Circuit training is the first stage of practical pilot training focused on take-offs and landings. It involves the pilot making approaches to the runway or helipad, touching down and then applying power to take off again. This is undertaken in accordance with Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) Regulations which are consistent with international practices.

How circuits are conducted

A training circuit consists of five legs – take-off, crosswind, downwind, base and final approach to the runway.

Aircraft take off into the wind, climb to 500 feet and then turn onto the crosswind leg. They continue to ascend to 1000 feet and turn onto the downwind leg. Having turned onto the base leg the descent commences. After turning onto the final leg and lining up with the runway the aircraft will touch down and take off again.

Helicopters circuit inside the fixed wing circuit at a lower altitude. When helicopters are training, the fixed wing pilots must extend the take-off leg by one nautical mile to increase the separation between the two types of aircraft. This has the effect of extending the area overflown.

Because Parafield Airport has two sets of parallel runways, this allows two circuits to operate at once. “Left-hand” circuits will be conducted from the left parallel runway, and “right-hand” circuits from the right runway. For left-hand circuits, the pilot turns left after take-off and flies anticlockwise. For right-hand circuit, the pilot turns right and flies in a clockwise direction.

A simplified representation of a left-hand circuit is shown at right. The take off and final stage of the circuit is flown into the wind, as this is the safest way for an aircraft to operate. The aircraft symbols and dotted lines indicate recommended ways for an aircraft to join the circuit pattern. Click the image to enlarge it, and use your browser “Back” button to return to this page.

As twin engine aircraft are generally faster than single engine aircraft, both types are generally, but not always, separated. When using the main runways, Runways 03/21, twin engine aircraft generally operate to the west and single engine aircraft to the east.

When winds dictate use of Runways 08/26 twin engine aircraft generally circuit to the north and single engine aircraft to the south.

Parafield Airport’s voluntary Fly Friendly Program asks signatories to keep circuits as narrow as possible. However, because the student pilots performing circuits are so new to flying, this is not always achievable.

More information about circuit training is found here.

Animation of the Parafield circuit

The animated aircraft below and the static tracks shown in blue are created from actual tracks flown by aircraft in the circuit. This illustrates the degree of variation that will occur in the way student pilots fly circuits. The altitudes above mean sea level of the aircraft are also shown.

You can enlarge to full-screen by clicking the square-shaped button in the bottom right-hand corner of the player.

To replay the animation press the “Replay” button in the bottom left-hand corner of the player.

Effects of runway direction

Air traffic control will determine which runways are used at any given time depending on the direction of the wind – this is because aircraft must generally take off and land into the wind for safety reasons. Depending on which runway direction is in use, different suburbs will be affected by different legs of the circuit. The Noise Complaints and Information Service tends to receive more complaints from suburbs under the crosswind and base legs of the circuit. This is the case at all airports where circuit training occurs.

When the north-south runways are being used in a northerly direction, (Runways 03 Left and Right), Gulfview Heights, Salisbury South, Brahma Lodge and Salisbury Gardens will be affected by the crosswind leg and Mawson Lakes, Pooraka and Ingle Farm will be affected by the base leg. The opposite is true when these runways are being used in a southerly direction, (Runways 21 Left and Right).

Circuit Training hours

Training during both day and night is important for developing pilot competencies, as is experience with using different types of navigational aids.

Circuit training times are set out in the Noise Abatement Procedures for Parafield Airport and are:

Monday to Friday: 7:00am – 11:00pm
Saturdays: 7:00am – 9:00pm
Sundays: 8:30am – 9:00pm
Christmas Day: No circuit training
New Years Day: No circuit training
Anzac Day: 9:00am – 11:00pm

Please note that these times above apply only to circuit training, and not to arriving and departing aircraft which may operate 24 hours a day.

On weekdays circuit training will cease by 10:00pm where possible. However this is subject to operational requirements and as such it may extend until 11:00pm as permitted under the Noise Abatement Procedures.

At night all aircraft circuit to the west. There is only one lit runway, Runway 03 Left / 21 Right and therefore aircraft can only fly on the western circuit. Due to flying training courses running on different schedules, this will mean some nights will have multiple aircraft operating and other nights none at all.

While there are set times for circuit training it is important to note that when aircraft are arriving outside control tower hours they are required to fly a circuit before landing for safety reasons. Therefore it may seem like aircraft are flying circuits outside hours when this is not the case.

Altitudes

Aircraft aim to fly at 1000 feet on the downwind leg. Helicopters will fly at 800 feet to separate them from the fixed wing aircraft which will usually fly faster. Note that these altitudes apply only to the downwind leg. This is because aircraft are ascending on the take-off and crosswind legs and descending on the base and final legs.

While attaining 1000 feet on the downwind leg is the aim, in reality the altitudes of aircraft that are conducting circuit training will always vary. Part of the reason for this is that the trainees are new to flying and factors such as their level of experience and even their degree of nervousness will affect the altitudes they can achieve. Unfortunately the nature of circuit training is to teach new pilots and therefore this variation cannot be avoided.

The tracks in the following images are coloured according to altitude:

Select a quarter to see charts showing a breakdown of which side of the airport circuits were conducted in that period. The breakdowns are shown as percentages rather than total counts. This is because the source radar data for Parafield Airport has gaps due to the radar being located at Adelaide Airport. As these gaps occur randomly throughout the day, the data, while incomplete, provides a representative picture of the distribution of circuits.

Flight paths are not precise, defined paths like runways, but more like corridors that are often several kilometres wide.

Arrivals

Arriving aircraft will line up with the runway centreline and fly straight in on the runway heading. Therefore suburbs in line with the runway will be overflown by arriving aircraft. Other suburbs will be overflown by aircraft travelling to join the final approach. Non-jets will join the final approach path closer to the airport whereas jets may join it 20 kilometres or more from the runway.

The altitude the aircraft will be at when it begins its final approach will depend on how far it has left to fly to the runway. There is no regulated minimum altitude for an aircraft in the process of landing. Aircraft will generally descend on a glide slope of three degrees.

Departures

Departure flight paths allow aircraft to maintain the runway heading for a short time until they are stabilised in flight, and then to turn towards the route that will take them to their destination. Non-jets are turned off towards their headings soon after departure and jets will generally remain on the runway heading for longer.

Jet departures from Runway 05 that are headed for ports such as Sydney and Melbourne will turn towards the south-east soon after departure around Mile End and will fly over the city and suburbs such as Eastwood, Dulwich and Glenside. Jets heading for destinations such as Brisbane, Cairns, Perth, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia will continue on runway heading over suburbs including North Adelaide, Medindie, Walkerville and Klemzig. Around Holden Hill the flight path splits with some continuing northwards and others turning westerly. Of these, some head back towards the coast, passing over suburbs such as Modbury, Gulfview Heights, and Salisbury South. Others turn north-westerly.

Some jet aircraft will be directed to turn off the runway heading sooner than others. This usually occurs for traffic management reasons to ensure that safe separation is maintained between aircraft, particularly at busy times when the volume of traffic is high.

The altitude of aircraft after departure will depend on factors such as the type of aircraft and its weight, how heavily laden it is with fuel and passengers, and the atmospheric conditions at the time. All these factors affect an aircraft’s climb rate. There is no regulated minimum altitude for an aircraft in the process of taking off.

Smart Tracking

A growing number of modern aircraft are now fitted with navigation systems that use satellite-assisted guidance which allow aircraft to fly with a higher degree of accuracy and more closely follow the same route as other aircraft. Airservices refers to these routes as ‘Smart Tracking’. Smart Tracking technology makes air travel safer, cleaner and more dependable. It also has the potential to improve noise outcomes for communities living close to airports.

Flight path information

You can access historical information about flight path use through WebTrak. To access this information click the “Historical” link below the text in the Quick Start Guide at the top left-hand side of the screen. Then use the tick boxes at the bottom-right of the screen to select monthly, quarterly or yearly information. Use the sliders to refine your selection to specific timeframes.