"Michael" wrote in message
om...

Therefore, I forsee the necessity for circling approaches extending
into the forseeable future, and thus think that recurrent training in
them is important. It is certainly a part of my recurrent training

How helpful do you think practicing a circling approach on a CAVU day is in
preparing you to fly a circling approach on a low visibility day?

Circling in CAVU weather is basically a matter of flying a tight pattern at
a lower than usual pattern altitude. There is somewhat of a learning curve
needed especially in a hilly or mountainous area, but this is not
particularly challenging in my opinion for it to take precedence over any
number of other items not mandated in the new PTS.

On the other hand, a circling approach in low visibility is indeed a
challenge even in a piston airplane. One of the reasons it is a challenge
is that it is so difficult to train for this effectively either in the
airplane or in a piston FTD/simulator. I do not think the new PTS solves
this problem.



--------------------
Richard Kaplan, CFII

www.flyimc.com