Ask a military buff about stealth aircraft, and you’re likely to get an earful. Trick shapes. Radar-absorptive materials. Gold-foil windows.
But the B-2 and F-35 share one drawback: They may disappear from radar, but they sure can’t truly hide from the Mark I eyeball.
There’s an easy solution. One that can make any aircraft—fighter, spamcan, or homebuilt—disappear from sight:
Lose the radios, and enter the pattern at a non-towered field.
To a lot of folks, if the traffic doesn’t announce itself—well, it just doesn’t exist. But … imagine your radios have given up the ghost, or you’re flying an older airplane with non-shielded ignition that laughs at any attempt to use one. Whatever the reason, you’re effectively invisible as you try to enter the pattern and land. Mr. Magoo is alive and well, and it’s best to assume that he and his kin fill the skies between you and the runway. Whether you have the right-of-way is immaterial —nobody’s going to yield to an airplane they don’t see.
It’s a good idea to know how to operate from non-towered airports without radios—just in case. I flew NORDO for seven years; let me summarize what I learned.
Inbound
Let’s start with the biggest challenge: entering the pattern.
Always approach the field area at least 500 feet above the pattern altitude, if surrounding airspace restrictions allow. You’re easier to spot above the horizon, and it may give others in the pattern an inkling that you’re there.
In any case, it’s best to overfly midfield no matter your approach direction. Get a feel for the airport environment. If it’s an unfamiliar field, look for the segmented circle. It may indicate right-hand traffic. Watch for X’s marking closed runways.
Your first goal is to determine the active runway. Start looking for clues early. The wind direction is a good one, of course. But some airfields have a designated noise abatement runway, used as long as contrary winds remain below a certain strength. Or an inattentive Unicom operator may state a landing direction opposite to the tetrahedron. Or—it could just be calm.
The best indicator is the actions of other aircraft. Planes clustered in the run-up area can be spotted quite far away and are a perfect indicator of which runway is active. Aircraft on short final or on takeoff roll are usually easy to spot.
My last home base was very near a large international airport. Watching 767s and Airbuses on their approach to the big runway was a good indicator of the wind direction at nearby little ones.
Remember, though, that aircraft don’t have to take off and land into the wind. If the wind is light, a pilot may choose to use the direction that’s most convenient to their hangar. If a runway is designated the “calm wind” runway, at what point does that really kick in? So yes, be careful.
One potential trap is a runway that uses left traffic in one direction, but right traffic in the other. If you enter the pattern for the “wrong” runway, you may be making head-on passes at the traffic on downwind. Happened to me, once …
Closing In
As you near the field, start noting the traffic. Since you’re above pattern altitude, most will be lower. Unfortunately, this makes them harder to spot. Don’t glance wildly around. One thing makes an aircraft quickly noticeable: relative motion. You won’t see that motion if you glance quickly.
Instead, select a 30° to 45° segment and stare at it for a moment. Then go on to the next. Watch for motion, but remember that an aircraft on a collision course won’t show any. Since you’re above the traffic pattern, there shouldn’t be any.
Shouldn’t, not won’t. Mr. Magoo sometimes can’t read an altimeter.
Pay particular attention to the crosswind leg and the departure end of the runway. These are the airplanes you may eventually be in conflict with.
Once you know the landing direction and have a feel for traffic, it’s time to join the pattern. The standard entry method (in the U.S.) is the so-called “45 entry.” It’s a straight path that intersects the downwind leg midfield at a 45° angle. Unless otherwise directed by local procedures, this is the only entry a NORDO plane should use.
Why? Because that’s where the other pilots expect traffic to appear. They’ll be looking, and it’ll give you a better chance of being seen. Fly predictably, especially if you are NORDO.
So when you’re ready, drop down to pattern altitude and enter the 45 a half-mile or more from the downwind leg. If you find another airplane already on the 45, glom onto his tail and follow him in. You can assume he’s making radio calls, and his calls will have other pilots looking for him. If you’re close, they’ll spot you as well. Increase spacing once you’re in the pattern.
Turning Downwind
As you near the turn to downwind, scan the crosswind and downwind legs for conflicting traffic. Do the “NORDO Shuffle”; waggle your wings and yaw around to make sure other aircraft aren’t hidden in your blind spots. Fast aircraft on crosswind are a special danger; they’re head-on while you’re on the 45, but can quickly catch you on downwind.
Just remember: You’re invisible. No one yields to a stealth airplane. If a conflict develops, turn away from the bogey, swing outside the pattern, and reenter on the 45.
Once you’re on downwind, don’t stop looking. You may have missed one, or it may be above or below you. Or someone may come barging into the pattern from a nonstandard entry.
Keep a watch for those guys. Some pilots think announcing their intent on the radio is all that’s necessary. Doesn’t help, if someone else is NORDO. Was once following a plane on final when he decided he needed a 360 for spacing.
If a conflict comes up, help the pilot spot you. If you don’t think you’ve been seen, waggle your wings 45 degrees or so. The motion and the change of shadows help make your plane pop out from the background.
If all else fails, maneuver away. Since most pilots instinctively pull back on the stick when startled, go lower if there’s a risk. Don’t forget the planes behind. Unless they’re watching closely, your course change may make them lose sight of you.
Turning Base
As the AIM specifies, turn base at least quarter-mile from the runway. Or follow the person in front. Non-towered fields are plagued by those who fly excessively long downwinds, but be wary about cutting them off. They may be following another plane on long final that you haven’t spotted.
Base is the critical point. It gives you the best chance of spotting planes on long final. Mentally project the final approach path and look for inbounds. They’ll probably be below you. Remember, you’re invisible. If needed, climb and bank away.
Unfortunately, being on final doesn’t protect an invisible airplane. Stay alert. Check behind when possible. Keep an eye on aircraft waiting to take off, as well. Several have taxied onto the strip in front of me. Even after I had a radio and was making the proper calls.
Once you touch down, quickly clear the runway. If making a touch and go, glance toward the pattern-entry areas during climbout. Watch for inbound planes and adjust your pattern as necessary. Since you’re lower, they’re even less likely to see you. Fly a standardized pattern to minimize surprise. And again, assume you’re invisible.
Many pilots keep a conscientious watch. But it’s not a universal trait. I had one pilot bluntly tell me, “If you don’t transmit on the radio, I won’t know you’re there.” Cheery thought.
The Final Lesson
The military adds stealth to their airplanes to increase their survivability. The situation is reversed around non-towered fields—the less stealth, the more safety. Add strobes if you’ve got an electrical system. Keep visibility in mind when deciding on a paint scheme.
And once the radio is fixed, how should you change your entry technique?
Not one whit. Owning a radio won’t stop Mr. Magoo. Nor does making a radio call make a nonstandard procedure legal. Use the radio, but trust your eyes and brain. Enter on the 45, make position reports, listen to others’ calls, and fly a standard pattern. Most of all, keep scanning for traffic. If we all assumed we are invisible, we’d all be safer.
How about just getting a radio? If nothing else, you can get a scanner for less than $200 and a radio that you could talk on for less than $250. There’s a time and a place for your privacy – the traffic pattern isn’t it.
Hard to buy one from the cockpit of an aircraft in flight. Note the lead-in for the article; it assumes you’ve had a radio failure. Can’t just pull over an park, you need to put the plane down.
Impossible to carry a backup radio in my (single-seat) airport; no storage accessible to the pilot.
Proud of my ~7 years of NORDO flying ~40 years ago. Radios since then, except for one period where it crapped out. But I hand-propped the airplane back then, and that’s ANOTHER thing I wouldn’t look forward to having to repeat…..
Back in the late 60’s I flew out of Navato CA. The airport manager would tie down the tetrahedon as winds would shift as the day went on. It was almost everyday that two planes would try to land from opposing ends of the runway. Fun times.
My old airport had hangars at the north end, and another set at the south end. If the wind wasn’t too strong, some guys would sneak in/out in the “wrong” direction to reduce the distance they had to taxi after landing.
Mr. Magoo?
Sorry, showing my age. He was a cartoon character in the ’60s, nearly blind, but insisted he was fine, driving a car, walking on narrow boards, causing havoc, etc.
There eventually was a live-action movie, starring Leslie Nielson…who also starred in “Airplane!”
Handheld radios are a lot cheaper than airborne accidents. There is really no excuse for not owning and using one in a traffic pattern.
I had ~7 years experience flying NORDO in Pete Bowers’ original Fly Baby. I did use a handheld…once. It was the year after I flew it into Boeing Field NORDO.
That Fly Baby had non-shielded ignition. That meant that every time a spark plug fires, it generates a tremendous burst of RF energy.
Which the radio picked up. The experience was like strapping two popcorn poppers over your ears. Utterly painful. You can see a picture of a similar non-shielded plug and cable in the article itself (Hi, Dale!).
Now, it’s been nearly 40 years since I strapped on those popcorn poppers for one flight; it might be that more-modern handhelds do better at suppressing the energy. If not, I wouldn’t fault anyone for flying NORDO behind an engine like that….
Not to joke, this is a great article. Not only for its insights, but directing much needed attention at a serious safety issue that is almost a forgotten component of modern aviation. The biggest risk is that so few pilots are even aware of it.
As a previous NORDO pilot for 10yrs, I can attest to the need for this.
I had a Taylorcraft with no electrical system, a handheld is a good way to monitor traffic and isn’t that expensive. Problem with 500’ above pattern altitude is jets and turboprops pattern altitude is 1,500’ above field elevation.
But it’s the FAA practice and most non-tower airports have few jets and turboprops. I always assume anything above say a Cessna 172 in the airport pecking order isn’t looking out for anything other than themselves in the pattern. Or else looking at their glass screen as if the ADS-B screen was magically showing the planes without a ADS-B.
My former airport was tucked under the Sea-Tac Class B airspace. A guy once asked me how to approach my field and stay clear of the Class B. I told him to cross the coastline at this prominent feature, pass south of the lake, and aim for the water towers just west of the field.
That wasn’t good enough for him. He wanted the to enter the path into his GPS. He was going to approach a busy untowered airport, through an area funneled-down by the Class B area, with his eyes glued to the magic box in his panel.
Brrrr.
Not long ago, I was flying touch-and-goes and a business propjet came roaring through to fly to another nearby field. He, at least, was making radio calls…a polite pattern-wrecker, at least. I called out where I was, and got the reply, “Yeah, we’ve got you on the fish-finder.”
The only reason my Fly Baby had the ADS-B Out signal for his “fish finder” to see was because I’m a bad liar (had a good…fake…excuse why I didn’t have to install a transponder/ADS-B, but there was too much evidence against me. Didn’t want to risk it).
But I had to wonder: What about the guys who DIDN’T have ADS-B, for legitimate reasons? Was the propjet looking for them, or did he have his eyes glued to the cockpit screen?
I’m an old [word AvBrief won’t let me say]; but there are four traditional aviation skills that are being lost: The ability to fly taildraggers, the ability to navigate by pilotage, the ability to fly NORDO, and the ability to hand-prop airplanes.
And get off my lawn!
In total agreement. Stick and rudder skills save lives, but we seem to have a new pilot population that thinks that staring at glass cockpit video games and such are aviation. I have always loved the Richard Bach school of aviation. Everyone should start by building model airplanes, move to RC, then go to ultralights, sailplanes, taildraggers, single engine land and then up the ladder. Each step teaches about the total picture and culture of flying.
I once proposed that basic flight training should be limited to untowered fields in the boonies, flown in J-3 Cubs with no electrical systems, no starters, no radios. After completing their first 40 hours, the survivors go on to higher training. 🙂
The trouble is, the world no longer needs pilots. It needs “aircraft operators” to haul self-loading cargo from Tedium to Apathy and back (extra points to anyone who catches the reference). The rest of us are just guys standing on the quarterdecks of square-riggers, while steamships go shooting by.
To quote the great John Malkovich, “There are no pilots anymore…just people in nifty uniforms that operate computers.”
Hopefully, the AvBrief Gods won’t whack me for this, but that comes from an OUTSTANDING ten-minute commercial for IWC watches. Spitfires and a JU-52, forsooth….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf2oJjUoG0I
Mr. Roberts!!
Yep! 🙂
Thanks Ron. My sense too. Even with my trusty handheld primary radio, I flew as if NORDO, as I put it, fly like a feral cat.
You and me both, Mark.
Great article on how to fly a pattern and be seen with or without a radio!