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BACK TO BASICS
MICHAEL CHURCH
JANUARY, 2003
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Happy New Year!
Last month I made three important suggestions for avoiding midairs when entering a traffic pattern: 1) always enter on a 45 to downwind, 2) recognize that the lion's share of the avoidance responsibility falls on the shoulders of the arriving pilot, 3) don't rely on ATC.
The next important key is to make sure your 45 aims at the middle of the runway, not the departure end. The "coffin corner," so named, I suppose, because of fatalistic acceptance of the inevitable, is the point in the pattern where arriving aircraft merge with those turning from the crosswind–whether departing or remaining. There is no doubt it is a dangerous spot. To sidestep the problem, don't come in aiming at the point most likely to produce conflict–aim instead at the middle of the runway. At longer strips, where departing planes may well turn out before reaching full length, it is best to adjust your aim point even closer to the threshold.
GUMPS
During the approach, landing checklists can become a dangerous distraction. Unless you are flying an aircraft sufficiently complex to require a second pilot, using a memorized procedure is preferable to burying your head in a written checklist. GUMPS (Gas, Undercarriage, Mixture, Propeller, Seat belts and switches), or BGUMPS (Boost, Gas, etc.), or perhaps even BCGUMPS (Boost, Cowl flaps, etc.) all work well to get the job done while ensuring you keep your head out of the cockpit where it belongs. Of course, the best suggestion is to do the entire checklist well before the start of the 45.
MERGE
Another crucial observation about the 45 has to do with where you should be looking as you approach and turn onto the downwind. The habit pattern I see most has pilots on the 45 looking AHEAD at the downwind in order to try to locate the traffic they will be following. This is a little screwy. It's also a little scary. As a parallel, it's like a driver looking ahead at cars that have already passed as he merges onto a freeway. They aren't a threat–it's the cars alongside he should be worrying about.
As you fly the 45, keep scanning the UPWIND and CROSSWIND legs for traffic–if there's a threat, that's where it is. When you actually get to the downwind, there will be plenty of time to locate the people up ahead you need to follow. Landing sequence is obviously important in avoiding collisions, but it only becomes an issue after you have safely joined the downwind.
PATTERNS
Published pattern altitudes do more than help control aircraft noise. They help keep things predictable. A pilot who flies the pattern several hundred feet high or low helps to insure that others will have a hard time seeing him. The same observation can be made about pattern shape. Pilots who fly a mile or more away from the field on downwind are asking for conflicts. Although I despair of ever seeing more than two GA pilots in a row fly sensibly sized patterns, I continue to recommend close-in, tight downwind and base legs. In addition to increasing safety in the event of engine failure, small patterns make it much easier for others to see you as you prepare to land.
But wait–there's more! An even higher number of pattern collisions occur on final than at the "coffin" place. More next month.
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