August 13, 200421 yr Excellent points Lou.In close proximity to the airport, in VFR conditions, your eayballs should mostly be scanning the outside world and watching for traffic. This is where most of mid-airs happen.Also reviewing the airport layout on GNS430 well ahead of pattern entry is a very good tip.Michael J. Michael J.
August 13, 200421 yr >And I guess I'll address the rest of them.>>Yes. The purpose of the segmented circle is to aid a pilot>circling above the airport assess the current arrival>situation to decide which runway and traffic pattern to use. How big circle? Should a cross the center of the airport and then enter the circle or going directly to a point on the circle?What about when ATC and or ATIS gives you the situation and guidelines?>Deer. Lions. Elephants. A collision with such animals can>be fairly serious to a small GA plane, and even to an>airliner.But can you see them from above pattern altitude? Don't they jumpfourth in the last moments?
August 13, 200421 yr It all depends if airport is controlled or uncontrolled. If there is an operating tower - you have to listen to their instructions, in an uncontrolled airports you have much more leeway but ultimately everyting depends on volume of traffic and what is reasonable for that moment. Even long straigh-ins are possible provided you don't have to check windsock first.Michael J.http://www.reality-xp.com/community/nr/rsc/rxp-higher.jpg Michael J.
August 14, 200421 yr Author >>Agreed. I've seen several aircraft that were involved in>incidents with wildlife at my own airport. Fortunately nobody>was hurt (except for the animals, of course) in these>incidents, but they were lucky.>I almost ran into a coyote several weeks ago at KXNA during the landing roll. I saw the thing just as it trotted across the nose and went by the left side. My FO advised the tower of the animal and they sent out a fire truck to chase them off. However, it turned out there were about five of them hanging by the runway and they just ran circles around the truck. The last we saw 20 minutes later, the fire truck was still going round and round with them on the runway.
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