“I’m on downwind” – Student; “Left or right? What runway??” – Other pilots
Traffic pattern operations are necessary to ensure appropriate aircraft separation, sequencing, and situation awareness. When pilots approach an airport and collect the weather information, they should be able to determine what runway should be used. If other aircraft are in the pattern already, you will figure it out by traffic calls they are giving on CTAF – and you should follow that traffic unless you coordinate a runway change. The FAA regards traffic patterns of having great importance (rightfully so), and issued in 2018 an Advisory Circular to help clarify their guidance and regulations: AC 90-66B.
Standard traffic patterns are always to the left, and if non-standard patterns exist (i.e., to the right), then you should able to note that on the VFR chart or in your airport information page on your EFB. Per 14 CFR Part 91, other ways of depicting non-left traffic patterns are through light signals or visual markings (see 91.125).
Note the *RP under the airport data block denoting some runways are non-standard pattern.
Entering or Departing a Traffic Pattern – aka “Should and not shall”
The FAA regulates only and solely the flow of traffic, not the entry or departure procedures. That means that whether you can fly left or right traffic is of a regulatory nature. Entering and departing is purely advisory (similarly to holding patterns). That being said, the FAA strongly encourages pilots to use the traffic pattern when entering/departing airports in order to facilitate traffic flow. You can of course fly straight-in to a runway or do something different, but you should announce that clearly on CTAF.
Entering the pattern should occur on a 45 degree leg into the downwind. This allows the pilot to observe the entire traffic pattern as they fly and join the flow. It is also a convenient spot to wait and maneuver if the timing isn’t right. Of note, 91.126 and 91.127 describe how all standard turns are to the left. The “turning right” to join the pattern is not inclusive of traffic pattern operations, and therefore is not a violation of those regulations.
Departing the pattern should occur on the upwind either straight in or at a 45 degree angle (in the direction of traffic flow) after reaching traffic pattern altitude (TPA). This can at times become inconvenient if your direction of travel is more aligned with the downwind. In my personal experience, if my direction of travel is aligned with the downwind, I prefer to depart on the downwind and announce that on CTAF. This increases situation awareness for me or other pilots. The alternative is to fly “far enough from the field” that you don’t interfere with the traffic pattern anymore before turning. That is however relative and not always easy to accomplish (other airspaces, SUAs, etc.).
AC-90-66B recognizes that there are cases where alternate entries into the pattern might be preferred by the pilot or necessary for safety (e.g., traffic separation). One of these examples is crossing midfield and then joining the downwind on the other side (See image below). In this case the FAA reminds pilots that one should enter the pattern at TPA to avoid descending onto other traffic. The preferred entry if crossing midfield is to fly TPA +500 ft and then turn right to execute something like a “teardrop entry” into the pattern, as shown in the image below (left). The descent to TPA occurs during this teardrop. Note also that the term “teardrop” is used in IFR maneuvers and should be limited in VFR ops. If the pilot wishes to enter the downwind directly from midfield, they should already be at TPA (right image).
Due to position, speed, and other traffic, I’ve often found myself entering the pattern on base. That simplified my maneuvering and altitude changes. That should however not be the norm.
Communications
Pilots should monitor CTAF beginning at 10 NM out and make an initial call between 8-10 NM. Of course, this is not always possible due to flight following, visual of the field, etc. The primary guidance that the FAA gives us is to be clear, concise, and precise. You should provide situation awareness to other aircraft and describe clearly your intentions. These are the calls that I typically teach my students.
Entering the Pattern
10 NM out or whenever you get a hand-ff to CTAF:
Airport/Traffic Name
Aircraft Type/ID
Distance
Direction
Intention e.g., “Miami County Traffic, Skyhawk 227TW 10 NM northeast inbound left downwind runway 03 full stop, Miami County”
5 NM out – same as 10 NM out
Repeat above as necessary if new traffic joins the pattern. You want to let others know where you are and what you want to do. Maintain and provide situation awareness.
Entering the downwind:
Airport/Traffic Name
Aircraft Type/ID
Entering the [leg]
Runway e.g., “Miami County Traffic, Skyhawk 227TW entering the left downwind runway 03, Miami County”
Established on downwind:
Airport/Traffic Name
Aircraft Type/ID
“Established on left downwind”
Runway e.g., “Miami County Traffic, Skyhawk 227TW established left downwind runway 03, Miami County”
All other legs just like (4). e.g., “Miami County Traffic, Skyhawk 227TW left base runway 03, Miami County” e.g., “Miami County Traffic, Skyhawk 227TW final runway 03, Miami County” e.g., “Miami County Traffic, Skyhawk 227TW upwind 03, Miami County” e.g., “Miami County Traffic, Skyhawk 227TW left crosswind 03, Miami County”
Other supplemental radio calls might be necessary to maintain situation awareness among other traffic. Say you are on final and an aircraft announces they are holding short of your runway, feel free to re-announce your position, e.g., “Miami County Traffic, Skyhawk 227TW short final runway 03 touch and go”. This allows the pilot holding short to recognize that they should continue to hold short and that you will be doing a touch and go, so they can expect no delay in taking off after you.
If you are inbound to an airport and want to know if there is traffic, you may want to ask whoever is managing your flight following if they see any targets. If you are not on flight following, then you should just exercise normal self-announcements as listed above and NEVER ask “Any traffic in the area, please advise”. The only time you revert to normal English is if you are unable to understand the situation and need some immediate clarification for safety purposes (or coordinate a change in runway, etc.).
You should also begin and end all your calls with the airport ID/name. That reduces the possibility of confusion as people tune to the frequency mid-call or the frequency is shared with another airport that may have the same runway designators.
Departing the Pattern
Departing the airport should include some on-ground radio calls to alert traffic of your intentions after takeoff. I usually teach the following:
Holding short of the runway.
Airport/Traffic Name
Aircraft Type/ID
“Holding short of [Runway] at [Taxiway, if applicable]”
Awareness of other traffic, if applicable e.g., “Miami County Traffic, Skyhawk 227TW holding short runway 03 for landing traffic”
Taking the active, departure.
Airport/Traffic Name
Aircraft Type/ID
“Taking the active [Runway]”
Direction of departure e.g., “Miami County Traffic, Skyhawk 227TW departing runway 03 for eastbound departure”
If you expect a delay on takeoff, I like to separate my calls in two:
“Taking the active…”
“Departing…”
Departing the pattern
Airport/Traffic Name
Aircraft Type/ID
Location in the pattern
Direction of departure e.g., “Miami County Traffic, Skyhawk 227TW upwind runway 03 departing straight out to the north”
Again, be precise with your calls to maximize situation awareness.
IFR Phraseology
One last thing. And this is a bit of a me being annoyed with IFR pilots who use IFR terminology in a VFR pattern. If you’re instrument rated, cool. Awesome. Don’t show off by using non-sensical terminology with VFR pilots. Always assume there are VFR pilots. Even AC 90-66B warns about this. IFR traffic does not have priority over VFR pilots.
E.g.: “Miami County Traffic, Skyhawk 227TW approaching COPAC on the RNAV 03, Miami County”.
Well, that is useless to most. And to be honest, even if you’re IFR rated it’s probably unlikely you know by heart every possible waypoint in the area. Instead, use VFR terminology to supplement your radio call. Or just use VFR terminology alone, if possible.
E.g.: “Miami County Traffic, Skyhawk 227TW on a 5NM final for runway 03 executing the RNAV approach, Miami County”.
Student Pilots
Finally, you are not the FAA. Do not begin teaching other pilots how to do things. Do your best in reporting your position and ask for clarifications when needed. Don’t quibble with other pilots (unless you’re me, of course) and postpone any discussion when on the ground. Moreover, if there are student pilots around, you don’t want to confuse them while they’re trying to be safe in the air. Try instead to be kind, understanding, and to foster an environment of safety.
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