Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

1 Answers

Standardized Traffic Pattern & Stablized Approach

Asked by: 3526 views , , , ,
FAA Regulations, General Aviation, Private Pilot

I'd like to fly a standardized traffic pattern to help enable a stablized approach but here is my question:  If an 800' TPA is published for either a controlled or uncontrolled field, can a 1000' altitude be legally flown?  

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

1 Answers



  1. Mark Kolber on Mar 03, 2013

    AFAIK, published TPAs are advisory, not regulatory, although ATC at towered airports have been know to call it out.

    But, cosider:

    1. If you’re thinking that “stabilized approach” means flying the same altitudes and pattern at every single airport everywhere, you’re making a mistake. There are airports wehere terrain required extensive modification of location and altitude. At towered airports, you may be asked to do anything from a long straight in to a base leg entry to “direct to the numbers” from just about anywhere, to circles and S-Turns and short apporaches, and everything in between. Instrument pilots may have to fly a pattern at 600 AGL to keep visual on the intended runway. The ability to fly a stabilized approach in any and all of these cases is still recommended (anf the ability to do so even more important).

    2. If everyone else in or entering or leaving the pattern is expecting to see other aircraft at 800 AGL, where will they be looking for you? Doesn’t it increase the likelihood of a problem? At a non-towered airport I’ve seen two airplanes on final one just above the other.

    +2 Votes Thumb up 2 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.