Crosswind joins (uncontrolled)
I'm sorry to have a moan, but could we all please, please think carefully before making crosswind joins at uncontrolled/FISO airfields?
Yesterday I went to one such airfield and was put in danger both on arrival and on departure by someone else joining crosswind. I had rung in advance for PPR and was told that an overhead join was the standard procedure, which is as I would have expected for an uncontrolled field unless there was some reason not to. I called at 10 miles and said I would be making an overhead join. I heard someone else call for join who I thought might arrive at around the same time so at 2 miles I called again just to let him know my range. What did he do? He cut just in front of me as I completed my deadside descending turn, and I was forced to follow his enormous downwind leg to avoid catching him up (especially as he didn't think to say whether he was planning to land or a touch-and-go...)
Worse, though, was on climbout after departure: as I approached circuit height my passenger elbowed me violently and pointed out another aircraft on our right (blocked from my view by the cowling) - yes, you've guessed it, another person joining crosswind. I had to stop the climb violently to avoid them: we were on a direct collision course and would have hit each other neatly just where the climbout track meets the crosswind track.
Please - it really isn't a good idea to join crosswind if there are other aircraft in the circuit, unless you are absolutely confident of their positions and number, which is unlikely at an uncontrolled airfield. An overhead join will cost you only a couple of minutes extra and is much, much safer.
Tim