AggieMike88
Touchdown! Greaser!
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2010
- Messages
- 20,805
- Location
- Denton, TX
- Display Name
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The original "I don't know it all" of aviation.
At least I think "close approach" is the right name for the maneuver... allow me to describe....
Me: Just crossing 100hr mark with about 45 hrs since the checkride.
Aircraft: 2003 Warrior III, PA-28-161, (N9855S for the locals familiar with it)
Location: Home airport, KDTO, class D with a good tower crew.
I was returning from a XC flight (the food and hospitality at KTYR, Tyler, TX, is really good!) I was East and a bit North of the field when I did my 10-mile call up (HWY 380 & 377 for the locals), ready to be told to enter a left base for RWY18 as was the typical case when I approached from this particular point. Pattern was fairly active and the controller asked me to turn southward and join the pattern at the bottom of the left downwind and report over the Peterbuilt assembly plant. Plenty of time to do that, so made the left turn and headed over the city of Denton toward Peterbuilt. (Note for the story: The controller on duty is someone I have met before and does a great job remembering voice, tail#, and flying skill combinations. He uses this as another tool for himself as he deals with busy times at KDTO).
During the 5-6 minutes to Peterbuilt, I heard the controller continue to work the busy pattern. When the tower is active, the pattern is kept to thw west of the runway for noise abatement, so the aircraft in the pattern were doing right traffic.
Joined the left downwind over Peterbuilt, made my report to Tower, and got the acknolwedgement from him. In the same breath he gave some instructions to some student pilots on the right pattern.
Just about abeam the numbers, I had yet to get my "cleared to land instructions". I was about to call up and ask when he came on and asked if it was possible for me to make a "close approach". (again, I think that is the correct term).
This I knew to be the maneuver that some call "chop and drop", where at your abeam point, you do what's needed to get to the ground quickly. Pull throttle, make a smart decending turn to the centerline, adding flaps as needed, and land "as quickly as possible".
I had only done this once before, during training and with my CFI on board. So not being totally comfortable doing it on my own in that busy pattern, I declined. Tower said "No problem, then you'll be #3 behind a Cessna. Extend downwind and expect your base turn just north of 380 (a local highway that is 2 miles north of the threshhold), clear to land."
If I had accepted Tower's instruction, I would have been on the ground ahead of the other two. Fortunately, I wasn't in any big hurry, so the additional 5-7 minutes flying was okay by me.
My question is how to perform the requested maneuver safely. Is it as simple as pull power to flight idle, add in landing flaps, and make the decending "race track" turn to the centerline and land?
Or are there additional steps that I should keep in mind?
Me: Just crossing 100hr mark with about 45 hrs since the checkride.
Aircraft: 2003 Warrior III, PA-28-161, (N9855S for the locals familiar with it)
Location: Home airport, KDTO, class D with a good tower crew.
I was returning from a XC flight (the food and hospitality at KTYR, Tyler, TX, is really good!) I was East and a bit North of the field when I did my 10-mile call up (HWY 380 & 377 for the locals), ready to be told to enter a left base for RWY18 as was the typical case when I approached from this particular point. Pattern was fairly active and the controller asked me to turn southward and join the pattern at the bottom of the left downwind and report over the Peterbuilt assembly plant. Plenty of time to do that, so made the left turn and headed over the city of Denton toward Peterbuilt. (Note for the story: The controller on duty is someone I have met before and does a great job remembering voice, tail#, and flying skill combinations. He uses this as another tool for himself as he deals with busy times at KDTO).
During the 5-6 minutes to Peterbuilt, I heard the controller continue to work the busy pattern. When the tower is active, the pattern is kept to thw west of the runway for noise abatement, so the aircraft in the pattern were doing right traffic.
Joined the left downwind over Peterbuilt, made my report to Tower, and got the acknolwedgement from him. In the same breath he gave some instructions to some student pilots on the right pattern.
Just about abeam the numbers, I had yet to get my "cleared to land instructions". I was about to call up and ask when he came on and asked if it was possible for me to make a "close approach". (again, I think that is the correct term).
This I knew to be the maneuver that some call "chop and drop", where at your abeam point, you do what's needed to get to the ground quickly. Pull throttle, make a smart decending turn to the centerline, adding flaps as needed, and land "as quickly as possible".
I had only done this once before, during training and with my CFI on board. So not being totally comfortable doing it on my own in that busy pattern, I declined. Tower said "No problem, then you'll be #3 behind a Cessna. Extend downwind and expect your base turn just north of 380 (a local highway that is 2 miles north of the threshhold), clear to land."
If I had accepted Tower's instruction, I would have been on the ground ahead of the other two. Fortunately, I wasn't in any big hurry, so the additional 5-7 minutes flying was okay by me.
My question is how to perform the requested maneuver safely. Is it as simple as pull power to flight idle, add in landing flaps, and make the decending "race track" turn to the centerline and land?
Or are there additional steps that I should keep in mind?