Howto:Fly a circuit pattern

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A circuit pattern (also: airfield traffic pattern or just pattern) is a standardized procedure to regulate the air traffic around an airport, which guarantees a safe and smooth processing of the departing and arriving traffic and also minimises the noise pollution of populated areas around the airport.

This tutorial explains how to fly a pattern in FlightGear using the example of Siegerland Airport (EDGS) , a medium-sized airport in the middle of Germany.

Basics of a circuit pattern

So what do you need to know in order to fly a pattern properly?

• Basically a pattern is a rectangle with the runway on one of the long sides and you follow the flight path by turning left 90 degrees four times.
  The individual sections of the pattern are called:

1. Departure: The first section after takeoff, where you maintain runway heading and start climbing to the pattern altitude.
2. Crosswind: After a lift turn by 90° you fly the crosswind leg perpendicular to the runway heading while you reach pattern altitude.
3. Downwind: