Airmanship and mixed types in the circuit
All thoughts on this appreciated. I'm being honest about the position, but excluding some salient details so as not to point too clearly at anybody.
Scene was yesterday, I was out at a busy GA airfield somewhere in England. The task was flight testing a microlight, which for this sortie, I was doing solo. I'm familiar with the type (150 hours or so on an unmodified version of same), weather is perfect bar some slightly iffy viz (7-8km), wind minimal, I'm reasonably familiar with the airfield. The aircraft belongs to a (microlight) PPL Examiner based there.
Having finished my task for the day, I joined crosswind, flew a tight downwind (slow aeroplane therefore small circuit to avoid displacing everybody else), with one aircraft (A PA28) in front of me. Call downwind No.2, PA28 lands at roughly the same time as another PA28 calls joining downwind, and I turn base.
Couple of facts here. The type I was flying flies in the circuit at about 50kn, and finals about 40 kn. A PA28 flies in the circuit around 80kn, and finals about 65kn. A PA28 probably flies a visual approach about 5°-10°, a microlight about 30-45°.
Move forward a minute or so, I have turned (and called) finals, I've perhaps half a mile / 1 minute to run (flying a standard microlight glide approach, so steep but on the centreline), when the PA28 calls finals. Tower (AFIS) calls (to PA28) you are "No.2 to the microlight, which is slow moving, you may wish to orbit, the circuit is clear behind you". PA28 calls "understand circuit clear ahead". Tower repeats it's original call.
Things then happened rather quickly. My head at this point is on gimbals trying to work out how long I have to live and what evasive action I can or should take. At about 300ft, the PA28 appears about 2 wingspans on my stbd wingtip, and as it passes me transmits "orbiting for separation, unsure of the microlight's intentions". In relief I do admit to the thoroughly unprofessional transmission on my part of "at-least he turned right".
So, I continue, fly a normal landing, and am met by the aircraft's owner who saw this and is more than a little irate (he teaches people on this airfield and is clearly from his comments thinking how a low hour student would have reacted to this, also a suggestion that this isn't a first-offence). We both stroll up to the tower for a chat.
Tower says they they also thought it looked very poor airmanship (the F word was used on both sides of the conversation) and invite us to discuss it directly with the captain of the PA28 who has now landed. Owner and I agree that this would be appropriate and stroll over to find him.
In subsequent discussion with PA28 Captain (who is at-least twice my age, and three times that of the owner of the microlight I was flying), which is mildly heated and somewhat unconclusive several points come out:-
- PA28 captain has 20,000 hours (first thing he says in fact)
- PA28 captain had no idea what I was doing, despite the fact he'd heard me call finals. He denied any knowledge of how finals look in a microlight.
- I was totally unreasonable in feeling aggreived since it was his duty to take avoiding action as the overtaking aircraft and (in his opinion) this was done in good time.
- A disagreement on separation. My perception was about 2 wingspans (20 yards or so) his was 50-100 yards. So, Presumably the truth is somewhere between the two.
- The aircraft owner was quite unreasonable (in the PA28 Captain's opinion) in feeling that one of his students would have been badly disturbed by meeting a light aircraft on their wingtips whilst on finals.
So, thoughts...
- Should I have initiated an early go-around when it was clear the PA28 was unaware of my position and intentions?
- Should I file an Airprox (which was the opinion of the owner of the aircraft I was flying), a CHIRP report (my current opinion) or just stop fussing over nothing (the opinion of the PA28 captain) ?
- Is there a widespread problem with mixed traffic not understanding each other's modes of flying (certainly suggested by this and the near-tragedy at Barton last year). If so, what needs doing about this?
And if I sounds somewhat peeved about the whole thing, this is entirely intentional.
G