tailwheeler\u2019s Journal #6
\n\u201care we there, Yet?\u201d
\nFrom time to time I\u2019m going to digress from purely tailwheel issues. This is one such time. Don\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll be back with columns about truly important stuff like ground loops and wheel landings.
\nAs we operate our glider ride business in the summer, my pilots and I spend more time in the pattern than anyone else. So we can\u2019t help but see how most general aviation pilots enter the pattern for landing at their destination. I think I\u2019ve seen a change over the years. It seems to me that pilots used to use a more efficient pattern entry a few years ago. Now, they all seem to enter on a 45 degree angle to downwind and they will go however far they need to in order to enter from that spot. It\u2019s the principle of the \u201cI.P\u201d, or \u201cinitial point.\u201d The principle is a sound one: arrive at an initial point at a certain altitude and you will have a predictable series of steps in order to make an accurate instrument approach, bombing run or landing. This is a very sensible way to arrive at your destination when you are still learning to operate an airplane. There should, however, come a time when you no longer cling to some of the tools with which you learned to operate in this new found world of aviation. Anyone who\u2019s flown with me has heard me rant about one of my least favorite flight training mantras, \u201cthe key to a good landing is a good approach\u201d. I feel that one is on the way to true flying competence when a good landing no longer depends on a good approach. My students have heard me proclaim that they will not be competent until they can make a good landing out of every conceivable kind of approach!
\nThe entry on the forty-five is the beginning of that icon of modern flight training, the \u201cgood approach\u201d. Thus, it is also the remnant of training days, the pacifier of the pilot who might be ready to spit that thing out and learn to swoop his machine from enroute to landing in a smooth, efficient course that minimizes air time.
\nThink about approaching from the southeast to land on runway 36 with left traffic. The majority of pilots will alter course to the north or south in order to avoid over-flying the airport. I don\u2019t know where they learned that one. Then they will drone on to a point miles northwest of the field only to reverse course in order to enter on that holy 45 degree entry leg.
\nWhy not just fly directly to the center of the airport (it is, after all, our destination), hook a left turn and bingo, you\u2019re on the left downwind for 36. Wasn\u2019t that simple? You\u2019ll even have a nice view of the windsock as you cross over the top of the field. I like to be a little higher than pattern altitude, especially if I\u2019m in a high wing airplane. That keeps me above the gaggle and I watch for any traffic as I descend into the downwind.
\nI\u2019m not advocating that everyone abandon the forty five entry. If you love your forty-five and see no reason to change, you\u2019re certainly not bothering anyone by doing it. If your inbound course puts you close to the forty-five it makes sense to enter on it. But I do think that by designing more efficient pattern entries and landing approaches, we can improve our flying skills and that\u2019s kinda what I\u2019m about.
\nI know that I\u2019ve just criticized about three quarters of the fliers out there so I\u2019ll remind you that this column is opinion.
\nFortunately, this little journal isn\u2019t a forum, otherwise it would open the floodgates of everyone\u2019s opinions and it would go on forever. But it isn\u2019t. It\u2019s just the place where I say what I think.
\nHappy Swooping,
\nBrian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
tailwheeler\u2019s Journal #6 \u201care we there, Yet?\u201d From time to time I\u2019m going to digress from purely tailwheel issues. This is one such time. Don\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll be back with columns about truly important stuff like ground loops and wheel landings. As we operate our glider ride business in the summer, my pilots and I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}