The FAA has updated its advisory circular (AC) on operations near and at non-towered airports. Revised AC 90-66C calls attention to regulations, recommended operations, and communications procedures for operating at an airport without a control tower or with a part-time control tower. The AC provides guidance for safe operations by all types of aircraft and related activities, such as parachuting.
A major portion of the AC is devoted to pilots continually transmitting position information and traffic pattern procedures. According to the document, “The FAA does not regulate traffic pattern entry, only traffic pattern flow.” This means that when entering the traffic pattern at an uncontrolled airport, inbound pilots are expected to observe other aircraft already in the pattern and to conform to the traffic pattern in use. Aircraft flying under IFR and on the final approach course should “follow the requirements dictated by the approach procedure.”
While the FAA doesn’t recommend straight-in approaches when there are other aircraft in the traffic pattern, if a pilot chooses to execute a straight-in approach for landing without entering the pattern, “the pilot should self-announce their position on the designated CTAF [common traffic advisory frequenc]y between eight and approximately 10 miles from the airport and coordinate their straight-in approach and landing with other airport traffic.” The circular emphasizes that pilots shooting a straight-in approach “do not have priority over other aircraft in the traffic pattern.”