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. :-)