I'd like to practice take-offs and landings on a small airport that does not have a tower.  How high and how far should I be from the airport on the downwind leg, and how far away should I be when I turn to the base leg and final approach?

Thanks.

Generally at least 1500 AGL for that type of aircraft.   So you'll fly 3-5 mi patterns.  Basically on downwind you'll be 3 to 5 miles away from the runway.  I've seen larger jets fly tighter patterns and smaller planes fly larger patterns hehe

1 hour ago, ryanbatc said:

Generally at least 1500 AGL for that type of aircraft.   So you'll fly 3-5 mi patterns.  Basically on downwind you'll be 3 to 5 miles away from the runway.  I've seen larger jets fly tighter patterns and smaller planes fly larger patterns hehe

Go to most airfields in Australia that support "Airline Cadet" training schools and you'll see 172's flying downwind nearly 3nm from the field.

5 minutes ago, DavidP said:

Go to most airfields in Australia that support "Airline Cadet" training schools and you'll see 172's flying downwind nearly 3nm from the field.

I bet if any of them try power off 180 none would make it LOL

7 hours ago, ryanbatc said:

Generally at least 1500 AGL for that type of aircraft.   So you'll fly 3-5 mi patterns.  Basically on downwind you'll be 3 to 5 miles away from the runway.  I've seen larger jets fly tighter patterns and smaller planes fly larger patterns hehe

Thanks, how do I measure distance in the World Map?

6 hours ago, spinoza said:

Thanks, how do I measure distance in the World Map?

use google maps. 

Operationally you would put the threshold of the landing runway into the CDU or GPS as a guide, in your case you could probably just the airport identifier in and will work just as well to give you a ball park figure for distance on downwind, base and final.

A rough gauge 1.5nm from the field on downwind, at 3.5 turn base and start descent gear down aim for a 3nm final 1000' fully configured.

not sure if the longitude is Cat B or Cat C, performance category, however, either way it's a ball park figure and works for most jets

 

Edited February 23, 20233 yr by toucanair
hippopotamus milk is pink?

For slower pattern flight for GA aircraft the advice is to turn from the downwind leg to base leg once the threshold is about 45 degrees from where your plane is in flight. 

What is the rule of thumb for fast and powerful jets such as the Longitude?

21 minutes ago, spinoza said:

For slower pattern flight for GA aircraft the advice is to turn from the downwind leg to base leg once the threshold is about 45 degrees from where your plane is in flight. 

What is the rule of thumb for fast and powerful jets such as the Longitude?

The idea of traffic pattern its to stay close to runway in case of engine failure. Proficient GA pilot would do "tighter" pattern  Obviously it would not work exactly the same for jets . They fly wider, little higher . Diagram below may give some idea

https://code7700.com/visual_approach.htm