On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 01:21:06 GMT, wrote:

Instructors out there, is this what you teach students as a preferred
entry method, or do you prefer they comply with the aim
recommendations?
Just wondering how many pilots prefer to just make the simplest entry,
minimizing time manoeuvring in the pattern, and perhaps being safer on
the whole

FWIW, I was taught that if approaching an uncontrolled field from the
non-pattern side, fly 1000' over pattern altitude to midfield, turn to
cross pattern at 90deg angle, fly outbound, make a right-descending
turn to enter 45 deg inbound leg (assuming left traffic, left turn for
right traffic), join pattern a-la AIM on downwind. If joining from
the pattern side of the field, maneuver to be at pattern altitude and
make 45deg entry a-la AIM. When breaking off an instrument approach
in VMC, once told to change to advisory, maneuver as needed to enter a
standard VFR pattern, including breaking off a straight in approach to
an in-use runway and join the pattern.