Originally Posted by Kefuddle
I suspect, if this is the way people approach a circling approach it is because they only ever perform the act in the sim, where the visuals are not panoramic and actually require a calculated flight path such then when the runway is again sighted half way around base it is roughly in the right position.
I think if you check you will find that the US regulatory authority does not qualify a simulator for the circle-to-land maneuver
UNLESS the visual scene presented to them during the evaluation includes sufficient visual cueing to meet the requirements of 14 CFR Part 91.117(e)(2) – which states, as I posted earlier, “…a missed approach must be made when an identifiable part of the airport is not distinctly visible to the pilot during a circling maneuver at or above MDA, unless the inability to see an identifiable part of the airport results only from a normal bank of the aircraft during the circling approach.”
If this requirement can be met and is observed by the simulator evaluator, then the simulator is qualified for that task – and the paperwork will include what airport and what runway combinations were used for that qualification. From there it is up to each individual training program approval authority (usually a principle operations inspector) and the airline using that simulator as to whether or not a circling approach may be included in the approved training program. Which is to say that if an identifiable part of the airport cannot be continuously in sight during the maneuver, that simulator would
not be qualified for circle-to-land tasks. This means that flying beyond the visual system capability and relying on a stop watch and heading references to know when to turn - hoping to again be able to see the airport - is NOT something that the regulatory authority, at least in the US, would do.