PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Changing from straight in to circling approach
Old 9th Mar 2010, 01:14
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Chimbu chuckles

Grandpa Aerotart
 
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Woah there HH - rudder turning doesn't increase angle of bank?

It most assuredly DOES and to maintain angle of bank you will need opposite aileron - why on earth would you be wanting to have 'pro spin' control inputs while 'circling' at low altitude/relatively low speed and/or in restricted visibility/at night?

This is really bad advice that you have received/are passing on.

If you have to circle under circumstances that dictate right turns you'll likely be at fairly low altitude - get your downwind spacing right (you'll be pretty close to the runway anyway) nail the drift and then do a co-ordinated level turn initially until you see 'something associated with the threshold' before descending and landing.

Someone else suggested 'big aeroplanes' don't circle fully configured for landing - utter crap. Its far easier/smarter to do that than to be reconfiguring on downwind and running checklists when you SHOULD just be flying the aircraft. I just recently had to circle in B767 sim recurrent and I did it gear down/flap 30.

That is NOT to suggest you should fly a Baron etc the way we fly Boeings - but circling with gear down and approach flap set is perfectly reasonable in a baron etc and you CAN land in that config.

Actually having to circle is a rare event anyway with runway aligned GPS NPA being the norm - don't make it harder than it needs to be.
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