Squaring Off

Ive never thought too much about traffic patterns. Turn left or right, fly downwind, turn left or right again. Align with the runway. Land. Or not, since tower controllers may have their own idea of traffic management. The basic idea, of course, is to maneuver the airplane so you can glide to the runway under partial power and execute one of your greasers of a landing. Depending on where you fly and how good (bad) the controllers are, regularly flying a rectangular pattern to land may not be something youve done lately.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Tuesday, March 07, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The article addresses a "mini-controversy" concerning the use of traditional rectangular versus curved (continuous-turn) traffic patterns in aviation.
The main distinction between the two patterns lies in whether pilots level their wings between turns to scan for traffic or execute a continuous turn after an initial traffic check.
Curved approaches are not mandatory and will not replace rectangular patterns, but are presented as an optional and valuable skill for pilots to develop.

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I’ve never thought too much about traffic patterns. Turn left or right, fly downwind, turn left or right again. Align with the runway. Land. Or not, since tower controllers may have their own idea of traffic management. The basic idea, of course, is to maneuver the airplane so you can glide to the runway under partial power and execute one of your greasers of a landing. Depending on where you fly and how good (bad) the controllers are, regularly flying a rectangular pattern to land may not be something you’ve done lately. Maybe I’ve forgotten my angst at the time, but I never had a problem with the patterns themselves. Flying the airplane, yes. Flying a rectangle? Nope.

So I guess I’m scratching my head over the mini-controversy that’s erupted on the opposite page about curved—or continuous-turn, or circular—traffic patterns. Maybe over the years, I’ve gotten so used to doing it so many different ways that there’s nothing the guy (it’s always a guy) in the Cherokee ahead of me can do to ruin my day.