Entering On A Base Leg

[Shane Thompson]

Hello everyone,

I finally overcame my fear of ATC and did my first flight on PilotEdge. I was nervous and it wasn't perfect (sorry to the controller working last night) but it's better to just dive in and get over the fear. I can't start developing that "Flight Brain" without actually training it.

Anyway, I performed the "First Flight" from Oceano to San Luis Obispo (which is awesome because I live in SLO). I read over the example transcript in there and I assumed I was going to get asked to join the traffic pattern and report on a left base. I was instead asked to enter left base for runway 29. I took that to mean that I didn't need to fly and enter the downwind at a 45 which is the normal way to enter the pattern, I just flew basically straight into the base segment of the pattern and made a left to final. After watching the YouTube video of Mark Hargrove flying that same flight it looks like I did the right thing since that's what he did and he got the same request I did, but I just wanted to check because everything I've read about traffic patterns says that in the US you always join at midfield on the downwind at a 45.

Definitely learned a valuable lesson though, everything is dynamic so be prepared for anything. I'll have that filed away in my brain for all future flights .

[Keith Smith]

Welcome to the network. The controller told you to enter on a left base and that's what you did. Perfect.

Entering on the 45 for the downwind is a standard entry at a non-towered field under normal circumstances. Pretty quickly, though, you run into situations where it's more efficient to enter on another leg, or as directed by ATC. You did the right thing.

[Shane Thompson]

OK so I did it right. Entering on a base made much more sense from the direction I was coming, if I would have tried to enter on a downwind I would have had to fly past the airport a bit and turn back around. Are they determining where to enter the pattern based on other traffic in the pattern and the spacing between them?

Also, I'm enjoying the workshops that you did. I'm through the first 3 or 4 on VFR flight planning and I am now lightyears ahead of where I was before. Looking at charts and determining a flight plan (particularly for VFR) is a challenge but when you come up with a good plan and execute the flight flawlessly it sure is rewarding.

[Keith Smith]

Unless traffic is a factor, the pattern entry instructions will be optimized based on your reported position. I'm glad you're enjoying the process.