Get Rid Of Warbirds At Oshkosh

The FAA recommended approach makes perfectly
good sense from a collision-avoidance point of view, but it ignores
the fact that engines are not immortal.

I suspect that the dangers from a MAC in a crowded airport envoronment
are greater than the dangers from an engine out.

Jose
--
The monkey turns the crank and thinks he's making the music.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 06:06:50 -0400, Cub Driver usenet AT danford DOT
net wrote:

This has always bugged me about the standard pattern as it was taught
to me, especially the bit about first overflying the field, then
flying off at least a mile before descending to the 45. Why would you
leave the vicinity of a perfectly good airport, especially when your
engine is 60 years old? The FAA recommended approach makes perfectly
good sense from a collision-avoidance point of view, but it ignores
the fact that engines are not immortal.

I'm not sure it's all that much better. Is there a standard for where
you let down to pick up the 45 entry? Which way you turn? And I
swear, the last time I flew into South County, when I made my turn to
get on the 45, about a mile out, there was a plane on downwind out
there. I'd heard him on the radio, but I didn't expect him that far
out.

Don

This has always bugged me about the standard pattern as it was taught
to me, especially the bit about first overflying the field, then
flying off at least a mile before descending to the 45. Why would you
leave the vicinity of a perfectly good airport, especially when your
engine is 60 years old? The FAA recommended approach makes perfectly
good sense from a collision-avoidance point of view, but it ignores
the fact that engines are not immortal.

It makes less sense from a collision avoidance point of view. Why would
you fly away from the airport into the path that incoming traffic would
take? That's just dumb.

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 15:08:07 GMT, Don Tuite
wrote:


I'm not sure it's all that much better. Is there a standard for where
you let down to pick up the 45 entry? Which way you turn? And I
swear, the last time I flew into South County, when I made my turn to
get on the 45, about a mile out, there was a plane on downwind out
there. I'd heard him on the radio, but I didn't expect him that far
out.

Don

I was taught the midfield crosswind for use at uncontrolled airports
as a means to determine the windsock position and runway indicator.
We crossed over at 500 ft. above pattern, could have been 1000 ft. and
reduced power as we crossed the runway we descended for 1 minute then
entered a 270 degree turn in whatever direction put us on the proper
downwind.

On Tue, 01 Aug 2006 21:18:32 GMT, Don Tuite
wrote:

I understand that the midfield crosswind entry is standard in Canada.
It's also one of the standard entries at my (controlled) home
field[1]. From that experience, I find I like it because it gives me
good situational awareness of what's going on with closed traffic,
45-degree entries, and base-leg entries.

There is a nuclear power plant a few miles south of my home airport.
To approach from the west (the usual direction, since the ocean is on
the east) and to make the usual approach to runway 20 therefore
involves a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, which is apt to make the
security guards nervous. Ever since 9/11, therefore, I have always
entered the 45 from the west, regardless of wind direction. If I am to
land to the north, I fly the standard pattern. If I am landing to the
south, I make a midfield crossover. (It's actually a bit south of
midfield.)

The Cub is NORDO. I carry a handheld, but interference from the
sparkplugs makes it unfeasible to transmit unless the engine is at
idle. So I announce that I'm on the 45 from the west as I am
descending to pattern altitude, and generally I announce when I'm
descending on base or final. But otherwise I'm silent, though of
course I'm listening (and looking). No one has ever complained about
this.

I do confess however that, the first time I saw a midfield crossover,
I was so startled that I flew off and did some practice stuff for a
while, then returned when I was sure this interloper had parked his
plane or else left the area.


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email: usenet AT danford DOT net

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