Cirrus wrote:
I just took my commercial checkride a few feeks ago. I was taught by my
instructor to overly a non-towered airport by tpa+500ft (or more),
proceed away from the airport WITHOUT descending and then enter the
pattern( i.e. enter 45 and descent to TPA). On my checkride the
Examiner also expected this. I was taught that the key is to not
descent to or below TPA unless you are commiting to landing, which
means adhering to FARS and AIM procedures. Flying over the Field at or
below TPA just to take a look may be considered famously "careless and
reckless". I can't find it at the moment, but my instructor showed me
the TPA+500 rule in the AIM or FARs. In all of my instrument and
private training somehow the overly the airport rule was missed. The
Examiner explained that just because YOU might know what you are doing,
every other pilot will be expecting everone to be following standard
procedures. When pilots deviate, not matter how well they think they
are communicating their intentions, accidents frequently happen. Who
expects someone to be cutting across the field a few hundred feet below
them while on downwind?

This is the result of instructors and DEs who have little experience
flying outside a metropolitan area. Not inspecting a potentially soft
field or obstructed field from MUCH less than TPA+500 is a good way to
get killed or at a minimum trash a good airplane. You don't need to do
this at a controlled field, but that doesn't meant that this procedure
is right ALL of the time. Any instructor who doesn't teach how to
inspect an unknown field should have their certificate revoked.


Matt