Where is "pattern altitude" defined?

[draeath]

ATC references this altitude, particularly on your approach. However, I'm not able to find any reference to what altitude this actually is, anywhere. I've combed through the flight manuals, VAD charts, and the aerodrome charts - tons of useful data, but no word on pattern altitudes.

What's up with this? IRL, the pattern altitude is hardly a secret. (KTPA for example is 1026.4' MSL[www.airnav.com])

Heck, there's no reason for ATC not to tell you what it is instead of just saying "pattern altitude." This is especially annoying in a simulation, where you can't just reply and ask.

[kazereal]

I think it is in the kneeboard pages somewhere. Need to check.

ATC is getting improvements in DCS 2 in many ways.

[Chameleon_Silk]

quick google seems to indicate its 1,000ft AGL of the airport, I'm by no means an expert so feel free to correct me.

[kazereal]

Originally posted by Chameleon_Silk.ltr:

quick google seems to indicate its 1,000ft AGL of the airport, I'm by no means an expert so feel free to correct me.

Sounds about correct to me.

Waiting pattern would be entirely another thing though.

[BigBingus]

While 1,000ft AGL is the pattern altitude for most General Aviation aircraft, jets need a bit higher. A good reference for this would be the ILS localizer intercept, but I dont know if this is in the game. I would say a generally good altitude for a pattern would be 1,800ft AGL because it sets up a good descent rate for a 5-7 mile final.

[Korbelz]

FAR/AIM (the FAA guide book for flying more or less) tells us 1,000 feet above field elevation.

thats a good general rule of thumb when flying the pattern around an airfield.

[Hadji]

If we were flying commercial aircraft we would have had flown the approach plates set for the airport in question. But since we fly military planes we are expected to fly military approaches. The ATC will guide you to the entry point of the pattern and leave the rest to you. I typically use 1500ft AGL when flying fast movers and 1000ft AGL when flying the prop planes.

The ATC part of DCS is a bit overly simplified if you ask me...

[jester]

I generally hold at 2000 AGL for pattern altitude.

[draeath]

Thanks for the input guys... I didn't realize it was a "standard" altitude, though it really aught to be mentioned somewhere in the sim or manual. Not that it appears to matter a great deal?

[Ramsay]

Pattern altitude in DCS World isn't a "standard altitude" but varies between airfields.

The kneeboard VAD charts show the entry, exit and holding pattern tracks for each airfield. Next to the holding pattern is a blue rectangle with white numbers, this is the pattern altitude in feet.

e.g. for Senaki-Kolkhi it is 1600 feet (approx 500m), for Tbilisi-Soganlug it is 2500 feet (approx 750m).

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=533896454
NOTE: AFAIK, the included VAD charts were made for the A10C and arn't appropiate for prop planes or helicopters. For those, I'm guided by the DCS manual for the aircraft, RL documents (if available) or FAA example traffic patterns, etc.

[draeath]

AHAH! AThank you Ramsay!