So why fly circuits?
I don't, unless I'm forced to either as part of the landing process or being tested/revalidated/etc. I share Flybymike's complete lack of desire to boogle up the engine unnecessarily.
All I'd say to the OP is not to beat yourself up about exact angles of bank, distance from the runway etc (although we all do in the early days). The fact is that away from the home circuit, you're going to meet all kinds of different environments, and the only thing you really need to worry about is flying safely. That often means being able to adapt to a wide range of circumstances rather than doing it "by the book".
Nothing wrong with practice in order to improve, of course : how are your bad weather/someone's cut you up/b*gger me there's a deer on the runway/idiot pilot lining up when you're on short finals/"ATC: can you turn base immediate?"/"sudden silence" circuits ?
FF
