Originally Posted by Ladsled
What's with this idea that large aircraft do huge circuits, the size of the circuit relates to the standard pattern IAS, not the gross weight of the aircraft.
The weight determines the speed in the circuit. More weight, more lift required, more speed required. Aerodynamics 101. Throw in an inefficient wing at low speed ie airliners and the speed goes up even more. So keeping it simple, the weight directly determines the speed and therefore size of a circuit. Until the 747 is fitted with a straight wing with a span of 1nm, it'll fly much bigger circuits than a C152.
Ask a 747 pilot, Ledsled.
Whether the instructor should be teaching jet-size circuits in a bugsmasher is another matter!
