At 20:30 16 February 2005, Chris Reed wrote:
Pete Brown wrote:
I am told that in the UK and Europe, most pilots have
adopted a 45 deg.
diagonal leg between downwind to base in the pattern
some time ago. In
the US, most instructors and most of the gliding texts
still teach a
rectangular pattern.

Does anyone know if this pattern has in fact reduced
landing accidents,
especially during off field landings? Are there any
reliable statistics
to support claims of its benefits?


I don't think anyone could provide statistics on this,
though the BGA
accident database is available on-line (I think from
www.gliding.co.uk).

From personal experience, flying a square circuit
in the US made me
feel quite uncomfortable as I reached the 'corner',
as I was not in a
position to correct the circuit if I'd misjudged.

There is opportunity to correct at this corner; just
angle in a bit if you have gone too far, or angle out
a bit if you didn't go far enough. You can also lift
or drop a wing for a quick peek without endangering
yourself if you are carrying a bit of extra speed in
the pattern.