WELCOME TO
BROWARD COUNTY RADIO CONTROL ASSOC.
AMA CLUB 0749

BCRCA meets the third Wednesday of each month at the gun range at Markham Park at 8:15PM.

E-MAIL US AT BCRCA

PRESIDENT..............Ed West
VICE PRESIDENT....Lenny Handler
SECRETARY..............Shirley West
TREASURER..............John Logan
NEWSLETTER EDITOR..Richard Heganbart

BOARD MEMBERS ARE:

Vic Fromen
Bill Lauch
Joel Cimmino
Al Kline

E-Mail addresses of the Executive Council members of the AMA by district are:

Dist I - Don Kraft - none
Dist II - WesDe Cou - decou@gramercy.ios.com
Dist III - Bob Brown - rlb4+@pitt.edu
Dist IV - Chuck Foreman - Fax (919)441-6554
Dist V - Jim McNeill - Jemcneill@juno.com
Dist VI - Charlie Bauer - sbauer@charlie.cns.iit.edu
Dist VII - Don Bentfield - dbentfield@juno.com
Dist VIII - George Aldrich - noblur@juno.com
Dist IX - Russ Miller Fax (701) 455-3323
Dist X - Richard Hanson - richh@primenet.com
Dist XI -Ed McCollough - vpix@pacifier.com

Information on other Florida clubs Florida R/C Clubs or FL R/C Clubs.

The Ace

Five plane destroyed, shot down in flames,
He'd never know the pilots' names
Nor would he see how mothers cried
When they were told their sons had died.

He'd wear a medal on his chest
Proclaiming him to be the best.
While he was young, it brought him fame
And everyone would know his name.

But now he's old and been forgot,
He thinks about the tears he brought
To families he had never known
And feels a sorrow of his own.

He thinks in time there'll come a day
When he will also have to pay.
What right had he to take a life,
And cause so many others strife?

It's sad to think what war can bring,
First the thrill and then the sting.
I pray my son will never face
The chance in life to be an ace.

N. E. Gilboe F/Lt, RCAF

********************************************

Basic Flight Instruction; By: Andrew S. Rosz

Part 5 - The Landing Pattern

In this month's installment, I will discuss the landing pattern in general, and then the typical landing pattern for most model aircraft flying fields. I will not yet discuss landing approaches and controlled descent as these will be the topics of next month's article.

The main purpose of the landing pattern is to enable you to line your plane up with the runway before you start a controlled descent toward the runway. Another purpose of the landing pattern is to bleed off excess speed and altitude in order to properly prepare for a landing. With these two objectives in mind, let's talk about the landing pattern...

In its most simple form, a landing pattern comprises either a clockwise or counterclockwise circular flight path. For most of us, a clockwise flight path consists exclusively of right turns while a counterclockwise flight path is a series of left turns. In its more refined form, a landing pattern resembles a rectangle consisting of four parts or "legs;" the crosswind leg in which the plane is flying perpendicular and away from the runway, then the downwind leg which is parallel to the runway and "downwind," then the base leg; again perpendicular and toward the runway, and finally the final leg in which the plane is lined up with the runway for the actual landing. At any given airport or flying facility, the landing pattern is governed by two primary factors; the prevailing wind conditions and the direction of the runway(s). Deciding on whether to fly a clockwise or counterclockwise landing pattern is usually determined by the wind, in that the plane should always be landed into the wind; and for that matter, a plane should always take off into the wind as well.

A properly flown landing pattern resembles a true rectangle with 90 degree turns (not 90 degree banks) at each corner. In fact, some planes can only be landed with a properly flown landing pattern while others can be spot landed from almost anywhere in the sky. Regardless of what type of plane you fly or how you attempt to land your plane, I feel it extremely important that all pilots grasp the concept and master the skills of a properly flown rectangular landing pattern for both safety reasons and to help make landings as smooth as possible in less-than-favorable wind conditions. Exactly how long to make each leg of the pattern can only be determined by experience and varies which each individual plane. One point worthy of note however is that the turn to head downwind pretty much determines the overall size of your rectangle. If you turn downwind too soon, your base leg may end up looking like a semicircle in order to make the runway. If you turn downwind too late, this is not necessarily bad; it just means that you will have an exceptionally long base leg with plenty of time to think about making your turn to final approach. In fact, as long as you can still see the plane, it is advisable for beginners to make their crosswind leg as long as possible until they get comfortable with flying the landing pattern.

Both clockwise and counterclockwise landing patterns should be flown extensively before landings are attempted. Understand that the real skill in flying the landing pattern is one of timing. That is, learning how far out you should be before making that final turn so that your plane is EXACTLY lined up with the runway when you complete your final turn. Also, learning to coordinate that final turn on the landing approach requires a bit of practice to perfect your timing. If you make your turn to final either too soon or too late, you will find that heading corrections will be necessary while on final approach and most beginners are simply not capable of executing these corrections safely. In other words, landing safely with just ailerons and elevator requires the pilot to fly a well executed landing pattern since it also takes RUDDER (which we haven’t learned how to use yet) to correct from a poorly executed final turn. So if you screw up on your final turn, just go around again with a special emphasis on timing that final turn just right so that the plane will exactly line up with the runway each time. Practice this extensively with both clockwise and counterclockwise landing patterns. When you can fly directly over the runway each time without the need for major heading corrections, then you are ready for the next element of flying the landing pattern which is "controlled descent" on the landing approach; which as mentioned above, is the topic of next month's article. Until then, master both right and left-handed landing patterns with your instructor before you attempt an actual landing.

Interestingly, many pilots traditionally have more trouble with a right-handed (clockwise) landing pattern than with a left-handed (counterclockwise) landing pattern. There are many theories for this but perhaps the most convincing is the fact that most model aircraft runways are angled to some extent away from due North or due East. This angled nature often shortens one side of the flying field (whose land boundaries are often directly lined up with due North and due East) which can disorient the beginning pilot and may indeed require a longer base leg than most pilots first realize. In other words, most pilots turn to final approach much too soon when flying the right hand pattern on angled runways. So why do they do this? In fact, there may not be as much flying field present at the right side of the runway. Also, the angled nature of the runway on the short end of the field can be deceiving and accordingly, many pilots feel they have to fly a much tighter pattern on the right hand side, not to mention the everlasting threat of trees often found on the perimeter of some flying fields. Accordingly, each different model aircraft flying field poses its own unique features and challenges in flying a coordinated landing pattern. Trees, hills, buildings, antennas, and other obstacles each present potentially threatening landing conditions. These structures however can often serve a useful purpose as visual markers and aid the pilot in when to begin certain turns of the landing pattern.

The left hand landing pattern is much more suitable for beginners at most model aircraft fields and should be practiced first before attempting the right hand pattern. The left hand pattern is inherently easier for beginners probably because there are fewer obstacles, other hazards, or angled runways to contend with. With a left hand pattern, you can just fly your plane and concentrate on its flight path. Stick movements of the controls are also inherently easier for left hand turns as opposed to right hand turns for most beginners. As mentioned above, a suggestion to help the beginner perfect his landing pattern is to get visual ground reference points such as various trees, buildings, antennas, and bridge supports (if your field is near a major highway). Use these reference points in deciding when to make your turns. These reference points are pretty well established at most flying fields and accordingly, most instructors can usually point them out to you and explain their use. They really work and can help take the guesswork out of flying a good landing pattern. So practice flying the best rectangles that you can at a safe altitude. Once you can line your plane up with the runway each and every time, you're ready to learn about approaches and "controlled descent" which we'll talk about next month. Remember; to fly a good landing pattern, timing is everything so practice, practice, practice! See you next month.

Publisher’s Note: This article is but one of a series of twelve articles written to help the beginning R/C pilot in learning to fly radio controlled model aircraft through a structured program of skills development. The entire set of "Basic Flight Instruction" articles is available as a bound book publication for $20 each (includes shipping and handling). In addition to the twelve articles, the book publication also contains other useful tips for both student pilots and flight instructors alike. Please send check or money order payable to Andrew S. Rosz, CPA, and mail to: "Basic Flight Instruction Book" 2743 Madison Street, Hollywood, FL 33020-5733

Copyright © 1998 by Andrew S. Rosz

All Rights Reserved. This article is protected under the copyright laws of the United States. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any form; either electronically or mechanically, without the written consent of the publisher. Any unauthorized publication, copying, or reprinting of this article or any part thereof, without first obtaining a written licensing agreement from the publisher is expressly prohibited. A License to publish the complete series of twelve monthly articles is available to all AMA chartered clubs who wish to present the "Basic Flight Instruction" series, one article per month, in their monthly club newsletter; subject to the terms and conditions of the licensing agreement. The license is free of charge and includes all articles on disk in Microsoft Word format. A website license is also available to club-sponsored websites, free of charge; subject to the terms and conditions of the licensing agreement. Please direct all licensing requests on club letterhead indicating AMA charter number and signed by a designated club official to:

Basic Flight Instruction Licensing
c/o Andrew S. Rosz, CPA
2743 Madison Street
Hollywood, FL 33020-5733

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