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Rick Macklem
July 9th 03, 08:09 PM
Guy Middleton ) wrote:
: In article >,
: David Megginson > wrote:
: > 2. Do not decelerate or start your descent below circuit altitude in
: > the downwind; in Canada, you have to wait until you've begun the
: > turn to crosswind, which sometimes makes for a slightly wider
: > circuit.

: One instructor liked to slow down on the downwind; another likes to slow down
: when turning to base. I had assumed it was merely personal preference by the
: instructors.

The procedures in the AIP do not permit climbs or descents on downwind, but
I don't see anything about speed changes mentioned. (The only limitation I
know of is a CAR that states you are to slow below 200KIAS when within 10mi
of an aerodrome. There's an exception for aircraft that have a minimum safe
handling speed of over 200KIAS, as if that affects us:-)

Sounds like a good page, rick

Guy Middleton
July 10th 03, 12:42 AM
In article >,
Rick Macklem > wrote:
> Guy Middleton ) wrote:
> : In article >,
> : David Megginson > wrote:
> : > 2. Do not decelerate or start your descent below circuit altitude in
> : > the downwind; in Canada, you have to wait until you've begun the
> : > turn to crosswind, which sometimes makes for a slightly wider
> : > circuit.
>
> : One instructor liked to slow down on the downwind; another likes to slow down
> : when turning to base. I had assumed it was merely personal preference by the
> : instructors.
>
> The procedures in the AIP do not permit climbs or descents on downwind, but
> I don't see anything about speed changes mentioned. (The only limitation I
> know of is a CAR that states you are to slow below 200KIAS when within 10mi
> of an aerodrome. There's an exception for aircraft that have a minimum safe
> handling speed of over 200KIAS, as if that affects us:-)

I looked in all my references, and they seem to agree.

I can see arguments for doing it both ways.

Delaying the speed change until the turn to base is a good idea -- keep your
speed up for as long as possible.

On the other hand, this takes coordination, because you're doing four things
almost at once -- slowing down, turning, calling the tower, and applying
flaps. Pretty tricky for us student pilots. :-)

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