Flight Plan (FLIGHT series #01)

Flight 30 - Traffic Pattern

Traffic Pattern

A traffic pattern is a standard path followed by an aircraft when taking off or landing while maintaining visual contact with the airfield. It is used by air traffic controllers for a standard path of coordinating traffic. Though usually employed to be used by general aviation airfields and military airbases, large controlled airports used it too if there is a GA activity.
A traffic pattern consists of five legs: the upwind, crosswind, downwind, base and final.
a. Upwind: the flight path parallel to and in the direction of the landing runway. The leg immediately after airborne.
b. Crosswind: a short climbing flight path at right angles to the departure end of the runway.
c. Downwind: a long level flight path parallel to but in the opposite direction of the landing runway.
d. Base: a short descending flight path at right angles to the approach end extended centerline of the landing runway.
e. Final: a descending flight path in the direction of landing along the extended runway centerline from the base leg to the runway.
Additional Notes:
A traffic pattern may also be a standard traffic pattern (all turns are to the right), and a non-standard traffic pattern (all turns are to the left).
The traffic pattern also has a fixed cruising altitude. Subic (RPLB), Iba (RPUI), San Fernando (RPUS), and Vigan (RPUQ) are all at 700 feet. Clark (RPLC) is at 1500 feet.

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Akala ko matatapos na ang pagkastress ko sa araw na ito. Pagkatapos ng biglang nawala kong kaba dahil closed ang Subic Airport, sinundan naman ng hiya ko in regards sa linibre na lunch sa akin ni Nikolai. Mukhang hindi lang din ako ang nagulat doon sa lunch, since noong matapos kami kumain and nagbayad si Nikolai gamit ang isang medyo commonly known na credit card niya, siyang gulat naman no'ng waiter na finally ay ma-realize niya kung sino itong kasama ko. Iba talaga ang dating and impact ng pangalan ng isang 'Nikolai Xavier Verano', or rather ng 'Verano' lang.

Tapos sinundan pa ng kaba dito. Sa biglaang Pre-First Solo Exam. Para saan? Para ma-gauge raw ng mga FI if alam ba namin ang mga gagawin and we're all goods for our first solo. And since one or two pages lang ang airport information regarding Subic, madali naming naalala na siyang lumabas like runway directions and length, airport elevation, and frequencies. Mabuti na lamang at ang mga lumabas regarding sa 556 pages ng C172 Operating Handbook ay 'yong mga necessary specs na kailangan namin memorize like rotate speed, cruising speed, maneuvering speed, stall speed with or without flaps, tire pressure, and fuel and oil capacity. Ang 'di ko inaasahan ay 'yong sa training manual.

"Yumi, alam mo ito?" bulong sa akin ni Nikki habang magkatabi kaming nagsasagot ng sari-sarili naming papel.

To be honest, hindi ko alam ang isasagot ko. Since ang tinuro naman sa akin during flight ay 'yong first series lamang. Pero ang tinatanong ngayon is series of Power On and Power Off Stalls. 'Yong Go Around Procedure na maging alam ko is kung ano ang tinuro during flight at hindi based sa manual. Kaya ang isinulat ko na lamang sa mga tanong na iyon ay kung ano ang naalala ko at kung ano ang tinuro sa akin. Ang ginawa ko naman sa series ay kung ano ang sa tingin ko ay tama, regarding sa turns and deployment ng flaps; after all, iisa lang naman ang basic recovery.

After namin masagutan ang exam ay nareceive namin ang scores namin the following day. Since nag-announce na earlier on si Subic na walang lipad upang maiayos nila ang pag-aaspalto roon sa sinasabi nilang pothole sa runway, nagkaroon ng time ang mga FI upang i-check ang mga sagot namin, at pasalamat ako na nakasabit ako sa passing score. After all, out of twenty sa amin ay seven lang ang nakapasa—ako, Christine, Spencer, Axel, Vincent, Leo, at Nikolai. Kaya that same night na nakuha namin ang results ay pinag-retake sila. This time, oral recitation ng procedures na ang tinanong nila sa exams with an additional na one random emergency procedure.