hey everyone Jason Schappert here of m0a calm and I love this video from our
brand-new private pilot online ground school which the entire team here at m0
a.com works so hard to help come to fruition and honestly if you loved this
video you're gonna love the entire online ground school there is a link for
a free trial in the video description for this video so you can hop on some
webinar see all the videos private instrument commercial FOI and take a
look at everything MGM has to offer for two weeks totally free this video is
just flying a normal traffic pattern while it sounds so basic we take you
through every nuance of the traffic pattern it's one my favorite videos
because we do it in the airplane that started it all frames joy calm that is
five one two Romeo an airplane on my very first airplane I bought sold the
airplane and ended up buying it back many years later so a lot of history for
me in this video but we'll start on the ground teach in the studio and then
we'll take you up in five one two Romeo as we teach in our private pilot online
ground school of the normal traffic pattern in this video we're going to
learn how to fly the traffic pattern the traffic pattern is a rectangular course
around the airport and we fly the airport traffic pattern or at least part
of it to leave the airport as well and to get back into the airport most
airport traffic patterns are an altitude of 1,000 feet above the field elevation
of the airport now if your airport is at 500 feet mean sea level as its elevation
also known as MSL the airport traffic pattern will be 1500 feet MSL most
airport traffic patterns are left traffic but there are a few exceptions
where we make right traffic mean left or right hand turns in this rectangular
course look at this sectional chart with me here when we see the name of the
airport with a designation RP next to it it tells us the airport has a right
pattern this is the Seattle sectional chart we can see the letters RP but
the name of the Auburn Airport that means the traffic for runway one-six at
Albarn makes all turns to the right now there's many reasons for an airport to
have right traffic the most common reason is that there's an obstruction or
maybe there's a noise a sensitive area on the opposite side of the airport such
as a hospital a residential neighborhood a bird sanctuary no matter which way we
make the turns though we need to know that all turns are 90 degrees from each
other in heading Mountain Bank angle please in heading making this 90 degree
turns so if we take off from runway 1 7 with left traffic your next turn will be
to a heading of 0 8 0 which is 90 degrees off the left of 1 7 runway 1 7
the first turn is called the crosswind turn and it happens when we're about 700
feet above ground level now while turning you continue to climb
to pattern altitude and you make your turn to downwind next pattern alt is
usually a thousand feet above field elevations so again the fields 500 feet
our pattern will be 1500 feet MSL the downwind leg is parallel and 180 degrees
opposite of our upwind leg that departure leg the leg we took off on
right while downwind the lateral sight picture
will be about halfway up the strut of a 172 the heading you should fly should be
a hundred eighty degrees off the runway heading so if you took off from early
one seven what heavy would you fly we'd be flying a heading of 353 five zero
because it'd be the reciprocal 180 degree opposite now you want to be about
a half mile to three-quarters of a mile laterally from the runway there's a
tendency by the way to fixate on the runway you keep looking to the left and
when you do this your tendency is actually to drift towards what you're
looking at to drift into that runway so find something off your nose in the
distance where you can put the nose the airplane on and track towards that to
make sure we maintain this same in distance from the runway so
unless you're flying off an aircraft carrier the runway it's not gonna be
trying to get away from you right it's still over there you don't have to keep
staring at it now while on down when it's a good idea to go through our pre
landing checklist and flow if you haven't already there's a very popular
acronym for kind of going through this checklist and sometimes called the
Gump's check G umps it stands for gas undercarriage mixture primer for Peller
pump fuel pump and safety items such as seat belts another s gas make sure the
fuel is on and on or on to the correct engine if you're flying a lowing
aircraft fuel selector on the fullest tank undercarriage that's our landing
gear well it should be in the down locked and welded position our Cessna
172 right if you're flying a retractable gear airplane we have to think of that
as well as a possibility here and that's where you look out make sure you see
each tire if you're in a high wing aircraft and you can see that so we
always want double check that next the M mixture should be all the way rich or if
you if you need to have it lean for any reason it should be set where it needs
to be for best power but typically it's gonna be full rich in the scenario the P
primer and in locked it may mean fuel pump another P on propeller if we have
an adjustable constant speed variable pitch propeller propeller full forward
as well and the S is our safety items typically it ends with us with our
seatbelts but safety items can also be our my lights on right other things that
pertain to safety particularly to your aircraft ideally you'll do this gump
check three times on down one on base and final just double checking
everything now to the task of slowing down the airplane we're probably shown
an indicated airspeed of anywhere from ninety to a hundred knots on downward
again it just depends on what aircraft you're flying these aren't hard set
numbers it's the numbers that need to work for your airplane your instructor
will tell you that now when we are across what's called our a beam point
meaning when we're abeam our touchdown point when I look to my left and left
traffic and that is perfectly perpendicular to me my a beam
point there I want to go ahead and reduce my power back I always teach in
my aircraft case it's carbureted car Pete power back ten degrees of flaps
when I say power back it's roughly fifteen sixteen seventeen hundred rpms
is where I bring that power back to the airplane will start descending don't let
the nose drop because that's actually going to increase your airspeed just
taking the thrust away we'll start our descent here now we want to make sure
we're thin the white arc before we deploy those flaps as well and that's
why it's important to know our aircraft's V speeds and when we can
actually lower the flaps in the aircraft here so we're gonna actually turn our
base leg when the runway is 45 degrees off our shoulder so if I started
perpendicular to my abeam point and then when that travels 45 degrees back over
my shoulder is about what I want to make my base turn now I've descended by the
way I should be about 200 feet less than traffic pattern altitude while I get to
this 45 degree point and then I turn base now as we turn base I don't want to
add flaps and turn I need to add more flaps on base assuming on conditions but
I teach to never add flaps in a turn and here's why simply I'm turning right I'm
turning in the aircraft and I'm I'm slow I'm low and when I add flaps whereas the
nose want to come right the nose tends to want to come up a little bit I'm low
I'm slow one wings producing more lift than the other in a turn and I the nose
has kind of a tendency to come up when I add flaps has all the ingredients for a
stall spin scenario now doesn't it not something I want to find myself in so I
add flaps on base once my wings aren't level
now when the runway threshold is ahead of us we're on base now so you can
picture that we're on base now when the runway
thresholds about a 45 degree angle from us we turn final and we do this using a
standard rate term we can add once wings level add flaps is necessary and fly in
the vast sea or the Papy if available remember red over red to low bump your
head right red over red bump your head of a lot of starters use a more forceful
new it says red over red you're dead it's
kind of grim but it certainly gets your attention right it's a way to remember
that so now if we look at the lights we see white over white I'm out of sight
I'm too high if you're too low and power if you're too high reduce power and
perhaps add more flats that's an option now what about radio calls if you're a
towered Airport you'll ask the tower for permission to land at a non towered
Airport you'll self announce each turn in the traffic pattern so turning
crosswind turning down one turning base turning final but don't drop the
airplane right to fly the radio continue to fly the airplane you'll notice early
on your instructors gonna help you with radio work because it's so overwhelming
to multitask and eventually they'll give you some of that that you know work to
do in the airplane as you add radio calls in there back to landings though
every landing you understand is different and I say this because as an
instructor you fly with some pilots who have pattern procedures memorized when
they turn final they automatically drop the flaps but what if the airplane is
too low right you're seeing for red lights dropping more flaps would be
foolish so we don't do it some people get in these habits here you'd be
careful of that and realize that every landing is different different runways
different wind different weight it's always changing but if we can keep it as
standard as possible that's one of the first secrets to a perfect landing
it starts with a perfect traffic pattern so now we've heard how to fly the
pattern let's head out to the airport and fly the traffic pattern so you can
see what it looks like a ground school members Jacek back with you at five one
two Romeo I just had a 172 - a nice little touch ago ahead of me I'm holding
short runway 5 at Williston and I'm taking you for a lap in the traffic
pattern to teach you the traffic powder make sure my seat belts good shoulder
harness set everything's good run up his already complete everything's good there
we're all set up do one final peak I already made my spin around to see and
Willis - traffic cessna 5 1 - romeo is departing runway 5 close traffic
Williston made my radio call all is good double
checking final and we're just simply going to go over the legs of the traffic
pattern watching to make sure I'm totally clear that aircraft is faster
that man he is also clear using all my available runway here everything is set
set looking outside confirm five runway five and five on my magnetic compass and
let's roll the moment we lift off or on what lag of our traffic pattern the
moment we lift off we're on the upwind leg of our traffic pattern air speeds
alive or join three to four bits left crosswind runway five and he's a little
bit ahead of us he's turning our next leg as you heard which is left across
when we are up everything is looking good engine gauges all still great
airplanes flying great this is the airplane that started all forever zero a
comp out over a decade ago most certainly loved this little airplane
here fluid from Daytona Beach Florida the Catalina Iowa California and back it
was trying to catch rep Nadine departing let me by without departure so I've got
one across and visualize this with me I've got another Cessna 150 behind me
who's departing he's compelled to the port toward beautiful left downwind vibe
he's well ahead makes he's turning left down passed through five hundred feet my
traffic pattern altered here's a thousand feet AGL MSL almost the same
one here here in Florida so when I get three hundred feet from the traffic
pattern altitude so seven hundred feet I turn the next leg of my traffic pattern
which is my left cross went that I look first I raise it away look at we turn
Willis to traffic susta five one two Romeo's turning left crosswind runway
five Williston always starting and ending the radio call and we're teaching
radio communications now getting ahead of ourselves but always starting and
that date night radio calls where we're at one nine eight thick coat
9 mile final runway 5 will preface now this brings up a really great scenario
here's somebody who's not breaking the rules just call up at 9 mile final for
runway 5 I'm gonna thousand feet I'll bring my power back a little bit and I'm
gonna turn my next leg which is my left now and we'll discuss that
9 mile in a second will is the traffic cessna 502 romeo is turning left
downwind runway 5
he's a touch ago and he's well ahead of he's already at the base I've just now
turning my down he's much much faster than I am
my heading should be about a 2 3 0 but give it the wind it may need a change
and adjust for there I'm a much much slower aircraft it won't set me to out
in front of me there I'm tripping up don't want your airspeed get away from
me at this point and now let's talk about the problem we were presented with
here the one in front of me the one cent each I'm not worried about he's on base
he's final he's a touch ago we were nicely spaced in the traffic time we
could be in the traffic pattern all day together no issues the other 150 I see
him despite him only making one radio call he was taken off he's now making a
right cross went departure not illegal but not correct I have an Aztek a Bolton
should hear this guy up 1 2 1 2 uniform is on final runway 5 will be departing
to the so he's a touchy go he's got the part out of the southeast out to
probably make another right cross with departure here I've served up this Aztec
who called up 9 miles it hasn't really said a word here so I'm watching for him
I could even call him out and ask how far out the traffic I'm a be my
touchdown point I've got him six miles out it's I'm gonna go ahead and make my
traffic pattern here because I can keep it in he's if he's still six miles out I
think we're gonna be a-ok carpi power back degrees of flaps and we're
just gonna fly our normal traffic part he was 9 miles out when I was on the
crosswind that was only six miles out I'm just
doing the math at my head we're gonna be a-okay pulling on it like this i'ma turn
my bass when I get a 45 degree point off I touch that point which I am Williston
traffic cessna 5-1 to Romeo is turning left base runway five Williston my other
option there is to either extent and I could have extended he's flying all
right he's gonna make a right turn out got thick arrow 198 thick to tell for my
final run away five will make another radio call this turbine him and Willis
to traffic cessna five one to romeo as a left base for five be a full stop
Williston up watch for him magically all of a sudden got a whole lot faster watch
for him but I'm still focused I have the right to the runway I have this lower
aircraft I'm heading that way up the closer aircraft it is my runway but just
because I have the right away doesn't always be their top you know they can't
cut you off or anything like that it's like driving a car right this is a
perfect scenario huh everything's good boiling checklist everything set set set
again staying focused on us here let's go ahead and let's turn our last leg
which is called final and Willis the traffic system five onto Romeo's turning
final runway five a full stop Williston we're going to go ahead and turn final
here winds really blow it now feel blowing us kind of all through we have
the runway we're looking great and airspeed is perfect right at 70 right
where I want to be slightly above my glide path I could think of a better
place to be honest I'd rather be a little too high and a little too low
we're gonna listen for that arrow and I am gonna be courteous to play with the
traffic era one nine eight six hotels two and a half mile final runway five
will the traffic still two and a half miles out not that much of an issue but
I'm still going to be courteous I'm not gonna race off the runway but I'm not
gonna drag anything out either by any bands on purpose or coming on and a nice
easy little gust real nice and here comes the nose and
again it stops quite easily here it off at plenty of time and then one thing I'm
going to do is about an ounce for him for his sake that I am clear so V nose
move the traffic era one final once I get officially clear past the hold short
line I will say that I still don't see him out there but he says he's out there
and once we get past the whole shoreline we'll make that radio call and Wilson
traffic when two Romeo's clear runway five
williston let him help clear what a perfect scenario a busy day in the
traffic pattern to show that and show that decision-making say listen I prayed
a turn base he's on a six mile final yeah he's an arrow he's a little bit
faster but as we saw arrow 198 the Kotel Glickman runway five will the traffic
now he's going I do see him file he's going miss he was probably shooting an
instrument approach a bit nice if he said that but again we saw a lot of
things we saw her right to right-hand departures not illegal but not proper
either we learn more about this throughout this course and so cool to
show you what happened to the book and what
happened to the real world sometimes so listen guys hope you enjoyed that I'll
see you at the alchemists yeah