On 7/29/2016 4:19 PM, BobW wrote:
Back to my original puzzlement...am I correct in believing "military
approved" circling approaches essentially do NOT include "a straight
final" portion, a-la the "immediately before touchdown" curving flight
path understandably employed by (e.g.) Pitts biplane pilots as a means
of retaining over-the-nose vision for as long as possible until the
runway edges appear on either side of the nose?

It's been quite a long time, but as I recall, the roll out on final was
around 1/2 - 3/4 mile from touchdown and that goes pretty quickly in a
jet. The way I currently fly the glider, it's closer to 1/4 mile from
completion of the turn to the touchdown point. I try to make my final
approach about the same flight time (vs. distance). Years of practice
have made this pretty routine.
--
Dan, 5J