Now nearly PPL Standard!!!

[riverrock]

I'm based at Prestwick (so a big commercial airport) but have landed (and used the techniques) at a grass strip near by, Carlisle and Cumbernauld.

I believe this is covered in the Pratt books so I'm sure its in the others too.
I'm assuming a left hand circuit, with circuit height at 1000ft, and a square (non-military) circuit. Others can correct my generalisations and lack of detail!

• Take off straight ahead.
• Once above 500ft and past the end of the current runway, look 90deg to the left and pick a feature to aim at. Turn gently (you are still climbing) to aim at that feature. Remember to layoff some drift.
• Once you reach circuit height, level off. This could be before / during / after turn onto downwind, depending on wind and performance.
• When the runway is at a set distance behind you (in my case, it goes behind the wing) pick a feature that is 90 deg to your left, which should allow you to run parallel to the runway. If you are no longer climbing, this can be a normal turn (30deg?). Again remember to lay off drift.
• You should now be running parallel to the runway, within gliding distance.
• Once you are abeam the end or the runway you took off from, make the downwind radio call.
• landing checks
• When opposite your touchdown point, pick a point 45 deg to your left in front of you, that is in line with the runway. This is your aiming point for the base leg. This might be 30 deg if you are doing a shallower approach (for a flapless landing, for example).
• When abeam the aiming point, start your decent and turn onto base (remember flaps and again to lay off drift!)
• You should reach a "box" over your aiming point at about 700ft, then start to make a fairly gentle turn onto final, by which time you will be at about 500ft, ensuring you don't fly through the centre line.
• Adjust (early if possible) to aim at your touchdown point
• Final Radio call & land

When joining I remember left hand circuits just mean to keep the runway always on your left (and the reverse for right...). For Overhead joins, I start the process (deadside descending) over where I'm going to land, and always turn in the circuit direction.
I use the DI to make sure I'm heading for the correct runway!

I don't know how clear my description is above. Probably better to ask an instructor to go over it with you and to look it up in the flight manuals.

[Iolanthe]

So when y:ou have the circuit in your mind is it all based on your angle and distance from the runway? I had heard that some pilots are trained never to go further away from the runway than the distance required to glide back to it. So are your circuits "square" or "oval"?

Hi lotte,
The military are (and therefore I am) trained to fly ccts very close into the runway and indeed in easy glide distance. I think this is incase you are needing to get down PDQ with an enemy aircraft on your tail (at least this is what the boys on the squadron say!!) Our Tower expect ccts and RT to be precise and disciplined and dislike anyone flying "bomber circuits" so hence my training from day one has been that one always flies close in to the runway.

I fly ovals and therefore my cct is:

Climb to 500ft, begin climbing turn
turn continuously before levelling off at 800ft cct height
call downwind with intentions abeam the end of the runway in use
downwind cx
abeam 400ft point start descending finals turn
600ft half way round, call Finals
Short finals cx
Approach and land

We have both right and left ccts on all four runways, depending on the whim of ATc half the time...but on 01 if the Gliders on North Airfield are operating, we ahev to fly RH ccts and turn onto Downwind much sooner - about 300ft - to stay out of their way!
RR, I'm glad I dont fly rectangles, seems much more complicated

[riverrock]

RR, I'm glad I dont fly rectangles, seems much more complicated

I'm probably overly complicating it.
The 45deg thing is a way to find your equivalent of a 400ft point (how do you know where it is?).
The box is a check, so you can add / remove power early to get into the right place for finals.

I can think of lots of advantages and disadvantages of both rectangular and curved circuits. If you are at a civilian airfield, I would expect you would have to be flying rectangular ones, unless there are noise abatement issues.

[Iolanthe]

400ft point (how do you know where it is?).

I think this is like your 45 degree thing. I am taught to pick a feature (farmhouse, copse, pond etc) at an angle of 45 degrees from when abeam the downwind threshold. When i'm abeam the 400ft point, I start my descending turn and call Finals.

Hmm yes, when we were flying at Sturgate I was sort of flying Rectangles, but they morphed into ovals as I felt happier with that! (I think my FI thought I had enough obstacles to deal with at that point, let attempting to fly base and crosswind legs etc!!! )

[Keef]

It's an interesting thought, innit.

If you fly a wide circuit, it can be roughly rectangular but with rounded-off corners.
As you tighten it to remain closer to the airfield, the rounded corners become more significant until you get to something resembling a racetrack. Tighten it more, and the racetrack starts to look like an oval.

I have to admit that if there's nobody else around (which is usually the case) my circuits at Monewden are very tight - it's one continuous turn from downwind to final, and a fairly short final (½ mile or so). I wouldn't recommend that for a student who's learning to set up on a nice tidy final and needs the time to take in all the cues, but it does mean that an engine failure in the circuit would have me landing on the runway.

[Iolanthe]

it's one continuous turn from downwind to final, and a fairly short final (½ mile or so).

Thats exactly how i'm taught Keef! ...and (from my pathetic attampts at flying rectangles) find it much easier! But I guess thats because its in my comfort zone.

[Keef]

The oval works if everyone else is doing the same, or if there's nobody else around.

Add one person flying "Bomber Command" circuits which go in and out of the ATZ on the way round, and things become trickier.
You either follow the bomber round, in which case the oval goes out of the window, or you fly an oval circuit inside his rectangular cross country and land first. If there's full ATC, they may even authorise that. If you do it at an A/G or AFIS field, you may get yelled at - although I would address the yelling to to the bomber.

The fine ATCOs at a certain airfield dear to my heart, in years past, have had a student on a three or four mile final as I came up to the crosswind leg. "SY, wind is NNN at NN, can you land on <the reciprocal runway> from there?" "SY affirm". "SY clear to land, expedite".
Usually I'd be down and back on the apron before the aircraft on "final" touched down. Again, that only works at ATC fields.

[riverrock]

My understanding is that the danger of a curved downwind to final is the lack of visibility of other traffic who are joining "straight in" or base. Of course - that is aeroplane specific... If you have full ATC then that shouldn't be an issue.
The advantage is that you are much more likely to be within gliding distance of the runway, and for some aircraft, the view of the runway is better from the side (mind you - I've never flown in a Pitts). You are also using the same technique as you would for a PFL.

All a bit swings and round-a-bouts.

[Iolanthe]

Bomber circuits - exactly what our ATC DON'T want! So I am terribly aware of not flying them be I (now) at a military OR civilian airfield!

Curved downwind finals - personally speaking, I have no vis issues when turning onto Finals as I can see aircraft in teh circuit, straight in approach and on Initials. But as you say, that is probably aircraft dependant as we have a low wing and curved canopy (I'll look forward to doing it from the back of a Chippy!!)

Never thought of it like a PFl..but there is a similarity! My glide circuits are very much like a PFL - in fact sometimes we do a PFL join on the airfield and its rather like a glide circuit!

[Lottie]

Sorry only just managed to catch up with this. I agree with the reduced visibility point especially in a high wing plane. Actually the thought of "continually" being in a turn when people are joining crosswind etc doesnt appeal at all!

Flying rectanglar (or at Andrewsfield polygons) isn't difficult - flying an oval sounds harder to me - though I suppose it would as I don't do it.

Interestingly if you came and flew tight oval circuits at Andrewsfield not only would you cut up a load of other pilots but I expect you'd also prompt some complaints from the neighbours.

I suppose what I find odd is that for the circuit to work everyone has to pretty much follow the person in front (assuming that such a person is there) and keep out of the circuit until they can safely do that. So it all goes wrong when people don't what the circuit for that airfield is. Hence, to my mind, the need for every airfield to specify it. so if i visited your airfield I wouldnt get in your way and vis-a-versa.

[Iolanthe]

I suppose the type of circuit one finds harder is always going to be the one which is not the "normal" for your own club/airfield.

So it all goes wrong when people don't what the circuit for that airfield is. Hence, to my mind, the need for every airfield to specify it. so if i visited your airfield I wouldnt get in your way and vis-a-versa.

True. Maybe this should be stated in Pooleys (or in the RAF BINAs, or the Terminal Charts and Minor Aerodromes publications which I tend to use). We were lucky at Sturgate in so far as there was only one other aircraft "in" all the time we were there. That was when I did try rectangles. But after he had made a full stop landing, thats when I reverted to Ovals. just common sense I guess.

[Iolanthe]

Hi all,

What a difference a Fortnight makes!!

Back on home tarmac today, an hours bimble in the local area practising medium turns and PFLs... apart from orientation, my PFL was actually fine

Back to good old Cranners for a few ccts. Tower was open so bit of RT practice too, no worries there. Four ccts later with a few holes picked up on by my FI. "Make this one a full stop" Willco. We land and my FI says "those were some of your best landings ever, fancy some solo?" Errm...(FI takes control whilst we taxi back to the Flying Club). So on the ASP, I decide to go for it. FI hops out, make the call "Cranwell Tower Student Solo Golf Romeo Alpha Foxtrot Alpha request taxi with information Echo" well, done it now. but the great thing is, when we are on 26, there is a good taxi length to calm ones nerves "Golf foxtrot Alpha enter 19 for checks" "enter 19 for checks Golf Foxtrot Alpha" Ok, more nerve calming measures running through checks "Golf Foxtrot Alpha ready for departure remaining" , "Cleared take off Golf Foxtrot Alpha....."

So nerves entirely gone, confidence high, its full throttle and rotate at 50kts, nose on hedge...phew, i'm off the ground..... three ccts and two out of the three good landings later (my last was a bit fast and high, my main problem as I discussed with my Fi was that I left the throttle open for too long, hence the ground effect was stronger; but, we all learn from our mistakes, and I won't do that again!)

I had a big grin, as I had last flown solo in July, I had had rather had a crisis of confidence, but as I was flying today, I could feel that confidence returning and that solo flight just underlined it.

So now, onward and upward...Duxford here I come...

[Paul_Sengupta]

Woohoo!

[Keef]

Good on yer!

[ZG 862]

Fantastic Iolanthe!! - and what a great account!

Cleared for more of the same.