I am currently subscribed to FTN newspaper and receive monthly aviation and training news. In this blog I will provide summary lessons from an article in the Flight Training News (FTN) newspaper (March 2024 – Issue 420).

I felt this was really important to share – there are lots of lessons to unpack here. Take your time to read each one and digest it before your next lesson.

This article discussed the need for better education around circuits for better safety.

Re-joining the circuit:

• Student pilots are extremely confident in familiar surroundings (their home airfield), joining procedures and visual circuit pattern. However, often are not taught and prepared for the joining procedures and visual circuit pattern in another region or overseas.
• The instructor must prepare the student for all eventualities in foreign circuits. Perhaps your home airfield uses ATC whereas others use FISO – Flight Information Service Officer – Class G uncontrolled airspace. Or perhaps they use Air Ground Radio – this will often leave the student (or now qualified pilot) lacking the confidence to be agile and operate in a slightly different way.
• The writer put strong recommendations for student pilots to be taught early on the importance of foreign or oversea circuits, re-joining procedures and conditions.
• He faced

Go-around is not restricted to the landing approach:

Threat Error Management Example.

• Typically, instructors prioritise the landing approach to teach the potentials of a go-around.
• The writer stressed this NEEDS to change.
• Students should be armed with the necessary knowledge and tools to deal with a go-around or an arising situation in approach AND visual circuits.
• Go-around needs to be taught at each point of circuit – downwind, base leg before descent, base leg after beginning descent, on turn to final, the final approach and just before touch-down.
• This underpins the fundamentals of threat error management (TEM) – with the right training we can better detect errors or anomalies and respond effectively.

An approach is a Go-around until deemed safe:

• This underpins the basis of a stable approach.

• 1) Do all the pieces fit together? Is the plane stable? If any doubt – GO AROUND!!!
• 2) Students must achieve a consistent, stable approach at specified point in relation to the ground. E.g. 200aal over the road on glidepath and to the runway centreline.
• 3) Decide AND verbalise.

• Become a THINKING pilot not an AI pilot. Decide to land or not and verbalise your decision. This will help reinforce your decision as every landing is not a safe landing.

Most common poorly flown part of visual circuit is descent onto base leg. Here’s why!

• No methodology is usually followed – hence the final roll out onto the runway centreline (final leg) occurs at any altitude.
• The final approach is flow at various angles.

Here’s your typical descent:

• Turn onto base leg, max 30 degrees angle of bank (AOB), roll out from descent. Carb heat on – reduce power – select flap and lower nose to maintain speed. Trim. Approaching runway centreline and turn onto final approach.

• Those instructions sound great… but now the instructor is stating “you’re too high” or “you’re too low”…. With an irregular glide path.
• The reason for this is because majority of pilots fail to assess the approach from the start of descent

So here’s how you do it correctly:

• If a visual circuit is flown at 1,000ft aal – then this is the starting point.
• When the plane is turning onto the final leg (runway centreline) – usually at 500 aal – a point should be chosen on the ground. At this point the plane will pass. And the plane will be at 500 aal. Now it is on the correct glide path.
• Halfway between 1,000ft aal and 500ft aal another point should be chosen on the ground – at this point the plane will fly at 750ft aal.
• This is now the check of descent rate. There are 3 dedicated points.
• If the plane is too low in relation to dedicated points – descent rate is too fast.
• If the plane is too high in relation to dedicated points – descent rate is too low – STEEPEN.
• Here is a picture I’ve drown below to explain the above:

Do you see how smoother the approach path is from downwind leg to base to final leg. The final leg will no doubt be smoother and stable. Remember – stable approach!

I hope you were able to take home some key pointers from this blog. Happy flying!

Stay safe. x

The Proficient Airman.