Pilot's tip of the week

Rushed and Behind in the Pattern

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Subscriber question:

"What should you do if you are rushed and behind on final and aren't sure if you did all your pre-landing checks" - W Bryce

Wally:

“Rushed and behind…did I do all my checks? We’ve all been there and it is not a nice feeling. So we have made a few mistakes to get here in the first place.

rushed_behind.pngEntering the pattern fast at a strange field is a good set-up for just this situation. Still we can’t avoid all the other distractions like radio calls and other traffic can we?

But we can solve our problem. We can always go around and take a little more time to get established.

Seems to me that if the items are important enough to be put on a check list, they must be important, and if we are not sure we completed them, let’s take the time to do it right.

A go-around is a lot cheaper (and safer) than a gear-up landing or an engine failure on short final.”

(NEW) VFR Mastery scenario #93 “Orphan of the Magenta Line” is now available. Skirting the DC SFRA and Philadelphia Bravo with your iPad seemed simple, until that iPad displayed a low battery warning. You realize your charger has been dead the entire flight. You stop the music on your phone and check its battery … 2%. So much for redundancy. You’re just southeast of the SFRA, threading between restricted areas. You’ve flown this route before, so maybe you can make a plan to navigate with the limited juice you have left along with ATC assistance. Or is it smarter to land and recharge? Watch the Intro video.

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