FFF: I don't agree that they should go for the airfield unless it's, say, the size of Bournemouth
Going for the average small strip from downwind, even if flying a sensibly-sized circuit, is likely to lead to a low/slow "stretching the glide" type of approach and either stalling or bumping into obstacles around the boundary. Getting the nose down and (assuming there's height) turning into wind and making the best of what they see is probably best.
I usually discuss the relative energies of into-wind, downwind and vertical arrivals at this point. With a touchdown speed of 40kts in a 10kt wind an into-wind landing gives a landing "energy" of 9M to be dissipated, whereas it's 25M with a down-wind landing and around 150M in a vertical arrival following a low-level stall/spin. It follows that the first is to be preferred and the last is to be avoided
HFD
(edited to remove a typo)