Having done 8 landouts (others have done multiples more) it's a whole bunch simpler than all the folderol involved with a precautionary, which I have demonstrated to at least two examiners.
The power folks have overcomplicated forced and precautionary procedures which will inevitably be conducted under pressure.
There's so much stuff to remember that many incident pilots will be beating their brains for any missed bits of the procedure when the primary focus needs to be getting the a/c to the best available patch of ground at the right airspeed. Everything else is optional.
Generally as Mary said well, a landout circuit is the same as a circuit at the home field.
Sometimes you have several minutes. I remember spending close to an hour over a field before I was able to leave.
Other times you have to make a swift decision, especially if you suddenly find yourself lower than you really should be either because of sink
, altimeter overreading because of pressure change from a frontal passage
, or overoptimistic glide computer indications
Interestingly such situations commonly arise when you can't quite make it back to the field or intended runway. Much better a good approach to the field or runway you can make than trying to reach one you can't
