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A Circuit in FlightGear

I took these screenshots in FlightGear during two right-handed circuits on runway 22 at CYOW (I would have used
only one, but I managed to crash FlightGear -- the program, not the plane -- during one of the screenshots on
crosswind the first time through).

Often, when people have trouble controlling a plane in a PC simulator, it's because they're fixating on the panel and
chasing the gauges. That's the wrong way to fly; here's the right way:

LOOK OUT THE WINDOW.

These pictures show how you can fly smoothly by concentrating on where the horizon hits the nose of the plane; in
other words, by paying attention to the plane's attitude. You actual visual references for the horizon may change
if you use a different pilot viewpoint or a different 3D model, but your first step should always be to learn the
attitudes that work for the plane you're flying and then stick with them, cross-checking the airspeed indicator and
altimeter no more often than you would check your rearview mirror in a car.

1. On the Threshold

The run-up and pre-takeoff checks are finished and tower has cleared us
onto the runway. The plane's not moving yet, so all three wheels are
solidly on the ground. Look closely at the vertical distance between the
top of the white cowling and the horizon. Right now, the horizon is
between a third and a half way up the windshield, just like it will be during
level cruise on the downwind leg and during final approach with the flaps
down.

2. Beginning the Takeoff Roll

When I advance the throttle to full, the plane starts moving down the
runway. The speed causes the nose to lift slightly on its own, but the
horizon is still between a half and a third of the way up the windshield.

3. Raising the Nose

As the speed increases, I pull

back just a little to take some
weight off the nosewheel. At
55kt, the nose wheel has
started to lift a little off the
runway: you can tell, because
the horizon is now touching the
bottom of the windshield. I am

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almost in the climb attitude.

4. Liftoff

At 65kt, the other two wheels leave the runway and the plane is flying.
Note that I do not yank it off by pulling the yoke way back: raising the
nose only a tiny sliver above the horizon and holding it there is sufficient
to get the plane into the air. Note where the horizon strikes the sides of
the cowling, just above the top of the panel.

5. Climb Attitude

After I lift off, the plane keeps

speeding up: in ground effect,
there is no more friction from
the tires but drag is very low.
Since I want to climb at 70 kt, I
have to raise the nose a sliver
higher to keep the airspeed
down. Now, at 100 ft AGL, my
plane is in the climb
attitude: all of the white
cowling is now above the
horizon, and the horizon hits
the sides at very top of the panel itself. As long as I hold the horizon at this point, the plane will keep climbing
smoothly at 70 kt.

At no point during this entire circuit will it be necessary to raise the nose any higher than it is right now: the climb
attitude is the highest attitude I'll need to use for regular flight.

6. Turn to Crosswind

At 800 ft ASL (400 ft AGL in real life, 500 ft AGL in FlightGear), I start my
turn to crosswind. Normally, the turn would be to the left, but runway 22
at CYOW uses a right-handed circuit to keep us out of the way of the big
jets in the south field.

This is where things get a little trickier (but not much). Because I'm
turning, the horizon is not going to hit the panel in the same place on both
sides. Instead, I have to imagine where the horizon was hitting the centre
of the panel out of side, and try to keep the imaginary hidden horizon
going through that spot; to do so, I will have to pull back slightly on the
yoke. It works, and the plane is still climbing at around 70 kt through the
turn with 15 deg bank (steep turns are a dumb idea at slow speed near the ground).

Before making the actual turn, I looked out my window for two reasons: to check for traffic, and to choose a target
point under my wing; as long as I turn and fly towards that point, I will have done a more-or-less 90deg turn.

7. Crosswind Leg

The turn to crosswind is finished and my plane is still in the climb attitude,
on its way to a circuit altitude of 1500 ft ASL. Depending on the wind, the
Cessna 172 can usually make circuit altitude just before the turn to
downwind, but if not, I will just keep climbing through that turn as well.

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8. The Runway from Crosswind

As my plane climbs in the

crosswind leg, I look back over
my shoulder to check where I
am relative to the runway.
Normally, you should not need
much distance before your
crosswind turn, so the runway
will still be fairly close to the
plane.

9. Turn to Downwind

I'm almost a mile from the runway, and it's time to do the turn to
downwind. Again, I pick a spot under my wing and then turn to fly towards
it. Because I'm reaching circuit altitude at the same time as my turn,
things are getting a little trickier:

1. I have to hold the plane in its bank, keeping the horizon and the
correct angle across the windshield.
2. I have to push my nose down to the cruise attitude (see below),
so that the plane doesn't climb past circuit altitude of 1500 ft ASL.
3. I have to pull back the power to a cruise setting once the plane
has accelerated to between 90-100 kt.

At first, it might be a good idea to turn earlier or later so that you can separate the levelling-out from the turning, but
it will all come together with practice. If you end up gaining or losing a couple of hundred feet, don't feel bad -- that
happens at first in real life as well.

In any case, the rule for starting or ending a climb is APT: Attitude, Power, Trim. First I push the nose down to
increase your airspeed, then I pull the power back to a cruise power setting, and finally I use the elevator trim to
help hold the plane in your cruise attitude.

10. Downwind Leg

The downwind leg is often the longest part of the circuit. I have pulled the
power back to 2100rpm and have put the nose into the cruise
attitude, where the horizon is between a half and a third of the way up
the windshield, just like it was when the plane was on the ground. I cross-
check the altimeter to make sure that I'm not climbing or descending,
then make tiny adjustments to my attitude if necessary, but I do not keep
watching the altimeter while I'm doing that. It's surprisingly easy to hold
altitude this way, once you get used to it.

As soon as I'm established on downwind, I make a radio call to tower and

get my sequence for landing; I also tell them whether I plan to make a full
stop (they'll assume a touch-and-go if I don't specify). Finally, I perform my downwind checks: fuel on both, mixture
rich, carb heat hot (well, not in a C172R), mags on both, primer locked, brake pressure positive.

11. The Runway from Downwind

While I'm flying my downwind, I look out the side to check that I'm
tracking parallel to the runway. In a strong crosswind, the heading of the
plane will not be parallel to the runway, so I have to watch whether the
runway seems to be getting nearer or farther rather than staying the
same distance. During this flight, the winds are light and the runway

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position is fine.

12. Time to Turn Base

Most airports seem to have

some convenient building or
other feature right at the turn to
base; unfortunately, that
particular feature won't work at
any other airport. Instead, I look
over my shoulder and watch for
when the threshold is about a
45 deg angle back from the
plane (I could have turned a
little earlier in this example). As
soon as I reach that point, it's
time to make a descending turn to the base leg; until then, I hold the 1500 ft circuit altitude (in the U.S., I believe
that I could begin my descent while still in the downwind).

Alex Perry adds: I've been recommended to always pick a point ahead for my base turn, even at unfamiliar
airports, and then crosscheck it with looking over my shoulder. The reason for this is it keeps the pilot spending
more time looking forward and watching for conflicting traffic that is joining the pattern on a discouraged late
downwind or base leg entry.

13. Turn to Base

This was the hardest part of the circuit for me to learn. In Canada, at
least, we are not supposed to descend in the downwind, so we have to
change the airspeed and power, add flaps, set up the descent, and
execute a 90 degree turn all at the same time. To start or end a descent, I
use the order PAT: Power, Attitude, Trim. This is where it's good to fly by
the numbers: in a calm wind, a power setting of 1500 rpm usually works
well for a 70 kt approach, so I take the following steps:

1. Reduce power to 1500 rpm.

2. Initiate a 10-20 deg turn (usually to the left, but in this circuit, to
the right).
3. During the turn, pull up the nose until the airspeed is at 70 kt, then hold that attitude; usually, the attitude
will be about half way between the cruise attitude and the climb attitude before I apply flaps.
4. Once the airspeed drops into the white arc, add the first 10 deg of flaps and adjust the attitude to maintain
70 kt (actually, the first 10 deg are allowed before the white arc).

If I do everything right, I come out of the turn onto the base leg right at 70 kt at a 400 fpm descent, and I can trim as
soon as the wings are level.

14. Base Leg

Once I come out of the turn to base, I set the nose into the attitude that
will give me exactly 70 kt (in this case, with the horizon about a quarter of
the way up the windshield), then trim until I don't need any pressure to
hold it there. There's not much else to do during base except to look for
traffic and to try to judge when to start the turn to final. The plane is
descending at about 300-400 fpm, but the VSI is not yet ready to register
it.

15. The Runway from Base

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During the base leg, it's important to keep the runway in sight, but it's also
important (in real life) to look the other way in case anyone else is coming
in unannounced on a longer final. Given my current speed, this looks like
just the right point to begin a gentle turn to final: it's a hard thing to
estimate, and I still get it wrong often, but it's no big deal to do a gentle S-
curve to realign myself if I turn a bit too late. The only big mistake would
be to do a steep turn right now.

16. Turn to Final

I already trimmed for 70 kt on the turn to base, so this turn is nice and
simple: I just have to pull back on the yoke slightly to keep the nose from
dropping in the turn and raising the airspeed, and I want to try to turn right
onto the extended centreline of the runway. A steep bank at this point
would be a bad idea, since I'm slow and close to the ground, and have
little room to recover from a stall/spin. I'm currently 630 ft above the real
airport elevation, and 700 ft above the FlightGear elevation.

17. Long Final

The airport is a little less than a mile ahead, and the plane is 500 ft AGL,
so the approach looks good: 1500 rpm is bringing me down nicely, just as
it does in a real 172 (if there were a strong headwind, I'd need a little
more power). I really am descending faster than the VSI indicates -- it's
very sluggish (and should be ignored on visual approaches);
nevertheless, I drop another 10 deg of flaps to help the approach and
push the nose down to maintain my airspeed. A good rule to remember is
that at the same airspeed the nose is usually lower with flaps than
without. With 20 degrees of flaps, my approach attitude is almost
identical to my cruise attitude earlier; only the power setting is different.

Now comes the important part. I pick a point on the runway about a quarter of the way down (I'd use the threshold if
this were a touch-and-go, since the 172 glides so well), then I try to hold that point exactly a third of the way up
the windshield while maintaining my 70 kt approach speed. I retrim because of the flaps, then use small power
adjustments rather than elevator to keep me on the glide path and hold the aim point steady on the windshield. As
long as I hold this current attitude most of the way to the flare, my airspeed will stay steady.

It is also important to keep the plane over the extended centreline of the runway. Right now, it is lined up with the
left edge; I can tell because the left edge of the runway looks perfectly vertical, while the right edge slows down to
the right. When I am on the centreline, the edges will appear to slope downwards in opposite directions.

18. Approach

Still on final, about 300 ft AGL, I am in a good position. My aim point is

still on the same spot on the windshield, and I'm still near my target
approach speed of 70 kt (far enough above stall speed that the plane
won't stall if a gust of wind temporarily slows its airspeed). I know that I'm
over the extended centerline now, because the edges of the runway
seem to open in opposite directions: one angles to my left and one to my
right. I drop my last 10 deg of flaps; the flaps will cause the nose to rise
and my airspeed to fall, so at the same time, I hold the nose down to
keep my aim point at the same spot on the windshield and maintain 70 kt.

If FlightGear had ATC, the tower would call me about now with my
landing clearance. If I didn't get it, I would have to overshoot and do the circuit again.

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19. Short Final

I'm on short final, about 100 ft AGL, with the aim point on the same spot
on the windshield: because I am still using the approach attitude and
power setting, my airspeed is still 70 kt. It's obvious that I'm going to
make the runway, so it's time to start pulling up the nose, very slowly,
to get ready for the flare (in the U.S., this is called the roundout). My goal
is to have the nose a little above the cruise attitude by the time the plane
is a foot or two above the runway.

20. Beginning of Flare

It's very important not to fly the plane straight onto the runway or it will
bounce. I already started raising the nose on short final and managed to
reduce my speed from 70 kt to 62 kt. Right now, as I start skimming a
foot above the runway, the plane is just a little above the cruise attitude.
I'll try to keep the plane at exactly this level as long as I can, gradually
pulling the nose up to the climb attitude as the airspeed falls.

21. Gliding in Ground Effect

Now it's time to burn off some

speed. The wheels are a little
more than a foot above the
runway, but ground effect lets
us stay in the air for quite a
while. Keeping the plane off the
runway requires a higher and
higher attitude as the airspeed
drops, but don't overdo it: note
that here, at 53 kt, we're about
halfway between the cruise
attitude where we started the
flare and the climb attitude where we'll end it. Fast but small control inputs should keep the plane under your
control. If there were a strong crosswind, you would also have to be careful to hold your sideslip.

22. Touchdown on Main Wheels

I started the flare at the cruise attitude; now, with the wheels a few inches
above the ground, the plane is just about at the climb attitude. At 45 kt,
we're still a little fast touching down, but it's not too bad (and we will lose
a couple more knots by touchdown). As soon as the wheels touch (or just
before, if I'm gliding too far), I retract the flaps to help keep the wheels
more firmly on the runway.

Note that the attitude is very important at the touchdown. If you put the
nose too low, the nosewheel will hit first and all kinds of bad things will
happen. If you raise the nose too high, you may balloon ten feet up into
the air then drop like a stone when the wings stall. Make sure that you
choose the attitude rather than letting the plane choose it for you.

23. Lowering the Nosewheel

As my speed falls below 40 kt, I gently lower the nosewheel to the

ground. If I do it too soon, the nosewheel will shimmy; if I do it too late, it
will drop hard when my speed falls low enough. On a short field or in

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strong, gusty winds, however, I lower the nosewheel quickly and firmly to
keep the plane under control on the ground.

Even after lowering the nosewheel, it's a good idea to keep some back
pressure on the yoke so that most of the weight will be on the main
wheels, both to spare the nosewheel and to make the brakes more
effective. Once the nosewheel is down, I apply the brakes gently (there's
no rush -- the turn-off is still a fair way ahead).

If FlightGear had ATC, the tower would call me about now and tell me to exit on taxiway Papa then contact ground
at 121.9 MHz.

24. Exiting on Taxiway Papa

Once I'm clear of the runway, I stop on taxiway Papa to do my post-

landing checks. If FlightGear had ATC, I would then call ground on 121.9
MHZ and request permission to taxi back to the flying club. I usually taxi a
172 at around 900-1000 rpm, less if there are strong, gusty winds.

Curtis L. Olson

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