let's see if my "entrance" was right

[war.ace]

I was about to land and the tower told me to enter left downwind and land on runway 8. The wind was coming from 116 at 36 kts. I want to know if if my entrance was right. The arrow points where I received the message from tower.

[Kiwikat]

What you did there is a right downwind (you made right turns). Left downwind would have been north of that runway, not south.

[harleyman]

I never pay them any attention...LOL I hate ATC for the most part....

:woot:

[war.ace]

ok I think I sort of get it now. downwind means that I need to be to the downwind side of the runway? and when they say left, I need to turn left to the runway?

[PhineasT]

Not quite. Downwind is the name of a leg of the approach pattern, not an indication of where you should be. If instructed to approach left downwind, you will be making left turns, so your downwind leg will be to the right of and parallel to the runway. You will fly past the threshold, then make a left turn to base leg, finally another left to final to line up with the runway.

[AckAck]

I always remember it by figuring that left downwind meant the runway was on your left while you were flying "downwind", rather than making left turns. Either way though, it puts you on the correct side of the runway.

Brian

[quantumleap]

Of course in reality, CYTZ only has right-hand circuits for rwy 08 (so you did the right thing even if you did not follow the instructions from ATC). A left hand circuit would take you over the heart of downtown Toronto and very close to the CN Tower.

Jeff

[PhineasT]

Jeff -

FSX ATC is not too smart. In fact, they're so dumb that they'd probably drop a dime to the FAA. War Ace would be clear, though, and an FSX ATC controller would probably be up for "re-training" as a result.

Devs - there's an idea for an addon. An FSX FAA that could come down hard on the FSX ATC, and maybe straighten this system out! :173go1:

-Dave

[war.ace]

downwind and upwind has nothing to do with the wind right?

[Brett_Henderson]

downwind and upwind has nothing to do with the wind right?

In theory, it does. The active runway, is the one that's most "into" the wind. But since wind never blows exactly "with" a ruwnay, it's kinda vague.

All you need to know, is that the downind leg is when you're flying parallel to the runway, heading the opposite direction of runway heading.... then you turn to the base leg.. and then turn final (upwind) to land.. and if you're doing toch-n-goes.. your next leg would be the crosswind.. and then back to the downwind... the big rectangle that PhineasT posted..

[war.ace]

ahhh...I get it now. I just dont know what touch and go is.

[war.ace]

so is this right?

[cheezyflier]

ahhh...I get it now. I just dont know what touch and go is.


whatever you do, don't ask google what a touch and go is. you'll get a boatload of wrong answers. :costumes:

if you were doing them, you would be practicing. just landing and immediately taking right back off again.

[ryanbatc]

so is this right?

If ATC told you to make left traffic for Runway 6, then yes, it was correct. However I can't tell how far out you flew. In a small aircraft you normally fly about a mile from the runway on the downwind.

[TeaSea]

Remember you're entering a PATTERN. That means Altitude,Distance from the runway, and SPEED. For GA type aircraft that altitude is usually 1000 Ft. AGL. So, when you enter the pattern from either a 45 or from xwind, you'll want to be at pattern altitude, and at an appropriate speed, generally slow (generally 100 kts for GA). As far as distance from the runway, good rule of thumb is "close enough to make the field if the engine quits". So ryanbatc's 1 mile advice is good for larger aircraft, might be a bit long for smaller one's -- but it also depends a bit on the situation (winds). For the SIM it's a pretty good distance.

If you're at an untowered field, which is the majority of the fields in the world, your standard pattern is LEFT. There are many fields that use a RIGHT pattern though. You would find that published in the Airport Directory, or on the chart. Get a look at a chart at Skyv (http://skyvector.com/)ector.Com (http://skyvector.com/)

When you come abeam the numbers, start getting the A/C in landing configuration (remember GUMP, Gas-Undercarraige-Mixture-Prop). You'll also want to drop flaps.

[war.ace]

I notice that everytime the tower tells me to enter left downwind in FSX. Are there any situations in FSX where they tell you to make a right downwind or an upwind or even crosswind anything but left downwind?

[heywooood]

yes - you can be instructed to make a straight in approach or a right or left pattern entry at the downwind leg or at the base leg - I've heard FSX atc give all of these instructions..

touch and go is critical flight training instruction, where you practice flying in the circuit or 'pattern' and then practice your landings and then touch down on the runway (or not - if you are practicing a missed approach or aborted landing) and then you learn how to quickly and safely reconfigure the airplane for take off / climb out and go around again...good clean fun especially in any kind of a crosswind.

[BananaBob]

Thanks war.ace for bringing this topic up, it's been very informative! :ernae:

[TeaSea]

I notice that everytime the tower tells me to enter left downwind in FSX. Are there any situations in FSX where they tell you to make a right downwind or an upwind or even crosswind anything but left downwind?


Ahhh, but the ATC should normally tell you that....

The default pattern is LEFT, so all things being equal on a single airstrip approach you will be directed left downwind, or left base. To get the ATC to vary the approach, try coming into airports with parallel active runways or way downwind of the active. Play with the winds a bit also and see what the computer calls.

But remember, the default is left.

As an aside, I've noticed that on Instrument (ILS) approaches the ATC will also have you do a circle to land more often than not. Most real world ATC will not have you do that unless winds and runway length are a significant factor.

Also on instruments, the ATC will always defualt to a GPS approach if its available. You will have to request an ILS...but you have that option.