Knowledgebase›VFR›Flying the Traffic Circuit
What are Traffic Circuits?
A traffic circuit ensures that approach and departure procedures at uncontrolled airfields run smoothly and safely.
Traffic circuits are only defined and published for uncontrolled aerodromes. At controlled aerodromes, air traffic controllers direct the aerodrome traffic. The traffic circuit is usually flown at 1000 ft AGLAbove Ground Level and at a distance of 1NM** to the runway.
If someone talks about a "traffic circuit", "crosswind", "downwind" or "base", this refers to the sections of a standard traffic circuit (left turns). If you want to refer to the corresponding sections of the right-hand circuit, you speak of the "right traffic circuit", the "right crosswind", "right downwind" or "right base".
Unless otherwise specified by the responsible aviation authority, aerodrome circuits are flown at a distance of approx. 1 NM from the runway and to the left (counterclockwise) so that the pilot sitting on the left can keep an eye on the runway throughout the entire maneuver.
Phraseology
As a pilot, you are not allowed to use the short form of your VFR callsign, unless the controllers uses it.
| Pilot | Controller |
|---|---|
| Larnaca Tower, good evening, D-EIGL. | D-EIGL, Larnaca Tower hello. |
| D-EIGL, PA-28 Cherokee, Stand 66, one person with information Bravo, requesting departure information (for VFR traffic circuits). | D-GL, runway 04, QNH 1013, startup approved. |
| D-GL, runway 04, QNH 1013, startup approved. | --------- |
| D-GL, request taxi. | D-GL, taxi to holding point runway 04, intersection Delta, via CU, C, D. |
| D-GL, taxi to holding point runway 04, intersection Delta, via CU, C, D. | --------- |
| --------- | D-GL, join right downwind runway 04, wind 050 degrees 3 knots, runway 04 cleared for takeoff. |
| D-GL, join right downwind runway 04, wind 050 degrees 03 knots, runway 04 cleared for takeoff. | --------- |
| D-GL, right downwind runway 04, touch-and-go. | D-GL, after touch-and-go join right downwind runway 04, wind 050 degrees 3 knots, runway 04, cleared for touch-and-go. |
| D-GL, after touch-and-go join right downwind runway 04, wind 050 degrees 3 knots, runway 04, cleared for touch-and-go. | --------- |
Should a pilot want to leave the CTR, they can do so via published routes but also directly to the North/South/East/West. This situation could go as following:
| Pilot | Controller |
|---|---|
| D-GL, right downwind runway 04, requesting to leave the CTR to the North. | D-GL, via threshold runway 04, cross runway 04, leave the CTR to the North. |
| D-GL, via threshold runway 04, cross runway 04, leave the CTR to the North. | --------- |
In this situation, it would allow the controller to simultaniously let another aircraft depart, while D-EIGL is crossing the runway via the threshold. This increases efficiency and is especially useful in a busy CTR with many departures and arrivals.
