Continuous turn to final

Of course, if we were to consider the continuous turn to final, we would have to look at the same for climb out. That brings a few additional issues.

Dave_Phillips wrote:

…we would have to look at the same for climb out.

OMG! You mean climbing and turning at the same time? Maybe even retracting gear and flaps while you do so? That’s not possible. Highly experienced test pilots have crashed and burned attempting this…

Indeed, but it would still need addressing. I routinely examine candidates and licensed pilots who struggle with the climbing turn. :)

PPL lesson 9(2) isn’t the best taught.

Peter wrote:

In some types e.g. the Socata TB it would be very difficult to imagine assymetric deployment because the two sides are joined with a thick linkage.

I have had an asymmetric flap deployment in a TB10. The thick linkage (a torque tube)you mention was not attached to the airframe. It was a maintenance issue, bolts missing. The flaps appears to move correctly on the ground but air loads made things different.

I have always lowered the flaps and given them a good waggling on the walk round since then.

Immediately after maintenance seems like the most dangerous time to fly an aircraft. The engineers always seem to move every switch even though, to be fair, they don’t usually leave things unattached.

The question is, what happens in an extremely busy circuit where traffic is mixed – ULs, C152, P28R, Mooneys, SR22 and the like? I recall an instance in Dunkeswell where there were 9 aircraft in the pattern, 4 of which were ULs, all practicing touch and goes. It was bad enough trying to keep spacing without ending up in Tumbleweed International’s airspace (Exeter) but what happens if this is adopted as an ICAO standard and you suddenly have aircraft turning at different positions on downwind for their turn to final? A slower plane will have a tighter turning circle means you might not even see the aircraft as it turns inside of you…..

Call me old fashioned, I’d prefer to follow traffic on downwind, turn on base and make sure I’m still following that plane, dito for final. And as someone else noted – if pilots stall on base – final, they’ll stall on a continuous turn to final because they will inevitably be prone to cross controlling their aircraft when overshooting the runway if they have a tail wind component when flying through the base leg……

I am very much in favour of circling approaches from downwind, when the traffic in the pattern, and pilot skill allow it to be safely flown. I train this for forced approaches from downwind. I train this to three pilots for hours this week. I train it with any of several precisions applied: Ball in the middle, accurately flown slipping turn, and use of flaps after a slip has been considered, but in all cases, a smooth turn, rather than increasing and decreasing turn rate, and the associated need to reco-ordinate the turn several times. To me, an approach with a constant turn, a constant descent, a steady deceleration, and low stress configuration changes is the most stable approach possible. More “changes” during the approach, mean the approach is less stable (in the context of considering the approach as starting from downwind.

Flying some portion of the “final” approach aligned with the runway centerline is wise, if there is doubt about holding the centerline in a strong crosswind.

This past week’s training (in a powerful Cessna STOL kitted taildragger) focused on forced approaches from a close downwind, with a full rudder slipped turn all the way around to final, maintaining the slip, and extending flaps later in the approach. as needed to “make” the touchdown point. Precise “making the spot” is more easy this way, as the turn can be tightened or opened up a little, without altering the approach much, and the slip can be exited or re-entered as needed to make the spot.

Flap asymmetry is a serious maintenance failure, which could be life threatening. If you suspect it, you have to optimize your flight for greatest safely. A turning final or straight is a decision which depends upon the situation. I have had one flap asymmetry (Cessna 180 on floats), and flew the remainder of the flight home with the flaps left at 20, and applying the required control – that was close.

The other advantage of constant turn approaches is that most planes have a better view 20 or so degrees off the nose, than looking forward over the cowl.