But, to make a new point, somebody asked how large a circuit should be? Well, how about defining it by time - I'd coin six minutes as the target from take-off to landing.
I think timing is very sensible. However, there's an issue: 2D in his blog thinks 5 and a half minutes is "staggering" so presumably 6 minutes is the sort of circuit for which he'd recommend survival equipment be carried.
How about someone actually times some?
And why does the size of the circuit increase proportionally with the size of the runway and the amount of class D airspace around it? I\'ve SERIOUSLY thought some people are off on a cross-country. The number of circuits/hour must be abysmal!
I don\'t think that\'s too surprising. With more commercial traffic to fit in and fairly conservative ATC protecting its IFR, bigger circuits are probably required more often at class D airports, so pilots just get used to flying them.