Recently, m pautz posted:

So, the question I have for the group is why are power planes taught
to have these wide patterns with low angled turns?

I was taught similarly to you to fly tight patterns. A dead stick landing
while in the pattern was a part of my check ride. It's in the PTS. FWIW,
I'm as good as "dead stick" on final most of the time. So, I suspect that
these stretched patterns at low altitudes are just bad habits built up
over time.

Why are the
patterns outside the glide angle of a powerless airplane? I had a
friend who died because of engine failure. The pilot was within
gliding distance of the airport, but he didn’t know how to fly a
power-out pattern. They crashed short of the runway on final.

There are no "patterns outside the glide angle of a powerless plane"
AFAIK. Pattern altitudes are typically at least 1,000' above GL, and if in
the pattern, it's up to the pilot to make sure that the field can be made
in the event of an engine failure. It seems that your friend failed on
that last part, possibly not due to a lack of know-how.

Neil