Stupid Newbie Pattern Question

With this in mind, I personally include VFR references in my approach into
Madison, MS (MBO). When I practice approaches, I will say:

Madison, Sundowner 12345L 5 miles NW, inbound VOR Alpha Madison. This
tells all pilots my position relative to the airport, as well as tell any
IFR traffic what my intentions are. If any pilot doesn't know where 5
miles NW is, then I would question their navigation abilities.


I question the ability of many pilots to estimate distance. One pilot's 5
mile report is another pilot's 10 mile report.

In the pre-GPS days, this was absolutely true. Nowadays, however, we
must contend with the other end of the spectrum -- you know, the guy
who reports his distance from the airport accurate to three decimal
places...

Estimation is no longer required. Rounding is encouraged.

;-)

Now DIRECTION from the airport is another thing entirely. Just looking
at your distance readout doesn't tell you your position relative to the
airport, and this is where a lot of guys screw up, IMHO.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"