"Flying the Pattern"

[rfc]

A recent thread regarding a Part 107 Practice Test question on traffic patterns at airports got me thinking.

All VFR fixed wing pilots practice flying the pattern. Doing so develops a regimen of not just putting the aircraft where it needs to be consistently (and ultimately safely on the ground), but allows time (intentionally) to perform checklists, in advance of landing.

If you go to a small airport and observe a while, you'll note that not just fixed wing flyers do this; so do helicopters. You rarely see a hell pilot fly to a point directly over where he wants to land at 1000' and then drop straight down. Aside from descending directly through it's rotor wash, visibility is often not the best directly below the aircraft. (Disclosure: Only flown a chopper once or twice, so I'm no expert there).

When I fly my "home turf" or really anywhere I've flown before with the Mavic, I put the camera perhaps 20 degrees down, and fly a glide path that I know to be free of obstacles, all the way to the landing point, keeping the landing spot in the center of the screen, arriving there at perhaps 30' agl, and then land. I find descending while moving forward is smoother than coming straight down, and if using the same glide path, it develops a consistency that benefits stress levels, particularly when flying back to a landing spot in tight quarters.

MavicCF's recent "Carrier Landing in the Woods" aside, does anyone else use similar procedures when landing? Any other procedures learned from piloting manned A/C (fixed wing or rotorcraft) that would be useful to flying UAS's?

 

[sar104]

A recent thread regarding a Part 107 Practice Test question on traffic patterns at airports got me thinking.

All VFR fixed wing pilots practice flying the pattern. Doing so develops a regimen of not just putting the aircraft where it needs to be consistently (and ultimately safely on the ground), but allows time (intentionally) to perform checklists, in advance of landing.

If you go to a small airport and observe a while, you'll note that not just fixed wing flyers do this; so do helicopters. You rarely see a **** pilot fly to a point directly over where he wants to land at 1000' and then drop straight down. Aside from descending directly through it's rotor wash, visibility is often not the best directly below the aircraft. (Disclosure: Only flown a chopper once or twice, so I'm no expert there).

When I fly my "home turf" or really anywhere I've flown before with the Mavic, I put the camera perhaps 20 degrees down, and fly a glide path that I know to be free of obstacles, all the way to the landing point, keeping the landing spot in the center of the screen, arriving there at perhaps 30' agl, and then land. I find descending while moving forward is smoother than coming straight down, and if using the same glide path, it develops a consistency that benefits stress levels, particularly when flying back to a landing spot in tight quarters.

MavicCF's recent "Carrier Landing in the Woods" aside, does anyone else use similar procedures when landing? Any other procedures learned from piloting manned A/C (fixed wing or rotorcraft) that would be useful to flying UAS's?

That's how I bring in my UAVs unless the terrain dictates otherwise.

 

[Mavflyer]

Any other procedures learned from piloting manned A/C (fixed wing or rotorcraft) that would be useful to flying UAS's?

Serious question here. How is this procedure of landing useful for landing a drone? I feel much more comfortable visually verifying a clear path straight down, then using the camera pointed straight down as a supplemental verification method. It seems to me that all that additional movement at lower altitudes would only increase the chances of an accident. For planes and helicopters that can't see straight down, it makes a lot of sense as they can't see what's under them. Drone pilots can get directly under the drone and see if anything is in the way. I may be missing something, but I see zero benefit to this?

 

[terradriller]

Serious question here. How is this procedure of landing useful for landing a drone? I feel much more comfortable visually verifying a clear path straight down, then using the camera pointed straight down as a supplemental verification method. It seems to me that all that additional movement at lower altitudes would only increase the chances of an accident. For planes and helicopters that can't see straight down, it makes a lot of sense as they can't see what's under them. Drone pilots can get directly under the drone and see if anything is in the way. I may be missing something, but I see zero benefit to this?

I land like that most of the time if I can. I think it increases your eye hand coordination and it's fun to see it coming in to you after a long flight .
Try it some time... You may like it.

 

[Mavflyer]

I land like that most of the time if I can. I think it increases your eye hand coordination and it's fun to see it coming in to you after a long flight .
Try it some time... You may like it.

I do all kinds of crazy flying, and it is fun! But to recommend something like that to land seems a bit strange. OP described it as useful and that was mainly my question. How is it useful? I would describe useful as something that may help a noobie pilot out. It it something that maybe fun to do? Sure. Useful? Not sure how.

 

[DownandLocked]

I mostly use "Return to Home" with an occasional manual landing straight down using camera pointed down. Can see no benefit to OP method except for the fun value.

Also, as a full scale pilot, the pattern flown in landing is to allow aircraft to enter the airport area using a standard procedure so pilots know where to look for other traffic.

 

[Flynavy812]

Jeeze you’re intense, good on you though. If it works it works! I’m more simple, haul *** back and drop. I’ll blame the Navy on that one.

 

[caspian]

as a former fixed wing pilot I pride myself on being able to control the aircraft through a glide path to a chose destination, and I land manually more often than not because it's part of the experience. but so is punching RTH and watching your baby come home on AI control, one of the fun parts is marking your takeoff spot and seeing exactly how accurate a landing it can achieve.

 

[dirkclod]

I come in at an angle 95% of the time as I like the way it looks. I do come straight down sometimes but coming
from flying Phantoms to start out with and still do it was safer than coming straight down to keep from having the TBE so it's mostly from habit .

 

[JoostGT3]

The normal landing pattern is there for a multitude of reasons; it gives you time, spacial orientation, possibility to have multiple aircraft landing in short time, etc.

If it works for you when flying the drone, then by all means. But like others mentioned; what does it add? Since you are on the landing spot, you don’t need such a pattern to determine if th runway is free, what altitude the craft is at, etc. Depending on the surroundings, I will steer my Mav back home in a straight line, all the while ascending so that it arrives in front of me at some altitude, then descen the last 2m vertically.

 

[sar104]

The normal landing pattern is there for a multitude of reasons; it gives you time, spacial orientation, possibility to have multiple aircraft landing in short time, etc.

If it works for you when flying the drone, then by all means. But like others mentioned; what does it add? Since you are on the landing spot, you don’t need such a pattern to determine if th runway is free, what altitude the craft is at, etc. Depending on the surroundings, I will steer my Mav back home in a straight line, all the while ascending so that it arrives in front of me at some altitude, then descen the last 2m vertically.

Isn't that what the OP was suggesting?

 

[Rob C]

I also do the same thing as you. More so from my past experiences as a private pilot. Its more interesting and provides some good motor skills reinforcement. Anybody can hit a RTH button and get back safely but I enjoy flying the drone to a landing.

 

[JoostGT3]

Isn't that what the OP was suggesting?

Well... a lot of those things are important/needed, because in normal aviation, you are in the air and need to assess the situation on the ground. When you fly a drone you don't need that. On the other hand, if it gives you a routine and you like that, then of course there is no reason not to fly a pattern. As for myself, I like to maximize useful flying time, and when it is time to return home, I will do so in a straight descending line. (As opposed to the U-shaped pattern normally flown in aviation).

 

[sar104]

Well... a lot of those things are important/needed, because in normal aviation, you are in the air and need to assess the situation on the ground. When you fly a drone you don't need that. On the other hand, if it gives you a routine and you like that, then of course there is no reason not to fly a pattern. As for myself, I like to maximize useful flying time, and when it is time to return home, I will do so in a straight descending line. (As opposed to the U-shaped pattern normally flown in aviation).

Perhaps you read the thread title and not the actual post. The OP is describing a straight, descending path to the landing point (just like you described), not a downwind-base-final pattern.

 

[JoostGT3]

Perhaps you read the thread title and not the actual post. The OP is describing a straight, descending path to the landing point (just like you described), not a downwind-base-final pattern.

Ah, that is what you meant. I DID read it, just not carefully enough ;-)
In that case, yeah, I more or less do as OP, except not with the rigorous camera pointing stuff. When coming in to land, I'll generally switch from camera view to looking at the bird at a certain distance, then visually guide it to the precise landing spot, often turning the bird around so that the obstacle avoidance sensors don't act up, and then reverse/descend the last bit.

 

[Flynavy812]

as a former fixed wing pilot I pride myself on being able to control the aircraft through a glide path to a chose destination, and I land manually more often than not because it's part of the experience. but so is punching RTH and watching your baby come home on AI control, one of the fun parts is marking your takeoff spot and seeing exactly how accurate a landing it can achieve.

Were you instrument rated? If so I guess we are expected to fly a fly path if not still good to know your stuff and be consistent!

 

[mstevens]

It seems very possible that there's a "pattern" that would be best practice for us to fly, but also possible that it might not be similar at all to that used at an airport by a pilot inside the aircraft.

Multirotor camera drones are different from airplanes, helicopters, fixed-wing drones, and R/C helicopters and probably need their own procedures and traditions. Right now, we don't even really have consistent preflight and postflight checklists even for the same aircraft, let alone recognizably similar ways of landing or taking off.

I'll bet there are some things we can and should do as part of our landing (and takeoff) procedures that are specific to multirotor camera drones and that, like "flying the pattern", instill discipline and reinforce important skills. It'll be interesting to see what we come up with.

 

[rydfree]

Serious question here. How is this procedure of landing useful for landing a drone? I feel much more comfortable visually verifying a clear path straight down, then using the camera pointed straight down as a supplemental verification method. I may be missing something, but I see zero benefit to this?

I fly back using RTH about 40% of the time just to see how close it actually comes to the takeoff point . It is always within about 4" which I find incredible and is so consistent that if it ever deviates from that I will start looking at possible damage and causes , lol . The other times I bring the Mavic back manually and also do a glide path of sorts in through openings of trees etc just for fun and practice . I guess the main benefit would be any stick time is training time and may prove beneficial in a time of need later on when things don't go as planned . It's always good to know how to fly .

 

[seowashdc]

Landing the bird manually builds your handling skills, so I do that most of the time. I also like to land her into the wind, if that's a consideration. I practice using RTH to build my trust level in the function.