yimke

Same, I have had to call out tower because they turned traffic in front of me on final on a base turn. The person on base would have never seen it coming, because we get in the mindset of "They will keep me safe." That was not the only time either.

I would highly suggest just a quick wings level to clear final. You can manage it in a jet, and keep it within a reasonable downwind.

ToastAir

Mostly piston singles. I have some turbine time, not much. I know the post was more about larger turbine aircraft. I just felt it important to make the point because every year we lose a few to low altitude stall/spin in the turn to final.

TheFly

You mentioned cross control stalls. Most of the time that situation is induced when you are overshooting final in a circle to land maneuver with a tailwind on base, flying your downwind too tight or truly squaring the turn in a high performance/turbine powered aircraft. I'm not saying you shouldn't square the turn, but I'd rather shallow the turn to clear final without overshooting the runway than go wings all the way level and risk overshooting final. Just my two tenths of a dime.

TheFly

...this is from a large TurboProp driver's perspective. In a Cessna 172 or similar, I'd square it every time.

propfails2FX

I've flown and taught civie square patterns as well as military racetrack circuits, and can tell you that the constant AOB xwind and base turns are superior. Better in terms of traffic flow (by a long shot), and easier to teach glidepath control/energy management.

GA has a lot of advantages over military flying, the landing pattern ain't one of them.

-You can check final approach in a turn.

-Nobody on this forum invented either the square or racetrack landing pattern. All of us have adopted the techniques we learned as a student as if we did. Try both and learn the pluses and minuses of each one. You'll be a better pilot for doing so.

JamesNoBrakes

Poor planning is poor planning, whether it's a cessna or king air. There's more than one video of a king air out there spinning it in on base unfortunately. It's not whether they are squaring or not, it's not planning for their maneuvering in the first place (distance wise).

sinkrate3278

Thanks guys!! Great feedback!

JohnBurke

It all depends on the circumstance. Sometimes you make straight for the numbers or a straight in approach. Other times you may be making wide, square patterns. Other times they may be closer and tighter.

I've done constant turns in small and large aircraft, and in I've done squared patterns in both.

When doing a constant turn to final, I like to roll the wings level briefly to clear traffic in the turn.

Don't confuse cross controlled stalls with tightening the turn a little. Don't get in the habit of thinking that crossing the controls is going to cause a disaster, either. That's usually the thinking of someone who heard it from someone else, ad infinitum, in the training pipeline.

I do a lot of tight patterns and non-standard patterns, overhead and midfield entries, direct entries to base, straight in, and so on...they've all got their place depending on the circumstances...and in other cases they shouldn't be used due to traffic, terrain, ATC requirements, local airport policies, etc. It's best to have a variety of techniques and practices that you can safely and comfortably use. In all cases, including continuous turns, you're not breaking any rules by taking time for safety, leveling or raising a wing briefly, or widening out a little to allow a shallower bank and more time.

On stalls, remember that you control whether the airplane stalls.

UnderOveur

This has happened to me on several occasions at uncontrolled airports. The 1st time I missed a mid-air by approx. 20 ft. (I was solo with all of approx. 25 TT at the time, and as someone said earlier, I was completely focused on the runway, not the airspace around it). I failed to remember that people can be off freq. in such an environment, and that there are even some guys who still fly without a radio (nevermind it's the 21st century and handhelds are relatively cheap vs. losing your life).

The thing is, you don't have to be turning to final to have it happen either. I've seen guys fly straight into base while I'm on downwind getting ready to turn base (instead of entering on the 45 to downwind) without making any radio call, and I've also been on a left base-to-final only to see someone else on a right base-to-final, coming straight at me. It's amazing, but some people still fly without radios, much less not being on freq.

If it's uncontrolled, my head is on a swivel no matter where in the pattern I'm located, and I follow entry and pattern procedures to the letter. It's why they were established in the first place.

.02

Bobman80

I agree that it depends but from my experience, flying at three carriers, most guys fly a fairly standard pattern.