Originally Posted by Fournicator
Pitts:
Not for one moment disagreeing with you, for your type of aircraft I'm sure that type of approach is ideal.
However, lest anyone gets confused, the oval circuit I described features a straight final approach after a descending 180 degree finals turn.
Fournicator,
Yep but still essentially the same thing, unless you're talking about an extended straight final. In the case above as with most high performance taildraggers (hence the technique often being called a Spitfire Curved Approach), you'll find the curve finishes more or less around the numbers or a bit short of them with the exact details a matter of specific conditions and pilot preference. I prefer to hold the slip in until almost touchdown but will straighten out the curve further back away from the numbers depending on how short I want to land and how short a landing roll I want to have.
In both cases, you're still only talking about a straight bit of less than a couple hundred meters. Is that what you mean or are you talking something else?