Nik wrote:
What would you do in the following situtation:

You are approaching a non towered field, communicate right and all that
stuff, your on final, suddenly a cessna pulls up and starts it's take
off roll.

Also lets bring the same situation to a towered airport where the
controller tells you to go around while you are on final.

I am asking this because I am just wondering that at some point the
aircraft could collide (one climbing out, the other at pattern
altitude), and what the pilot going around should do...


This EXACT situation happened to me on about my
second or third time of solo flying practice in the
pattern. I had been flying a few circuits around the
pattern, announcing my position the way I'd been
taught. I was landing at a comfortable interval
behind another aircraft, but as soon as the aircraft
in front of me crossed the threshold, a departing
plane pulled out in front of me to get in position for
a takeoff roll. I kept the departing plane in sight,
and announced "Cessna 123XY going around
due to traffic on the runway". (I probably should
have specified "departing traffic", because just after
I made my announcement, the aircraft which had
just landed and cleared the runway said "Bonanza
234ab is clear of the runway" -- he may have thought
I was tailgating him). I heard another voice
say "he pulled right out in front of you, didn't he?".
I started climbing to pattern altitude and kept the
departing plane in sight by a combination of moving
to the right a bit and slipping. I got to pattern
altitude about the time I was over the far end
of the runway. About then, I decided it was silly to
follow the runway centerline all the way to a normal
crosswind, especially with the rogue aircraft climing
on nearly the same trajectory, so I did a short crosswind
while he was still well below me and I joined the normal
base leg, announcing intentions the whole way.

I never heard the departing aircraft say anything.
I assume he had no radio or was too embarassed.

I'm not sure that what I did was textbook perfect; I was
improvising as a very green student. But the important
thing was that I kept the departing aircraft in sight,
I announced my intentions, I stayed in a fairly normal
pattern watching for other traffic, I didn't make any
assumptions that the departing aircraft had a radio
or was going to follow any standard procedures, and
I didn't let his mistake upset me too much.

--Rich