Traffic rules chart

As with most of your checkride preparations, proper traffic pattern operations begin with a bit of preflight planning. The first thing to consider is whether your destination airport is towered or nontowered. For towered airports, the tower controller will specify how you will enter the traffic pattern. It often depends on two things: where you are located relative to the active runway, and spacing with other traffic. Resources Traffic pattern info Know where to look for details on the pattern Right pattern information is listed for an airport in a VFR sectional, with the abbreviation “RP” followed by the runway number. Find further pattern information in the chart supplement, including traffic pattern altitude. If you see "RP*" on a sectional, it indicates special conditions exist and pilots must refer to the Chart Supplement U.S. for details. In most cases, this symbology is used to indicate certain types of aircraft, like gliders or ultralights, have a nonstandard pattern. AIM paragraph 4-3-3, Traffic Patterns, was updated March 29, 2018, to expand on pattern operations. Standard pattern altitude is 1,000 feet agl. Tower controllers’ objectives are to get you to the active runway in the safest, most expeditious, and and most efficient manner possible. To achieve these goals, you may be instructed to enter any of the several legs of a typical rectangular traffic pattern using left- or right-hand traffic—or even to make a straight-in approach. Although the options are man...