Aero-Terms!

Aero-Terms are designed to be a daily reminder of the terms, names, acronyms and explanations of the unique language that populates the aviation world. Aerospace, sport aviation, fixed wing, helo, you name it... it's all fair game.

Aero-Terms should serve as a quick but intriguing reminder of the terms you may use every day, or an introduction to an aspects of the Aero-World you may not yet be familiar with. ANN also encourages readers to go beyond the FMI link, and further research any intriguing terms.

Suggestions for future Aero-Terms are ALWAYS welcome, as are additions or discussion of the explanations given for each Aero-Term.

Pattern (Airfield Traffic)

An airfield traffic pattern is a standard path followed by aircraft when taking off or landing. At an airport, the pattern is a standard path for coordinating air traffic. It differs from "straight in approaches" and "direct climb outs" in that aircraft using a traffic pattern remain close to the airport. Patterns are usually employed at small general aviation (GA) airfields and military airbases. Traffic patterns can be defined as left-hand or right-hand, according to which way the turns in the pattern lie. They are usually left-hand because most small airplanes are piloted from the left seat (or the senior pilot or pilot in command sits in the left seat), and so the pilot has better visibility out the left window. Refer to image below for a standard traffic pattern.

FMI: http://pilotportalusa.atspace.com/aviation_dictionary_p.html