It should be stressed to the student that ‘P-search’ is usually the result of poor airmanship such as: running out of daylight, low on fuel, lost, structural failure, etc. I find the standard technique of teaching three circuits at varying levels will in most cases aggravate the problem. Three circuits at about six minutes each equates to eighteen minutes. By then the sun has probably set, the rain has set in or the tanks are dry!
A better technique may be to fly the centreline with a 90/270 procedure turn at each end using a wing tip reference point for the initial turn. In cross wind conditions the initial turn must always be made downwind so that bank angle may be reduced during the turn onto centreline. This technique will cut ‘P-search’ time in half.