Eye of Experience #22:Operations at Non-Towered Airports
Just because there’s not a control tower at an airport, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t any procedures to follow for landings and takeoffs. Still, operating at a non-towered airport can be one of the most confusing parts of a flight, for experienced and neophyte pilots alike. AVweb’s Howard Fried demystifies these procedures with some common sense and some examples of what not to do.
 | Aletter from a reader who had an unpleasant experience at a non-towered airportprompted this column. He wrote the following account: |
I was recently making a straight-in final to a non-towered airport. Monitoring the Unicom frequency, I was aware of another airplane in the pattern flying touch-and-goes with a student. Since I was approaching from the west from a cross-country flight and the other aircraft was using runway 09, a straight-in approach seemed appropriate. The airport does have a left-hand pattern established. I made position reports several times using my GPS for accurate distance reporting and indicated I was on a straight-in final. I had the other airplane in sight the entire way. Shortly after I reported approximately a one-mile final, the other aircraft turned base. I was about two hundred feet lower at the time and with his turn to base we were headed on a collision course. I radioed this instructor to ask if he saw me on final and he acknowledged that he did. I radioed back that I would be aborting the approach.
As it turns out, this other instructor was trying to teach me a lesson because, in his opinion, I had no right to fly a straight-in approach at that airport because it uses left-hand patterns. He claims it is his responsibility to fly the pattern close to the runway so that if he loses power he can make the runway, and that my straight-in approach would cause him to extend too far on downwind to make the runway should he lose power.
I feel that I had the right of way according to the FARs because I was on final and at a lower altitude. I would have flown a standard left-hand pattern had I been coming from any other direction, or had there been several other planes in the pattern. By staying in communication with the other pilot/instructor I felt like I was certainly within the rules and also flying very safely.
When he turned base in front of me, I feel he violated FAR 91.13 and in addition flew his aircraft in an unsafe and reckless manner. With a student on board, what kind of message is he teaching? Also, I don't feel an instructor should be enforcing the FARs by cutting in front of another pilot on final to teach him a lesson. He could easily have communicated his difference of opinion to me on the radio or when we were on the ground.
I can clearly see the merit in both sides of this issue. Our reader was wrongfor not flying the pattern instead of making a straight-in approach. What is hegoing to do with the two minutes he saved by not circling the airport andentering the downwind?
On the other hand, the instructor should have waited until they were both onthe ground to discuss the matter.
Formany years I had the unique experience of operating two flight schools under twoseparate school certificates, one at an extremely busy tower-controlled airport(so busy that it requires two tower frequencies to handle all the traffic) andone at a small one-runway, country store type non-towered airport. Thesefacilities were a mere dozen or so miles apart. Consequently, our students hadthe best of both worlds. Those enrolled at each school had the uniqueopportunity of obtaining a portion of their training at the other facility. Atthat time I was a very busy DPE (Designated Pilot Examiner), administering wellin excess of 300 flight tests per year for all certificates and ratings, andwhen testing pilots trained at the busy towered airport from other schools Iconsistently observed an appalling lack of knowledge and skill when it came tooperations at what we used to call uncontrolled airports, and now refer to asnon-towered airports. Likewise, when applicants would come from distant airportswithout control towers for their private pilot check rides, many of themdisplayed a weakness in their radio communication skills.
Diversion
Whengiving a practical test for the private certificate I would have the applicantplan a cross-country flight of over 100 miles to the first destination, and wewould start off on the trip. Some 20 miles or so along the way I would divertthe applicant to an alternate by telling him/her that I just heard the weatheris rotten at out destination and is rapidly closing in on us. I would tell themto fly to the nearest airport and land, having arranged for the nearest airportto be a non-towered airport with a very narrow runway with power lines at oneend and an 85-foot tree line at the other, albeit of more than adequate length.I would often hear the comment, "I can't land there - that's not a runway,it's a sidewalk!" After all, they were used to operating off a 6,000-footrunway 300 feet in width and here they were confronted with a single pavedrunway with dimensions of "only" 2,600 by 24 feet. In fact, thisfacility is an excellent example of why it is important to land on thecenterline, because if the nose wheel isn't on the centerline, one of the mainswill likely be off the pavement in the mud!
Pattern Entry
It was amazing to see the pattern entries, or lack thereof, that some privateapplicants demonstrated. I was often literally astounded at the weird patternentries I saw. Some would dive for the runway from wherever they happened to be.Others would descend into the pattern, a definite no-no, and still others wouldenter a right downwind, also a no-no. This activity demonstrated a definite lackof knowledge of both the AIM (Aeronautical Information Manual) and the FARs.There are, of course, a great many more non-towered airports in this countrythan there are those with operating control towers, and it behooves all of us tocomply with and follow the standard procedures by which we arrive at them.
Ivividly remember getting thoroughly chewed out one day by the owner/operator ofa small one-strip privately owned airport for not entering the pattern at 45degrees to the downwind leg. The situation was as follows: In theCommercial-Airplane flight test the three-turn descending spiral around a pointon the ground is a derivative of the 1,080 overhead approach to a landing. On acommercial check ride, I would occasionally combine the forced landing with thethree-turn spiral by cutting the power over the numbers of a runway at anon-towered airport (or at one with a control tower after advising the localcontroller of my intention) and asking the applicant to make a three-turndescending spiral around a point on the ground, ending on a base leg 45 degreesfrom the end of the runway, and finish by landing.
I did this with an applicant (broadcasting in the blind all throughout), andwhen we landed the owner of the airport drove a pickup truck onto the runwayblocking our way. He then proceeded to explain that at his airport such amaneuver is not permitted. He insists that everyone enter the pattern at 45degrees to the downwind. Since that time, whenever landing at his airport I havefaithfully complied with his wishes. After all, it is his ball and bat, and hegets to make the rules. If I want to play in his ballpark, I'd better know whatthose rules are and play by them. I have a great sympathy for the owners ofprivately owned airports. In effect, they are competing with themselves. Theypay taxes on the land, part of which money is used to support publicly ownedairports. Somehow this strikes me as being particularly unfair, but who eversaid life had to be fair anyway, especially when it has to do with thegovernment?
The Force of Regulation?
Many sections of the AIM reference the FARs, and these portions of the AIMmay or may not have the force of regulation behind them, depending on just whoseinterpretation one chooses to espouse. In any event, the AIM spells out for usjust how we are supposed to enter the pattern at a non-towered airport.
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I learned to fly as an aviation cadet in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WorldWar II and we were taught to descend to pattern altitude as we approached thevicinity of the airport and to enter the pattern at a 45-degree angle to thedownwind leg. I teach all my primary students to do so as well, but with aslightly different technique. We fly over the airport 300 feet above patternaltitude, observe the wind indicator (tetrahedron, wind tee, sock, or whatever),and line up over the numbers on the runway most aligned with the wind. We thenfly halfway down the runway, still 300 feet above pattern altitude, make a 45degree left turn and descend, leveling off at pattern altitude. We then make a180-degree turn to the right (so we can observe any traffic), and fly backtoward the airport, entering the pattern 45 degrees to the downwind. This systemworks very well and is the surest way I know of playing the "see and beseen" game.
Invitation to Disaster
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Airports that have a published Unicom frequency but don't monitor it alwaysirk me. I'm also annoyed by pilots who are flying radio-equipped airplanes anddon't announce their intentions at non-towered airports. Of course, there is onesituation in which pilots must be particularly alert in watching for traffic.Many non-towered airports have published instrument approaches involving astraight-in final. When the weather is, say, 800 and one, it is perfectly legalfor a pilot to be working in the pattern (making circuits as our British friendswould say). At the same time, also perfectly legal, an airplane on an instrumentapproach can come busting out of the cloud deck on short final. Unless both areusing the radio to announce where they are and what they're doing, thissituation is practically an engraved invitation to meet one another in a midaircollision.
Near Midair
I had an extremely scary experience once in a light twin while combiningrecurrent training with a business trip for a well-qualified, multiengine,instrument-rated pilot. We had departed in good VFR conditions and were goingsome 50 miles or so to pick up a couple of his employees, for the trip to hiscustomer's location a couple of 100 miles farther along. Within a very shorttime we saw that we'd be entering a cloud deck, so we air-filed for an IFRclearance to the first destination. While in cloud (solid IMC - we could seeonly about 50 feet or so), ATC advised us of traffic off our right wing at ouraltitude, and concluded by saying, "I'm not talking to him." I lookedout and there, right off our right wing was a Cherokee, blundering around in thecloud without a clearance! We veered away and continued to execute the VORapproach to our first destination airport. This approach had a 400-foot minimumand required a somewhat downwind landing that day. You can imagine our shockwhen we broke out on short final and saw the Cherokee on short final at thesouth end of the runway! The Cherokee made a go-around under the 400-footceiling while we landed, downwind.
Afterwe taxied in and Paul was getting his employees loaded into our airplane, theCherokee pilot taxied up and loudly began to berate us for landing downwind. Asan Accident Prevention Counselor, I attempted to counsel the guy regarding hisflying in cloud without a clearance, and this only enraged him more. Paul (myclient) insisted on reporting the guy to the FAA, and sometime later I was askedto file a written statement describing the incident. I don't know the finaloutcome, but I did learn that the Cherokee pilot was a brand new pilot, havingreceived his certificate only a few days prior to the incident! Scary? Youbetchya!
Which brings up my final comment regarding operations at non-towered airportsis: BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!
Blue skies and sunshine,
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