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Private pilot · ACS PA.III.B · lesson pack

Traffic Patterns

Why this one matters

Most midair collisions happen near airports, in good weather, often in the traffic pattern. A predictable pattern, flown where others expect you, with clear position calls and constant scanning, is what keeps airplanes from meeting there. The pattern is also where wake turbulence, wind shear and distraction catch pilots close to the ground.

1 · Know these cold

  • •Pattern turns are to the left unless markings, lights or the Chart Supplement show right traffic.(14 CFR 91.126; AC 90-66)
  • •Recommended pattern altitude: 1,000 feet AGL for propeller-driven airplanes, 1,500 feet AGL (or 500 above the established pattern) for large and turbine airplanes, unless the airport publishes another.(AC 90-66, Non-Towered Airport Flight Operations; AIM 4-3-3)
  • •At a nontowered airport, the preferred entry is a 45° to the downwind at midfield, at pattern altitude. Announce your position on the CTAF.(AC 90-66, Non-Towered Airport Flight Operations)
  • •At a towered airport, establish two-way radio communication before entering Class D, and follow the tower’s instructions for entry and sequence.(14 CFR 91.129)
  • •Right of way: an aircraft landing or on final has it; of two landing, the lower one, which must not cut in front of the other; when converging at about the same altitude in the same category, the aircraft on the right.(14 CFR 91.113)
  • •Avoid wake turbulence: land beyond a larger airplane’s touchdown point and take off before its rotation point.(AIM, Chapter 7, Wake Turbulence)
  • •Checkride standard: pattern altitude ±100 feet and the appropriate airspeed ±10 knots, with proper spacing and wind correction.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.III.B.S5)

2 · The lesson

Towered and nontowered
  • At a towered (Class D) airport, call before entering with your position, altitude and the ATIS code. The tower assigns the entry, sequence and runway; read them back.(14 CFR 91.129)
  • At a nontowered airport, there’s no one sequencing traffic. Self-announce on the CTAF (about 10 miles out, then entering and on each leg) and fit into the flow.(AC 90-66, Non-Towered Airport Flight Operations)
  • Unless the airport says otherwise, turns in the pattern are to the left. Look for the segmented circle and traffic pattern indicators, and check the Chart Supplement.(14 CFR 91.126; AC 90-66)
  • Read the airport as you arrive: the runways, taxiways, markings, signs and lighting; the segmented circle with its pattern indicators; and the wind cone, tetrahedron or tee for wind direction.(AIM 4-3-3; Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.III.B.S1)
Choosing and flying the pattern
  • Get the wind and runway from ATIS, ASOS or AWOS before you arrive, and pick the runway most nearly into the wind unless a different runway is in use.(AIM, Chapter 4 (air traffic control: services, airport operations))
  • Enter on a 45° to the downwind at midfield, at pattern altitude (1,000 feet AGL for propeller airplanes unless published otherwise), established on the entry leg well before you join the downwind.(AC 90-66, Non-Towered Airport Flight Operations)
  • Arriving from the other side: cross midfield at least 500 feet above pattern altitude (typically 1,500 feet AGL; 2,000 feet AGL if large or turbine airplanes are using the airport), continue about 2 miles clear of the pattern, descend to pattern altitude outside it, then turn back and join the 45° entry to downwind (a teardrop). Never descend into the pattern.(AC 90-66, Non-Towered Airport Flight Operations)
  • When the pattern is not busy, AC 90-66 also allows crossing midfield at pattern altitude on a crosswind entry and turning directly onto downwind; give way to traffic already there.(AC 90-66, Non-Towered Airport Flight Operations)
  • Staying in the pattern: climb on the extended centerline past the departure end, and turn crosswind within 300 feet of pattern altitude.(AC 90-66, Non-Towered Airport Flight Operations)
  • Leaving the pattern: continue straight out, or exit with a 45° turn (left in a left-hand pattern) beyond the departure end after reaching pattern altitude. Don't turn toward the downwind through traffic entering it.(AC 90-66, Non-Towered Airport Flight Operations)
  • Correct for wind on every leg so the ground track stays rectangular: crab into the wind on downwind and crosswind, and adjust the base turn so you don’t overshoot final.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Airport Traffic Patterns)
  • The standard geometry: fly downwind about 1/2 to 1 mile from the runway; hold pattern altitude until at least abeam the approach end; turn base at about 45° from the approach end; and complete the turn to final at least 1/4 mile from the runway. Correct for drift at each of these points.(AIM 4-3-3; AC 90-66)
  • Turbine traffic flies the pattern higher, wider and faster, which is also why the midfield crossing is higher where they operate.(AC 90-66)
Who goes first
  • An aircraft in distress has right of way over all others.(14 CFR 91.113)
  • Aircraft on final or landing have right of way over aircraft in flight or on the surface. Of two aircraft approaching to land, the lower one has it, but must not take advantage of that to cut in front or overtake.(14 CFR 91.113)
  • Converging at about the same altitude, aircraft of the same category: the one on the right has right of way. Between categories: a balloon has it over all; a glider over an airship, powered parachute, weight-shift, airplane or rotorcraft; an airship over a powered parachute, weight-shift, airplane or rotorcraft. An aircraft towing or refueling another has it over all other engine-driven aircraft. Head-on, both turn right; an overtaking aircraft passes well clear to the right.(14 CFR 91.113(d)-(f))
Seeing and being seen
  • Most midair collisions happen near airports, in daylight and good visibility. Scan in short sections, look before each turn, and use landing lights in the pattern.(AC 90-48, Pilots' Role in Collision Avoidance)
  • High-wing airplanes hide traffic above in turns; low-wing airplanes hide traffic below. Lift a wing or look under it before turning.(AC 90-48, Pilots' Role in Collision Avoidance)
  • The pattern is busy: checklists, radio and landing all at once. Prioritize flying the airplane and looking outside; finish the before-landing checklist on downwind, not on final.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
Wake turbulence and wind shear
  • Wingtip vortices form whenever a wing makes lift, strongest from heavy, clean, slow airplanes. They sink below the flight path and drift with the wind.(AIM, Chapter 7, Wake Turbulence)
  • Behind a larger airplane landing, land beyond its touchdown point. Behind one taking off, lift off before its rotation point and climb above its path, or wait. A light quartering tailwind can hold vortices over the runway.(AIM, Chapter 7, Wake Turbulence)
  • Wind shear near the ground, from thunderstorms, fronts or terrain, can drop airspeed suddenly. Fly a stabilized approach, adding half the gust factor to your normal approach speed (wind 20 gusting 30: add 5 knots), without carrying extra speed into a long float, and go around early.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C))
  • By case: landing behind a larger airplane that is landing, stay at or above its path and land beyond its touchdown point; landing behind one that is departing, land well before its rotation point; departing behind one, lift off before its rotation point and climb above its path. After a larger airplane's low approach, missed approach or touch-and-go, wait at least 2 minutes before taking off or landing.(AIM 7-4-6)

Want it all on one page, with scenarios? Read the full lesson.

On the flight

ACS standards

  • Maintain traffic pattern altitude ±100 feet and the appropriate airspeed ±10 knots.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.III.B.S5)
  • Correct for wind drift, keep orientation with the runway and proper spacing from other aircraft.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.III.B.S3-S4, S6)

What your instructor is watching for

Your instructor watches whether you enter the way the airport expects, make clear position calls, hold altitude and speed, correct for wind so the pattern stays square, keep your eyes outside, and adjust spacing when traffic is ahead.

3 · Say it out loud

Answer each one out loud, then check yourself and mark how it went.

  1. Remember Recall it

    “What is the recommended pattern altitude for a propeller airplane, and the preferred entry at a nontowered airport?”

  2. Understand Explain why

    “Why does flying a standard pattern matter at a nontowered airport?”

  3. Apply Use it on a flight

    “You’re on downwind and a jet lands ahead of you. How do you plan your landing?”

4 · Common mistakes

  • Entering on a long straight-in at a busy nontowered airport.

    Others in the pattern don’t expect you and may turn final in front of you.

    Instead: Use the 45 entry to downwind unless traffic and the airport allow otherwise, and announce clearly.

  • Turning final with a tailwind on base without correcting.

    You overshoot the centerline and are tempted to steepen the turn with rudder: the classic base-to-final stall and spin.

    Instead: Start base earlier with wind, keep the bank moderate, and go around if you overshoot.

  • Head-down in the pattern.

    Checklists and radios hide the traffic you’re most likely to hit.

    Instead: Do checklists early and in short pieces, and look out before every turn.

5 · Quick check

Answer, then reveal. Flag anything you want to see again.

  1. 1. Which way are pattern turns unless otherwise indicated?

  2. 2. What is the recommended pattern altitude for propeller-driven airplanes?

  3. 3. Two airplanes are approaching to land. Who has right of way?

  4. 4. What must you do before entering Class D airspace?

  5. 5. Where do you land behind a larger airplane that just landed?

  6. 6. What are the checkride tolerances in the traffic pattern?

  7. Scenario7. You lose sight of the airplane you’re following on downwind. What do you do?

Trained it? Now prove it: practice traffic patterns out loud with our examiner.

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Connect it

One situation that runs across this lesson and its neighbors in the same ACS area. Decide first, then check.

Connect it · Airport Operations

You're inbound to a towered Class D airport and were told to enter a left downwind for Runway 24. Then your radio stops working.

How do you join the pattern and get a landing clearance with no radio? Decide, then see the worked answer

First troubleshoot: volume and squelch, the frequency, the headset and audio panel, and the second radio if you have one. If it's still dead, squawk 7600 and work out which case you have. Receiver out (you can still transmit): stay outside or above the Class D until you know the direction and flow of traffic, tell the tower your type, position, altitude and that you intend to land, ask to be controlled with light signals, and report again 3 to 5 miles out as you join. Transmitter out (you can still hear): stay outside or above until you know the flow, monitor the tower frequency, then join the pattern and keep the tower in sight for light signals. Both out: the same as transmitter out. To land without a radio in Class D, 14 CFR 91.129(d)(2) needs all three: basic VFR weather, visual contact with the tower, and a clearance to land, here by light signal. In the air: steady green, cleared to land; flashing green, return for landing, to be followed by a steady green before you land; steady red, give way to other aircraft and continue circling; flashing red, airport unsafe, do not land; alternating red and green, exercise extreme caution. Acknowledge in flight by rocking your wings in daylight, or blinking the landing or navigation lights at night; on the ground in daylight, by moving the ailerons or rudder. After touchdown: flashing red, taxi clear of the runway in use; flashing green, cleared to taxi; steady red, stop. Taxi clear and park, then call the tower by phone.

AIM 4-2-13, 4-3-13; 14 CFR 91.125, 91.129(d)

Brings together: Communications and Light Signals · Traffic Patterns

Teaching this? The instructor lesson plan →

Study aid, not FAA guidance. Sources: AC 90-66; Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM); 14 CFR Part 91; Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C); AC 90-48; Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C). Checked against current sources 2026-11-12.