I am not critisazing the method, as a matter of fact is the way I fly patterns. Except for the 45 degree dip angle. Did any one try to actually stand at a wall, put one foot in front of the other and move away five or six feet (not steps)? Now look at where the wall joins te floor and imagine there is a runway there. Did you try it using google earth?
I think the problem is that pilots see a dip angle of 30 degrees and think it looks like 45 degrees. Any skier will tell you stories of skiing down a wall when in reality de slope was well below 45 degrees.
So if you are teaching a student and you are at the right distance and angle, it doesn't matter what you call that angle, that is what is retained in his or her mind. So it looks about right, whether you call it 25, 30, 45, or 60 degrees. So i'm not worried about it. I am worried about someone actually trying to fly the downwind at 600 feet.
I talked to an instructor today that told me the same, he uses a 45 degree dip angle to the runway. Then he flew a couple of patterns at what I estimate was 1200 feet from the runway. I know because I measured 600 feet from the runway and nobody was even close to that line.
So the problem may be a matter of perception and calling 45 degrees what in reality is 30 degrees.
Tomorrow I will post what it is said on several books about distances and angles, including one by the author of the article.