Fly a Perfect Pattern

Fully Configured
Pre-Landing Complete
Stable to Touchdown

Normal
Difficulty

Safety
Crew

Sometimes an exercise is just about the endless pursuit of perfection in the most mundane
things. Can you fly a “perfect” pattern? (And we really do mean, “perfect.”)

P assengers judge your ability as a pilot by the qual-

ity of your landings. And, be honest, so do you.
What passengers never notice is how precisely
tures, oil temperature(s), oil pressure(s), and fuel
flow(s) should all be as expected for your equipment.
A properly executed takeoff is one component of the
you fly the departure, crosswind, downwind, base, perfect pattern.
and final approach. But you notice, and you can strive
for as close to perfect as possible. Prove to yourself Maintain that Track on Departure
that you’re a master. Fly the perfect pattern. Scoring your departure should start with the roll on
the runway itself. As you accelerate toward liftoff, the
Before Takeoff nose should precisely track along the runway cen-
Start with a good pre-takeoff briefing. This includes terline. If there’s a crosswind, account for it. There
normal items such as discussing what will happen should be no side loading or weather vaning while
in an emergency, but should also include what your any wheels are still on the ground.
safety pilot will look for as Lift off at the proper liftoff
you depart. SAFETY NET speed and establish an attitude
When takeoff power · Sacrifice the perfect pattern if needed for to fly your target climb speed,
is applied, ensure you have separation or safety. most likely Vx or Vy. Now you
maximum available pow- must account for crosswind, so
· ...that, and all the normal cautions when
er. Propeller RPM, manifold adjust your heading as needed
airplanes converge in a single place.
pressure(s), engine tempera- to track the extended runway
14 HONE TAKEOFFS AND LANDINGS
 Crosswind

Downwind

Base

Mundane, you say? That’s exactly why it’s a great exercise. A pattern is good enough when flown within 100
feet and 10 knots, but it’s better to 20 feet and two knots. And the rest of your flying will be better as well.

centerline. Your score for alignment on departure in- as you continue to fly airspeed precisely. Keep the
cludes both the nose alignment on the runway before slip/skid ball centered throughout your climb. Aim
rotation, and ground track along the extended cen- for precision—nay, perfection—on this departure leg
terline until you turn crosswind. and the ones yet to come.
On crosswind, adjust your heading to fly a
Mind the Speeds on Crosswind ground track exactly perpendicular to the runway.
The AIM recommends turning to crosswind at 700 Maintain your target speed. That might mean a tran-
feet AGL, so use that unless local procedures dictate sition from Vx to Vy somewhere in this climb. It
otherwise. Make this coordinated turn to crosswind might mean transitioning to your downwind speed
HONE TAKEOFFS AND LANDINGS 15
 Not sure if you’re flying exactly half a mile from the
runway? If you have an EFB tool such as ForeFlight
on board, have your right-seater measure it.

It’s about half a mile for most light GA airplanes. This

is closer than most pilots fly, but it’s the standard. At
least have a number in mind because it’s part of your
score. Whatever that number is, continuously moni-
tor the turn, adjusting bank angle (and therefore turn
rate) as needed to establish that distance, and main-
tain a track parallel to the runway. Adjusting the bank
angle to seamlessly join the downwind leg isn’t cheat-
ing. It’s good airmanship. Fixing an overshoot or un-
dershoot after the fact is what you’re trying to avoid.
On downwind, level the airplane at pattern al-
titude (probably 800 or 1000 feet AGL) without an
overshoot or early level-off. Maintain the downwind
ground track and speed appropriate for your airplane.
before actually turning downwind if your airplane You get a bonus nod toward perfection for conduct-
has a strong climb rate. Do what’s needed to draw ing a flow or pre-landing checklist on the downwind.
crisp, perfect lines in the sky. The standard touchdown zone or target is a point
1000 feet beyond the threshold or one third of the
Nail the Distances on Downwind way down the runway, whichever is shorter. Abeam
When it’s time to turn downwind, do it so you roll this point, transition to descent with flaps and gear
out exactly at the desired distance from the runway. as applicable.

PUMP IT UP: DO IT STEEP AND BLIND

Some aviation pundits feel that loss of control in the and ready to put the flaps into
pattern, especially in the turn from base to final, can the landing configuration.
be eliminated by replacing the squared-off turns with It’s critical you watch for
a continuous turn from downwind to final approach. obstacles—don’t try this at night
Normal
Give it a try by flying the perfect pattern until the or in low visibility. It helps to fly
abeam position. From there, make a continuous turn a steeper, low-power descent, Difficulty
at a constant rate of descent from downwind to final closer to the airport when you
approach, so that you roll out on short final in time fly this pattern. Also know when
to make the decision to land or go-around—but this you’re inside the protected width
time you’ll be about 150 feet AGL. Your decision is of any PAPI or VASI. It’s usually
still based on being on speed, in configuration, on 10 degrees right and left of run- Safety
glidepath, and aligned with the runway centerline. way centerline. Remember that Crew
It just happens much lower as a result of the continu- you’ll have a constantly changing headwind and
ous turn. At this altitude, it’s even more critical to go crosswind component, so adjust your bank angle to
around if anything is out of spec. maintain a constant radius turn over the ground.
To hit that decision point, evaluate your prog- Is a continuously turning approach less vulnera-
ress at 90 degrees through this 180-degree turn. ble to a stall-spin accident? Can you still see traffic
You should be about 600 feet AGL with airspeed coming straight in? Is obstacle clearance compro-
slowing on a trend toward your short-final speed, mised? Decide for yourself.

16 HONE TAKEOFFS AND LANDINGS

 The perfect pattern means flying exact SCORECARD
airspeeds throughout the descent. Some pi-
lots like different airspeeds on the last part Scoring for the perfect pattern is based on the five parts:
of downwind, then base, and then final. Of- Departure, Crosswind, Downwind, Base, and Final. There’s
ten these accompany changes in flap settings. no score for the landing, but you can score that as well. It’s
Some pilots fly a single speed and flap setting said that a perfect landing comes from a perfect approach,
until landing is assured on final. so a high score here should yield some good results.
Whatever you do, your score depends on
hitting the targets smoothly and maintaining Departure—Climb at Vx or Vy, turn at 700'
them precisely until the next change. Ideally, AGL, track extended runway centerline:
you’ll fly a constant rate of descent all the way 1: -0/+5 knots, ±5° track, turn ±20'
from downwind to the landing flare. 0: Exceed any of the above

Set Up the Big Score on Base Crosswind—Vy to pattern altitude, track

When the touchdown zone is 45 degrees be- perpendicular to runway:
hind you, turn to base leg, adjusting heading 1: ±5 knots, ±5° track
as needed to fly precisely perpendicular to the 0: Exceed any of the above
runway as you descend.
It’s important to scan for traffic through- Downwind—Pattern airspeed & altitude, desired
out the entire pattern, but it’s especially im- distance from runway:
portant while you’re on base leg. The majority 1: ±5 knots, ±20', ± ¹/8 mile
of midair collisions occur on final approach 0: Exceed any of the above
below 400 feet AGL, with one airplane on
final overtaking another. On base leg, it’s Base—Descent airspeed, vertical speed, track
natural for your attention to be focused on perpendicular to runway:
the runway. Look away from the airport for 1: ±5 knots, ±100 fpm, ±5° track
airplanes on an extended downwind. Look 0: Exceed any of the above
across the final approach course for anyone
coming in from the wrong direction on the Final—Join final, then from 400' AGL to flare on
opposite base leg from you. It happens. airspeed, alignment, vertical path:
1: -0/+5 knots, ±5°, on glidepath
Allow No Latitude on Final 0: Exceed any of the above, or overshoot final
Time your turn to final approach to roll out
precisely aligned with the centerline. Again, Total Score for Fly a Perfect Pattern:
adjusting your rate of turn is fair game. Over-
shoots or undershoots are poor work, and
thus they ding your score.
After completing the turn to final, you’re in the proach and going around before entering the flare are
only part of the pattern where it’s acceptable to have the most important takeaways from this exercise. Use
the slip/skid ball out of center to compensate for this philosophy on every landing.
crosswinds. It’s up to you when this transition should If they’re on track, have your safety pilot note
occur. them for scoring (just as that person should have
On final, you should be on speed, in configura- been scoring all previous sections) and continue for a
tion (landing flaps and gear down), on glide path to landing. Your safety pilot may score the landing sep-
your touchdown zone with a steady rate of descent, arately if you wish.
and aligned with the runway centerline. At 400 feet A flight tracking program, like ForeFlight or
AGL, evaluate these criteria. If you don’t meet all of CloudAhoy, that can record these patterns helps scor-
these, go around. Attaining all targets on final ap- ing and, more importantly, debriefing your patterns.
HONE TAKEOFFS AND LANDINGS 17