Short finals?
 

Short finals...
 

No shouting!

You could try here:

http://www.pprune.org/questions/3382...efinition.html

For me, short final would be if I didn't have a landing clearance and was below 500ft - 300ft depending on circumstances.

DW.

I'm also a railwayman !
My instructor always used to say that there is no such thing as 'short finals' and that it's FINAL, no 's' !
But I do hear both quite a lot, so who's right ?
I'm sort of trying to keep a lid on the railwayman bit at the moment, coz the jobs up the wall !!

during training i was told final was 4-8 miles

Short final was anything inside 4nm or 1000ft

If trying to get a landing clearance i always report 1nm, it tends to get a response!

742-xx. Enforced day off for me, I can't get out of Redhill!

So, final(s) as in final decision to land - yes?

"Final" meaning that you are on the "final" leg of the circuit pattern, i.e. heading toward the runway with the intention of arriving on it. If the airfield has ATC this is usually where you'd get clearance to land.

"short final" is a subjective term to mean 'last bit of finals'

"long final" used to indicate to ATC/other traffic that you are approaching the airfield from a distance and planning on a straight in approach. In the UK (CAP413) this is 4nm to 8nm.

www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP413.PDF

1.8 Aerodrome Traffic Circuit
1.8.1 Designated Positions in the Traffic Circuit

And to clarify, it is 'Final' (short or long), not 'Finals'. You NEVER hear anyone call 'Downwinds' or 'Bases'.