Video: Uncontrolled Airport Operations

Perfect! I’ve been reading about this all day in anticipation of my first flight at an uncontrolled airport tomorrow!

Perfect! I’ve been reading about this all day in anticipation of my first flight at an uncontrolled airport tomorrow!

Awesome Danny! Let me know how it goes!

-Jason

I had the instructor do the complicated calls (joining the circuit and such) but I handled the easier ones. Next time he said I’m doing all the calls.

I had the instructor do the complicated calls (joining the circuit and such) but I handled the easier ones. Next time he said I’m doing all the calls.

That’s great! Hopefully the video helped quite a bit. Your contest prize you won is REALLY going to help. You’ll be sounding like a pro in a few hours!

That’s great! Hopefully the video helped quite a bit. Your contest prize you won is REALLY going to help. You’ll be sounding like a pro in a few hours!

Interesting to see the differences between different countries. In Switzerland, we enter downwind directly under 90 degrees, be it from inside our outside. In France the standard procedure is to cross downwind and rejoin with a 270° turn. UK does something a bit similar, with descent on dead-side.

I never heard of the kind of entry your shown, with the teardrop turn… at least on this side of the Atlantic.

Interesting to see the differences between different countries. In Switzerland, we enter downwind directly under 90 degrees, be it from inside our outside. In France the standard procedure is to cross downwind and rejoin with a 270° turn. UK does something a bit similar, with descent on dead-side.

I never heard of the kind of entry your shown, with the teardrop turn… at least on this side of the Atlantic.

Couldn’t you also join the upwind on a 45 as apposed to the overhead teardrop method? Let me know. This is standard procedure at the field I was trained at. Thanks.

Couldn’t you also join the upwind on a 45 as apposed to the overhead teardrop method? Let me know. This is standard procedure at the field I was trained at. Thanks.

Hi Mike,

Very interesting! I’ve never heard of that. The only method mentioned in the AIM is the 45 to downwind entry. Take a look at AIM 4-3-3.

It maybe possible your airport exercises non-standard procedures and this is just considered the norm.

Let me know what you find out!

-Jason

@Dusty

Dusty, For the the sake of this video we're remaining in the pattern not departing. I don't confuse upwind with departure. We were never leaving the airport to make a “departure call”

The AIM says (4-3-1 (c))

Upwind leg – A flight path parallel to the landing runway in the direction of landing

Departure leg – A flight path that begins after takeoff and continues straight ahead along the extended runway centerline. The departure climb continues until reaching a point at least 1/2 mile beyond the departure end of the runway and within 300 ft of traffic pattern altitude.

The terms upwind and departure have been readily exchanged for on another. I believe upwind is the most commonly used in the traffic pattern. Especially if one is doing pattern work

-Jason