"jeplane" wrote in message
ups.com...
360 on final?

Mmhhhh.... Two things come to mind:

- What if there are traffic in the pattern?
- What if at the end of your 360, you end up too low?

I like Tim's list better, and in fact, this is what I teach with
students.

And mine too, but things don't always go according to plan. I got into a
situation as a student pilot where I did a 360 on final. It was a case where I
had a brisk tailwind on my downwind leg combined with strong lift. In spite of
full deployment of the wimpy spoilers on my 2-33, I was climbing rather than
descending in the pattern.

As a more experienced pilot, I might have ventured downwind for a few seconds
making the pattern a non-event, but as a student pilot I rejected that option
due to fear of overdoing things in the brisk wind and landing short. I could
have added slip starting early on the downwind, but didn't even think of it at
the time and that opportunity was quickly behind me. We had recently been
practicing low rope breaks, so I did the math and figured out what a 360 (2
"rope break" 180-degree turns) would cost me and went ahead and did it whilst on
final. It worked out great, but my instructor was not pleased.

Vaughn