Right Seat: Doing laps

The traffic pattern is one of the hardest things for students to master while training. Like driving through New York City on a learner’s permit, flying the traffic pattern is an overwhelming hive of activity that requires rapid-fire decisions carrying some potentially stiff consequences.

I trained at a towered airport and was somewhat comfortable talking to the controller. The runway layout was a little confusing, with two intersecting strips that made the shape of a V. We would do laps around the smaller strip. This day happened to be busy, and, being focused more on the forthcoming landing than the present flying, I had twice turned base in front of an airplane on final approach. It’s not that I hadn’t understood the controller’s instructions or what I was supposed to do—I had assumed the airplane had flown past, without verifying that was the case. It was a good lesson in having complete affirmation that the airplane you think you see is the same one the controller is pointing out to you.

The pattern is a handshake that occurs before the deal is finalized.That’s just one of the many lessons the pattern bestows on us. Another big one is to expect to be surprised. Although the traffic pattern is supposed to be made of a few well-defined segments (upwind, crosswind, downwind, base, final, departure), it’s not unusual to see someone flying in a completely different way from the established legs. You may find airplanes lined up for the wrong runway, pilots not talking on the radio, someone flying very wide on downwind, or—the big debate—entering the pattern somewhere other than on a 45-degree angle to the downwind leg.

These surprises happen because the pattern is a handshake that occurs before the deal is finalized. We all agree to follow the rules, but can’t agree on what those rules are. Flying straight to the runway (a straight-in approach) isn’t technically wrong, but do it or advocate for it and wait for the hatred to rain down. Even if you try to present what you think is the FAA’s guidance, pilots will have opinions. The last time we wrote about the traffic pattern, a reader admonished us for using the term “upwind” to describe the departure leg. Call me reckless, but this feels like a nonissue to me.

Amidst all the debate, what is important? First, be extra alert in the pattern. Scan for traffic in the typical spots, but watch out for nonstandard entries. And second, be courteous. That means acting predictably, communicating if your aircraft is equipped—and, yes, not cutting off other aircraft in the pattern.

What makes the traffic pattern particularly hard is that it’s a full confluence of skills. You have to talk, fly, watch for traffic, fly slow, sequence, descend while turning, and make configuration changes. Oh, and land. How could we forget about that doozy? The FAA likes to call this “division of attention,” and nowhere does that happen more than in the pattern.

We delve into all things wonderful and a few things terrifying about the traffic pattern this month in “Pattern for Success,” beginning on p. 44.

Despite the challenges, one day flying the pattern will be easy. What once seemed like insurmountable chaos and stress will become a joyful hop around the airport, like a Sunday drive down a country lane. FT