Free sim
Traffic Pattern
A good pattern is a rectangle over the ground — which means the wind is always trying to bend it. Dial in the wind and watch what a correctly-flown pattern demands: the crab angle changes on every leg, groundspeed swells on downwind and sags on final, and the bank in each turn follows. The windsock shows the wind you set — land facing into it.
Live readouts of the simulated groundspeed, wind correction angle (crab), and bank angle as the plane flies the left-traffic pattern, correcting for wind on every leg. Airspeed is held constant.
Left traffic with the wind dialed in — the crab on each leg is what keeps the rectangle a rectangle. The windsock points where the wind is going; land facing into it.
Drilling for the checkride?
Pattern procedures, stabilized-approach criteria, and the go-around traps live in our ACS-organized Private Pilot Quick-Review Study Guide — setup numbers, ACS tolerances, and CHECKRIDE TRAP callouts for every task.