To add to what Mark said (and drift a little), I try to arrive in the
same fashion as he does.Â* I'm sometimes surprised by those with super
"radio discipline", who never say a word until someone arrives and
announces the pattern.Â* Then there's a frantic "I'm here, too!" call.Â*
Please don't forget to use the radio when you're near the field.

On 9/24/2019 7:14 PM, wrote:
Since I do not fly competition, making the "perfect" final glide to avoid leaving "points on the table" is not much of a concern. What does concern me is arriving below pattern altitude and suddenly being out of options with other traffic in the pattern. Sometimes there are other aircraft doing touch and goes, the glider operation has tow planes and students without proper radio skill, or worse, no radio at all. I don't feel I should annoy other airport users by just charging in and demanding priority because my final glide got me home with no margin to integrate my arrival with other pilots' intentions. Therefore, I leave myself with a safety margin. I enjoy the worm burner low passes, but I always initiate them after arriving high enough to assess the airport usage, making sure I will not conflict with other traffic. It's just being polite.

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Dan, 5J