That Worst Day....

[PFLsAgain]

There I was, joining overhead in a busy circuit after a cross-country jolly. Identified the active runway, deadside, liveside etc. Start into the descent and wonder what on earth these aircraft were doing in the wrong place. Give some consideration to climbing out and figure out what's going wrong. Didn't. Wish I had!! Seconds later an aircraft looms large and a voice on the radio informs me that I have descended live side.

Oh sh!t. :( :(

Sort it all out, get on the ground. The guy in the aircraft I nearly hit was rightly not impressed. He took it all more calmly than I would have done. I apologised - what else could I do. Somehow, sorry seems so inadequate when you've messed up so badly.

After a chat with the CFI (friendly, would you believe), he made me go out as P1 with the guy I had frightened to death, and do an overhead join the right way this time. Managed OK, but I'm still pretty jumpy about the whole thing.

What I can't figure out is:
1. I identified the circuit and all the positions correctly, but still screwed it up.
2. When it was all going wrong, it didn't dawn on me that I was the one making a mess of things.

Don't really feel like getting back into an aircraft until I can sort that one out. Any ideas?

[tmmorris]

I think this originally came from Irv Lee...

Approach the airfield so as to put it on your LEFT side if LH circuit is in force, or RIGHT if RH, at 2000ft AAL. As you enter the overhead call overhead.

Fly around the airfield perimeter until over the numbers for the runway you want. Make all turns to the LEFT if LH, RIGHT if RH.

Call 'descending deadside' and make a descending turn to circuit height (keeping all turns in the same direction).

When the tailplane is in line with the runway turn downwind.

Works for me...!

Tim

[AerBabe]

Did exactly the same thing on one of my solo landaways as a student PPL. Luckily it wasn't a busy day, but there were a couple of others in the circuit. I don't think I got close to anyone. Fortunately I realised when at around 1500 ft and crossed over to the real deadside PDQ.
Now, if I'm landing away somewhere, I'll sketch out the r/w configuration on a piece of paper. Then I'll phone up the airfield to check they're open, which r/w is in use and which circuit direction. I'll use a coloured pen to draw in my rough route on the r/w diagram.
Then I check and double-check. And if someone else is in the clubhouse I'll get them to check again!

Bear in mind that I did all my PPL training from Coventry, where we join base leg. So my grand total of O/H joins could is fairly low.

[Genghis the Engineer]

I've screwed up worse than that before now, and suspect so have most other people around here. The important thing is not to commit the same mistake twice.

My personal solution to this is to have the relevant Pooleys page in my kneeboard, and draw the approach on in chinagraph once I've been given join details. Works well, although occasionally I'm known to remove the card and orient it with the world outside the window to reduce the strain on my grey cells.

My regards to your CFI, I like his attitude and approach.

G

[Flyin'Dutch']

Hi PFLs

Can happen to us all. Main thing is you stuck to rule #1! (dont hit anyone!)

We live and learn. You are obviously happy to learn and that is a great asset.

No doubt some will give you some elaborate answers on how to work it out just pick those that may work and give them a go.

I just put the VFR plate on my lap orientate it so that it will show the aerodrome the way it will look when I approach it. Identify the active runway and then run your finger from your current position/ direction over the paper the way in which you want to join and then via the circuit to the numbers.

You write:

He took it all more calmly than I would have done

And learn from this that one day someone will cheese you off. If you are calm it is all the more impressive and you give the other poor blighter the chance to learn something too!

:D

FD

[Chilli Monster]

Use the DI - and no, I'm not being flippant ;)

Superimpose the runway on the DI as you approach the field. This'll help you ident the runway as you approach as you can see which way the runway will be lying in respect to yourself.

Then use the DI to work out which side you are and whether you will have to overfly the runway - for example:

Rwy 21 with a Left hand circuit - you're approaching from the south (heading 360)

So - 360 is at the top of the DI, the runway runs from top right to bottom left on the DI, left hand circuit so you can see that the circuit direction is actually the side of the runway that you are approaching from.

Solution - overfly the runway and descend on that side.

If the circuit was right hand then superimposing the runway and circuit on the DI would tell you that the deadside is the side that you're approaching from - so don't cross the runway.

Try it - it works every time :)

CM

[Aussie Andy]

PFLs - OK, so it happened... but as others have said, you have emerged from the experience with the right attitude, and I bet it will probably never happen to you again! Something else might though... :eek:

Joking aside, we are all able to scr*w up. I use the same method as others have suggested above, i.e. VFR plate on my lap and mark chinagraph lines on it before making the approach. My UK plates are always oriented northwards up...

However, when flying in Australia earlier this year, on first approach to an airfield I had not been to before (Wollongong - YWOL) I put the plate from ERSA (the Australian AIP supplement with the plates in it) on my lap... The airfield was quiet, and I made "blind calls" on the frequency... announced I was "joining overhead" for runway xx... then "descending deadside" for runway xxx, etc.

But as I flew across the upwind numbers I thought: "that's strange... they've painted the wrong numbers on that runway..." D'oh!!! - how dumb can you get!? Of course I was not in the right place... then I suddenly realised the problem: Australian VFR plates in ERSA don't necessarily have NORTH at the top of the page!!! I then very quickly realised which way was "up" (in this case, the longest runway ran up and down the page, and so the top represented about West), re-oriented myself, and sorted it out... Thank God no-one else was in the circuit at the time though, eh!!!

Andy :D

[formationfoto]

Respect to you for being so public with your screw up - most of us have done worse but kept quiet about it - and respect to the others involved including the CFI. Just goes to show the value of assuming that there is someone around who could screw up and ruin your day and being ready for it when it happens rather than ranting and raving which hardly ever does anything other than raise the blood pressure beyond the level required by the AME.

[matspart3]

Happens much more than you'd imagine.

My instructor taught me not to descend until the wing that corresponds to the circuit direction (ie left/right) points at the landing threshold

[PhilD]

I thought the Aussie globe had south at the top, so all the maps were that way as well...

[Aussie Andy]

PhilD - ha! fair point I s'pose... shoulda seen it coming! :ok:

[PFLsAgain]

Thanks to all for your comments and support - much fairer than I deserved. I've carefully read all of your suggestions and there's much good sense there. I'll try to put some of it into practice!

[FlyingForFun]

PFLs,

You're not the first, and you won't be the last. In fact, I did exactly the same just a few weeks ago, but was fortunate enough to have a fellow PPL in the right hand seat to point it out to me.

Not quite as bad as when I joined at an airfield in America, and decided to fly a right-hand circuit for 04R when everyone else was flying left-hand circuits for 22L - ATC were not impressed with me! :eek:

A wise man once said: we start out in aviation with a full bag of luck, and an empty bag of experience. The aim is to fill the bag of experience before we empty the bag of luck. You've just moved one chip from the luck bag to the experience bag - congratulations!

FFF
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[vancouv]

I think it can be quite easy to confuse the dead side, particuarly if you fly somewhere where it changes depending on the runway in use.

I like to work out the headings of all the circuit legs so I know what direction I will be going at any time, and then I should be flying the base heading as I cross the runway before starting my descent on the dead side (hope I've got that the right way around!! :O ).

Also, if I'm not completely happy about it, I sometimes just hold in the overhead while I finally check out what is going on.

[bcfc]

I got very confused when I was arriving back at a small US field with two runways in use and where the wind was quite brisk & moving around quite a bit.

After listening on the unicom, it seemed that 27 was primarily in use but I did hear reference to someone on 20. As instructed by the FBO beforehand, all arrivals are on a 45 into the pattern and so I entered on a 45 LH for 27. As I did do, I stared down at the guy on 20.

No one was fussed and it all seemed pretty normal but still not sure if I was wrong or not. In hindsight, I should have just joined on base but no one seeme to do that there.

OK, so not an overhead story but one that go my heart racing.