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Old 31st Jan 2017, 20:48
  #12 (permalink)  
mikehallam
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: West Sussex, England
Posts: 487
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FWIW.
Noticeable in a light a/c when turning say LH Base Leg (from Downwind) & the wind is regular & brisk on the runway heading, that that turn left actually exceeds 90 degrees in the air because the wind is pushing you to the right.

With reduced speed for the circuit, if careless, it could be as low as stall +30%. Yet there's a need to turn more steeply than in still air - just to maintain what is optically the familiar square pattern over the ground.

Steeper turn, at low speed is said to be a classic stall/spin scenario where one is too low to recover.

I always watch the ASI like a hawk in all stages of approach/landing & get down to safe flap speed before the turns to give extra margin over stall speed.

In stiff wind be aware of this optical illusion 'trap'.

mike hallam.
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