We had a helicopter gumming up the traffic pattern last weekend.. his
traffic pattern was about twice the extended downwind and long final that
the tow plane and gliders were using.

I think he got 1/2 the clue when a glider called and asked.. are you on
downwind or cross country.. I'm not going that far from the airport for base
leg, so I'm turning base behind you.

And then on his next trip around the pattern, the tow plane called and
stated, "Helicopter xyy, if your going that far out on final, I'll turn
behind you and be down and clear before you can get back to the runway.",
the other 1/2 of the clue.

Granted it was student and instructor in the helicopter. But I know students
in airplanes that don't log cross country on down wind.

Helicopters here don't have the advantage of flying the "opposite direction
pattern" to avoid other aircraft. We have parallel runways, and always have
traffic turning either right or left for the right or left runway. Power on
one side, gliders on the other, and the tow plane shares the glider
operations.

All uncontrolled and it works out well for the most part, until other
powered aircraft try to mix it up in the glider pattern, and they forget who
has right of way. But that happens mostly with transients, the local pilots
know.

BT

BT

The reason many patterns are left, and right for helicopters, is
because this is where the pilot has the seat and the best vis in
side-by-side seating.

Really. I fly helicopters with the pilot seat on the right, Bells and
helicopters where the pilot seat is on the left, MD's. We do not change
our
patterns depending on how the seat is loctated. The helicopter is to
avoid the
flow of fixed wing traffic, plus we do not need to fly the same type of
pattern
as a fixed wing aircraft, that is the reason for the type of patterns
flown by
helicopters.

Craig "can turn either right or left" Shaber