Re: Nasa T-38 on flight radar 24


Message posted by Jason S on January 16, 2020 at 7:23:55 PST:

Very common maneuver for high-performance aircraft. Maintains a safe airspeed in case of engine problems at low altitude. If they were to do a standard, straight-in approach, they would be at a fairly low speed for miles and miles away from the airport. By keeping the speed up with a pass over the runway, if they have an engine out while in the pattern, they have enough airspeed/momentum to carry them down to the runway, instead of someone's backyard three miles away.

This maneuver is not always an option due to other traffic in the pattern, but is always preferable to HP pilots.

It's also a crowd-pleaser.


In Reply to: Re: Nasa T-38 on flight radar 24 posted by John Klier on January 16, 2020 at 6:47:10 PST:

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