It can spoil a cross-country flight
Most students execute the preliminaries properly--flight planning and initial en route navigation. The trap occurs as we approach hard-to-find El Monte Airport.
A prominent reference point lies 20 miles south of that airport, and when it comes into view, a student may assume that the airport will be easy to find. Two minutes later, he contacts the tower and says, "El Monte Tower, Trainer Four-Five-Seven-Six-Romeo, 15 miles south, 2,500 feet, landing with information Zulu."
The controller replies with, "Trainer Seven-Six-Romeo, report entering a left downwind for Runway 21."
The student now starts to look in earnest for the airport, and inevitably the heading wanders away from what was planned. Shortly thereafter, the tower calls back with, "Trainer Seven-Six-Romeo, what's your position?"
"El Monte, I, ah, Seven-Six-Romeo, ah, should still be south of the airport, but I don't see the field."
"Trainer Seven-Six-Romeo, remain at or above 2,800 feet, report the field in sight."
Now the student becomes confused, and as the pressure increases, tunnel vision develops, which makes it difficult to do anything correctly. Occasionally a student--or a certificated pilot who is obtaining recurrent training--never finds the airport because its 4,700-foot paved runway is located next to a concrete flood channel in a high-density urban area. When the controller calls us again and starts to run out of patience, I intervene and tell him to cancel our landing request, we are (location and altitude) and a training flight that's returning to our departure airport.
Fortunately, that trap is easy to avoid.
If your basic navigation skills are weak and you are flying to an unfamiliar airport located in Class D airspace, find the airport before you call the tower. If you are certain of your position or you see the airport when you're 15 miles out, you can obviously call and comply with the controller's instructions. If you don't see the airport, however, remain above Class D airspace until you find it. Then, when overhead the airport, call the tower--"El Monte Tower, Trainer Three-Four-Seven-Six-Romeo, overhead, 3,000 feet, landing with information Zulu."
When cleared and with good visibility, you can maneuver to the traffic pattern's entry leg using any method you choose so long as you remain well clear of the traffic pattern. However, if visibility is marginal and you get too far from the airport, you can easily become disoriented.
To avoid that situation, visualize the traffic pattern's entry leg on the ground while circling over the field. Fly away from the airport using that line as a ground track, but take note if a wind correction angle is required to maintain the desired track.
When well clear of both the airport and inbound traffic, start your descent to pattern altitude and reverse course. If a wind correction angle was required while tracking the course outbound, you must obviously reapply it while tracking inbound. After course reversal, the airport may not be visible, but you can be certain that it will come into view as you get closer.
Adhering to standard traffic pattern procedures promotes flight safety. A pilot who descends onto the downwind leg from the overhead position is asking for trouble because he cannot see aircraft that are below him--nor can those pilots see him. In keeping with the FAA's Operation Lights On, turn on your landing lights when within 10 miles of an airport, day or night.
Minimizing flight time is an important piloting skill. There are times, however, when it pays to be conservative, particularly when you are not certain of your position or an airport's location. It also pays to be proficient with basic navigation skills.
Ralph Butcher, a retired United Airlines captain, is the chief flight instructor at a California flight school. He has been flying since 1959 and has 25,000 hours in fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. Visit his Web site.
