FAA reference material
Advisory Circular 90-66B
Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 14, Airport Operations
Airplane Flying Handbook, Chapter 7, Airport Traffic Patterns
Specific task
Overflying an airport to position the airplane to make a normal 45 degree entry to the downwind leg of the traffic pattern.
Reason for performing this maneuver
To reposition the airplane from the upwind side of the airport to the downwind side for a normal downwind traffic pattern entry.
Normal alternatives to this maneuver
Entering the pattern via the upwind leg
Entering the pattern via the crosswind leg
Altering enroute course to the airport to assure an arrival that will enable a normal downwind entry.
FAA Guidance contained in the reference materials listed above
The specific wording varies slightly amongst the three sources, but the four basic steps for flying the procedure are the same. The Advisory Circular contains the least amount of verbiage, but it does refer the reader to the Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, the document with the most comprehensive descriptions.
Step 1 – Announce your intention to overfly the airport at an altitude of 500 or more feet above normal traffic pattern altitude. A typical announcement would be “Cessna XXXXX, overflying XXXX airport, North to South at XXXX feet”.
Step 2 – Continue flying at that safe altitude until well clear of the traffic pattern. When well clear of the pattern – approximately 2 miles – scan carefully for traffic. If the downwind leg of the traffic pattern is ½ to 1 mile beyond the runway, “well clear” of the traffic pattern is 2-1/2 to 3 miles beyond the runway.
Step 3 – Descend to pattern altitude. If the airport crossing was made at an altitude of 500 feet above pattern altitude, a 500 foot descent is required. The additional distance covered in this step will depend on the rate of descent and the speed of the airplane. With a 500 fpm rate of descent and a speed of 90 mph, the descent will position the airplane an additional 1-1/2 miles beyond the runway. Before reaching step 4 of the crossing procedure, the airplane should not have deviated from its initial heading and it would now be 4 to 5 miles beyond the runway.
Step 4 – Then turn. The turn, of course, marks the end of the airport crossover procedure and places the airplane, at traffic pattern altitude, in a position to make a normal 45 degree entry to the downwind leg of the traffic pattern. Since the 45 degree entry is a new and separate traffic pattern maneuver, an appropriate radio call is warranted.
Today’s confusion about overflying a non-towered airport and the subsequent entry to the downwind leg of the traffic pattern
If the FAA had stopped with the above language, it is unlikely there would be much confusion about how to get from one side of the airport to the other to make a normal 45 degree entry to the downwind leg. Unfortunately, each of the FAA reference documents also contains the following picture, the root cause of today’s confusion.
Although not stated as such, the picture is not-to-scale and is a colorful “cartoonish” depiction of the FAA’s procedure for overflying a non-towered airport and the subsequent entry to the downwind leg of the traffic pattern. If you actually read the words, the procedure is there: 1) overfly the airport at 500 feet above pattern altitude, 2) fly clear of the traffic pattern, 3) descend to pattern altitude, and 4) then turn. If you don’t bother to read the words, you see something totally different than the actual procedure. Stating that the above picture is misleading would be a gross understatement.
In analyzing the picture, let’s start with the assumption the runway is approximately 3/4 of a mile long (4000 feet). If so, the downwind leg should be moved to the right to a distance that is about the same length as the runway. In doing so, the downwind leg disappears from the picture, as does the track to fly clear of the traffic pattern, the subsequent descent and the ultimate turn and intercept of the inbound 45 degree track. When compressed into a “cartoonish” not-to-scale picture, it creates the impression of a descending turn from 500 feet above pattern altitude directly into the downwind leg. For some, the picture looks like the IFR teardrop entry to a holding pattern. What began as one of the safest and most conservative traffic pattern procedures that places an airplane many miles away from the airport before descending and turning has morphed into a potentially deadly descending turn directly into the downwind leg and is often inappropriately announced by some pilots as a ”teardrop entry” or “teardropping” into the traffic pattern. As a footnote and in the context of traffic pattern procedures, the word teardrop does not appear anywhere in FAA literature.
It is ironic, the same documents that contain the misleading picture used by pilots as justification for their use of this “teardrop entry” terminology and procedure also contain prohibitions against descending into the traffic pattern, the use of confusing language and the use of IFR terminology in a VFR environment.
Evaluation of the crossing maneuver and the subsequent 45 degree entry to the downwind leg. When done properly, this is what should occur.
Announce your intent to overfly the airport, giving direction of flight and altitude
Overfly the airport, 500 feet or more above pattern altitude
Continue flying at that safe altitude until well beyond the traffic pattern
Descend to pattern altitude before turning
Turn to intercept the 45 degree course to the mid-field downwind entry. You should enter this leg and announce your position at a sufficient distance from the downwind leg, at least one mile, to be able to scan for and adjust to other pattern traffic.