Arriving Back at the Airport

As you plan your return to your landing site it's best to stay offset, so you do not fly directly over it. Not only should you offset yourself, you probably do not want to be going the opposite direction with the pattern. The way we return from one of our mountains sets us up well to circle the airport before entering the pattern.

Opposite Direction

However, some students will try and fly directly across the airport and opposite direction to the 45 entry. As we approach the 45 entry (opposite direction), the student is still busy looking straight down and backward to figure out the wind and traffic. Meanwhile, we are heading straight on to opposing traffic.

It makes a lot more sense to avoid flying directly over the landing area or airport so you can easily see what is going on.

I also had the opposite of this problem last week. We were headed back for landing, and the student was determined to avoid the airport that we barely made it to the pattern. Every last bit of altitude was used to make it to the pattern. The other issue with this avoiding the airport was the fact we did not know what the surface wind was and a lot of assuming was going on.

Mountain/Valley breeze

This was in the morning, and the mountains were beginning to heat sucking the air up the mountain, clearly showing us the wind in one direction, 180 degrees opposite to the surface wind at the airport 4 miles away.

The other problem was we were so far away the student was guessing on the surface wind; thankfully, it worked out because, at that point, we did not have the altitude to make another pattern.  We could have always landed in the opposite direction with a base entry or modified pattern. We were never out of options. However, it would have been self-inflicted had the winds on the ground been the same as the wind aloft.

Lip Service

Please remember not to give your landing checklist lip service and look at the wind. This planning needs to start as you are returning to the airport, not once there. How are you going to get back, and what is your plan for entering the pattern?

Plan A, B, C

Sometimes things do not go as planning, so having a backup plan is always required. I generally have my student ready with two ideas if things get worse. I call them Plan A, B, C…. I ask them if we hit sink what our plan is? We talk about it as we are heading back to the airport. Then as they are getting closer to solo, I simulate sink, and we jump to the next plan.

Banner Photo by Maciej Gebacz

 Garret Willat holds a flight instructor rating with over 8000 hours in sailplanes. His parents have owned Sky Sailing Inc. since 1979. He started instructing the day after his 18th birthday. Since then, Garret has represented the US Junior team in 2003 and 2005. He graduated from Embry-Riddle with a bachelor's degree in Professional Aeronautics. Garret represented the US Open Class team in 2008 and 2010 and the Club Class team in 2014. Garret has won 3 US National Championships.