Short Final: Descent Guidance

Tuesday, January 21, 2025 at 10:31 PM ET

Verified

Sir Isaac Newton. Credit: Wikimedia

Key Takeaways:

An aircraft in a busy traffic pattern was observed making a base-to-final turn with notably excessive altitude.
Another pilot questioned how the high aircraft would manage its descent.
A third pilot humorously and sarcastically responded, "I usually use gravity," implying a simple, albeit challenging, solution.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Overheard on a Unicom frequency:

In a busy traffic pattern, one aircraft turns base to final with arguably excessive altitude. A couple of other aircraft in the pattern chime in:

Aircraft No. 1 – “That looks awfully high. How is he going to get down from up there?”

Aircraft No. 2 – “I usually use gravity.”