What about when the published traffic pattern DOESN'T work?

Sac Arrow

Sac Arrow

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A thread over in Lessons Learned got me thing about this. We all know the proper way to enter a traffic pattern at a non towered airport is to a full left hand (or right, if so indicated) pattern on the 45, yada yada.

Case on point: Coming in to Half Moon Bay (KHAF) we have a standard left pattern for 12, and a right pattern for 30. To the West is ocean and a big radome (presumably the right pattern 30 is to keep people from overflying the coastal preserve and/or the radome) and to the East is some fairly hostile terrain.

Coming from the North, 30 is normally in use and it's the calm wind runway, and it's very easy to enter the pattern coming from that direction. If 12 is in use, one either has to overfly the airport or the ocean and overfly the pattern to maneuver for the 45 (not such a great idea) or maneuver uncomfortably close to terrain in order to avoid traffic on the 12 downwind leg and cut a very hard 360 to join the pattern (also not an ideal situation.) Which was my case a while back.

Departing, 12 was still in use and I was holding sort of the runway when another airplane called in from the North announcing his intentions for taking 30. I let him know I was lined up at 12 ready for departure, and he announced he would then take the patten for 12.

Instead of maneuvering for the downwind, he turned base for 12 and landed. I didn't have a particular problem with that, I had plenty of time to get off. And quite honestly, I wouldn't have had a personal problem if he wanted to do a straight in to 12. Although a technical no no, it seems to me that the base turn was a safer maneuver than the mickey mouse maneuvering he would have otherwise had to do. This is just one example but there are other airports out there (particularly mountain) where similar issues exist.

Thoughts? What would you do?
 
I always think about this AIM recommended/approved procedure.

In Australia where I got my license, we typically join on the crosswind leg after overflying the uncontrolled airfield 500ft about circuit(pattern) altitude. If it has weather reporting, we may be able to make a joining pattern determination without overflying.

After we determine preferred runway landing direction, we descend on the dead side of the pattern and join crosswind. Being on the dead side is safer to descend for both high and low wing and all turns within 2 miles need to be to the left (unless RHP required as your case above)

So in your case, a joining on crosswind is safer in one of your scenarios.

Over here, joining and descending on a live side of the pattern, where larger/faster aircraft could be operating puzzles me.
 
Opinions vary, but the bottom line, in my opinion, is that each pilot aproaching (or departing) an uncontrolled airport communicate their intentions and - if other traffic is a factor - sequence and space themselves to the runway in use.

That said, if the wind favors it, I'll enter the pattern the most efficient way I can - straight in - traffic permitting or base leg, if I'm approaching perpendicular to the runway, or 45 to down wind. If I was intending to do a straight-in and there were other aircraft in the pattern, I overfly the runway and turn crosswind when traffic permitted. The only real hard and fast rules are courtesy to my fellow pilots and respect for the standards of the airport authority, i;e Half Moon Bay traffic stays on the north side of the field and avoids noise sensitive areas.
 
Sac, why would a straight in be a technical no no?
 
Our Op Specs allow us to do strait in approaches to uncontrolled airports part 135 if we can determine it won't cause an issue with other traffic in the area, and we communicate twice at a minimum. I do this whenever possible. In HAF I just do the practice GPS so I can do a strait in, again as long as I don't cause an issue.
 
Sac Arrow said:
<SNIP> and overfly the pattern to maneuver for the 45 (not such a great idea)
Click to expand...

I'm just asking- whay is it a bad idea to overfly the pattern for the 45? I do it (500 feet or more above TPA) because it lets me confirm the airport layout and lets me join the line of traffic.

As for your question, traffic permitting, I may have done the same thing. I interpret the rules as allowing us some leeway to deviate from the full pattern if safety and traffic allow it.
 
Hard to practice a lot of approaches without doing a straight in.
 
Speaking of straight-in approaches, I can remember a day long ago, (1983, I think) descending out of 9,500ft, ever so carefully stage cooling my Navajo engines and planning a straight in to Visalia or sume such place, and, for once, the stage cooling was coming out perfect...I was going to be on time, just about to the second, of finishing the last stage - ready to put the gear down, and making position reports on the CTAF like every 2 miles, and then, while on a two mile final, somebody cut me off from the base leg. Try as I might, getting the stage cooling perfect was about as rare as Amish wife swapping.

So, tell me - does Ameriflight use gami injectors on their piston airplanes, now? Still 2 inches, 2 minutes? Do they operate lean of peak?
 
The only "rule" is that all turns must be to the left (or, in the case of landing at a RP runway like 30 at KHAF, to the right). The pattern depicted in the AIM is a recommendation that, in appropriate circumstances, may help make things safer. The pattern described by OzPilot that is used in many countries can be seen here: http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=7683&d=1175046649
 
Do what makes sense.

I never enter on the "45" at KONZ - it would be either unsafe or illegal. Typically I enter from a crosswind. But sometimes I enter an extended down wind or straight in.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
I'm just asking- whay is it a bad idea to overfly the pattern for the 45? I do it (500 feet or more above TPA) because it lets me confirm the airport layout and lets me join the line of traffic.

As for your question, traffic permitting, I may have done the same thing. I interpret the rules as allowing us some leeway to deviate from the full pattern if safety and traffic allow it.
Click to expand...

In order to make that "work" there, where you won't end up close to the terrain you are avoiding in the first place, you have to be far enough upwind that the 45 traffic likely hasn't decended to TPA yet, particularly if they themselves have come over the hills at the South end of the bay.

But under ordinary circumstances I have no problem with overflying the TPA at a safe altitude, particularly mid field.
 
ronnieh said:
Sac, why would a straight in be a technical no no?
Click to expand...

My CFI (the one that gives me flight reviews) is under the impression that FAR 91.126 and 91.127 implicitly make the AIM traffic pattern procedures regulatory. I'm not convinced that is the case. Regardless a standard pattern entry is generally strongly encouraged.
 
EppyGA said:
Practicing IFR is VFR. :wink2:
Click to expand...
You are correct, of course.

Certainly, practicing IFR is fine provided traffic permits it. I've seen people practicing approaches when the pattern was crowded; working with them is more difficult when they say "Procedure turn inbound YYY approach" and the VFR pilots don't know what that means.

Sac Arrow said:
In order to make that "work" there, where you won't end up close to the terrain you are avoiding in the first place, you have to be far enough upwind that the 45 traffic likely hasn't decended to TPA yet, particularly if they themselves have come over the hills at the South end of the bay.

But under ordinary circumstances I have no problem with overflying the TPA at a safe altitude, particularly mid field.
Click to expand...
I understand now- thanks!
 
Cap'n Jack said:
You are correct, of course.

Certainly, practicing IFR is fine provided traffic permits it. I've seen people practicing approaches when the pattern was crowded; working with them is more difficult when they say "Procedure turn inbound YYY approach" and the VFR pilots don't know what that means.
Click to expand...

I'm very careful to work with the traffic and to make my position announcement with reference to the airport and not points that a lot of folks wouldn't understand. I have the luxury of using a lot of airports that don't see a lot of traffic.
 
j1b3h0 said:
Speaking of straight-in approaches, I can remember a day long ago, (1983, I think) descending out of 9,500ft, ever so carefully stage cooling my Navajo engines and planning a straight in to Visalia or sume such place, and, for once, the stage cooling was coming out perfect...I was going to be on time, just about to the second, of finishing the last stage - ready to put the gear down, and making position reports on the CTAF like every 2 miles, and then, while on a two mile final, somebody cut me off from the base leg. Try as I might, getting the stage cooling perfect was about as rare as Amish wife swapping.

So, tell me - does Ameriflight use gami injectors on their piston airplanes, now? Still 2 inches, 2 minutes? Do they operate lean of peak?
Click to expand...

Can't remember about GAMI injectors I think they do. But it's 2" 2 min and 50 degrees ROP. Dont fly the PA31 much anymore so I had to think about it.
 
Let's all look at Advisory Circular 90-66A "Operations at Airports Without Control Towers," shall we? It shows a straight-in leg without comment. Despite what the OP thinks that we "all know," at a non-tower airport there are no rules other than to follow the pattern indicators on the ground..and I've never seen a segmented circle that included a 45-degree leg.

Bob Gardner
 
bobmrg said:
Let's all look at Advisory Circular 90-66A "Operations at Airports Without Control Towers," shall we? It shows a straight-in leg without comment. Despite what the OP thinks that we "all know," at a non-tower airport there are no rules other than to follow the pattern indicators on the ground..and I've never seen a segmented circle that included a 45-degree leg.

Bob Gardner
Click to expand...

I'm glad you chimed in here, Bob. All this talk about non-standard patterns always gets a bit ridiculous.

Here on the island, for example, doing a standard pattern entry for the most commonly used runway (Rwy 12) means flying out over the Gulf. A straight in approach is over water too, of course, but the mainland is practically gliding distance, so it's somewhat safer, and certainly less disruptive to the beach crowd (whom you overfly on downwind during a standard pattern) to do a straight in approach.

As a result, many -- most? -- pilots on our field prefer the straight in to Rwy 12. I have not had a problem with this, nor have I seen/heard anyone else have a problem with it.

The point being that sometimes a straight in approach is the right thing to do. Of course, if the pattern is busy, or if I want to give my passengers a great view of the Gulf, I will fly the full pattern.
 
All of the following are LEGAL & SAFE if the pilot executes them SAFELY. 1) 45 deg entry, 2) Crosswind entry, 3) Base entry, 4) Straight in Final entry, 5) Overhead break entry. None of these require a "Traffic Permitting" radio call. All entries must yieldblend into the pattern per FARs to other aircraft in all of those FAR identified situations.

It's really that simple.
 
Last three posts, yes, yes, and yes. Guys it ain't brainsurgery.
 
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