Well, I'm guilty of making postage size patterns I was taught to
keep 'er in close in case a piston decides to try and convert the engine
into an EXTERNAL combustion engine! I've been asked by towers where I
am when I call on downwind and I have to tell them I'm over the taxiway
'cause they're looking 3 miles out :O

Scott


Peter Dohm wrote:

I was taught to fly with "control altitude with the throtle, and
airspeed with the elevator." It made sense to me as my instructor
showed me how to do slow flight. We would get to a slow speed by
pulling back on the yoke until we got our desired speed and then would
set the throttle to whatever RPM was necessary to maintain our given
altitude. Setting up for a landing is basically the same
thing...throttle back (and if trim setting is not changed, altitude
decreases at some rate), back on the yoke (or stick) to get desired
airspeed and then adjust throttle for desired rate of descent (500 FPM
seems pretty standard)...

Scott
Corben Junior Ace


Well.... Perhaps some of the CFIs care to speak out...

IIRC, the FAA was concerned with departure stall/spin accidents and also
with approach and landing accidents. The reasoning went that both classes
of accident would be drastically reduced if pilots remembered to stabilize
their aircraft the recommended climb speed on departure and at the
recommended approach speed for the final aproach. Of course, that also made
powered approaches and BIG patterns popular.

Peter