pitch for slower airspeed I "zoom" up out of the desired pattern altitude. I'm probably missing something really obvious with this.
Main point, I'm trying to figure out how you adjust to the other traffic. Sort of like cars do when traffic slows down, keeping distance (separation) but matching the other vehicle or even slowing down less than it.
3) right of way in the pattern: I'm thinking too that patterns are like being in a roundabout, driving. Even with right of way, those in the roundabout (pattern) have right of way? So a plane joining from a 45 deg. on the downwind would have to somehow (how?) adjust where he breaks into the pattern to have the right separation?
4) full pattern vs. partial: Before I started flight lessons, just read a little, I thought that one joined the pattern on the upwind side, then crosswind, then downwind, base and final. I'm getting the idea from here and elsewhere that the norm is just entering on the downwind side. Different takes on if one crosses midfield at +500' above pattern altitude, to come back to join the downwind leg. Is that right?
Sorry , its a lot. Just keep trying to picture coming in on a 45 Deg. to join the downwind, and seeing a plane in the pattern to my left. How or if I can judge well enough the distance, (again using driving, like merging onto a highway, requires some spacial/speed judgment) and what to do if you find it wasn't enough? Do a bank and come back in again?