My (strong) opinion on pattern work (in spam cans & rag wings): Crosswind leg should be just long enough to roll wings level and check for traffic. Pull power to idle abeam midfield glide it all the way to landing, and keep all turns 30 degrees bank.... no less!
These threads are always interesting in that many of the responses completely fail to take into account that airport conditions, traffic in the pattern and type of aircraft will and does affect how you may fly the pattern.
Unlike the poster quoted above, I don't have opinions so strong that I'm not willing to adjust based on conditions, aircraft, etc. He might find it interesting to arrest the descent rate in my Duchess if he pulled it to idle at midfield. If he did, I'd suggest a very quick turn towards the runway and carry some extra knots all the way into the flair, because you will need it to arrest the descent rate. I usually carry a little power until into the flair.
Also, I try to stay under 30 degress bank in the pattern. If you need more, you didn't plan something right.
Back to the original post. It's not
just the large patterns, its the pilots who were taught to slow to something close to approach speed downwind and maintain that "stabilized" approach all the way to the flair. And then they touch down on the numbers and slow taxi to the first exit 2500 feet down the runway, I'm sure thinking what great pilots they are while the Citation (cleared for a straight-in) that reported 12 miles out when they entered downwind is wondering if he will need to go around.
And before this causes the typical responses on here, I understand two things....the aircraft cleared to land owns the runway and the value of teaching the stabilized approach in light aircraft. However, ownership of the runway does not require poor thinking and a stabilized approach is more critical to a safe landing in a Citation than in a Cessna 150. Teach a stabilzed approach and then when they have it down, teach them how to fly patterns in varying conditions (I don't mean wind, I mean with different traffic loads and aircraft types) and at varying speeds.
Many years ago, even before TCA's, I use to fly my Mooney into SFO. Call them a bit over 5 miles out and sound like you knew how to use a radio, blend in with traffic and they were fine. I usually came down final a few knots below gear speed aiming somewhere near the numbers....at 100 feet or so, pull the power and start triming up, add flaps as necessary, touch down in the last 5000 feet and turn off with a short taxi to Butler. It's about conditions.
I fly out of an airport where a major foreign carrier does their intial flight training. They teach them to fly very large patterns. I'm sure it suits their ultimate goal, but it's too bad they aren't teaching them more about flying the immediate environment. There will come a day when they will be on final in a 747 and cursing the slow GA aircraft ahead, and in my opinion, should have little to complain about given the delays they caused others during training. It's even worse now because of the "position and hold" changes.
Aircraft can't fly in a vacumn but it's surprising how many pilots do.
