Common errors

Most rectangular course errors come from one of two underlying issues: the pilot didn't anticipate the bank change needed at the next corner, or the pilot watched the ground so intently that altitude and airspeed drifted unnoticed. The seven below cover the common faults.

1. Failure to compensate for wind drift on the crosswind legs

What it looks like: the track is no longer rectangular — the crosswind legs converge inward or diverge outward, turning the rectangle into a parallelogram.

Why: no crab established on the crosswind legs, or insufficient crab for the wind.

Fix: identify the wind direction before entry. On each crosswind leg, set a visible crab angle (the nose offset into the wind by 5–15°) and watch the boundary distance for confirmation it's holding. If the boundary slides closer, increase the crab.

2. Equal bank in all four corners

What it looks like: the corner cuts inside the boundary (over-banking out of a tailwind leg) or skids wide (under-banking out of a headwind leg).

Why: the pilot is treating bank as a constant rather than varying it with groundspeed.

Fix: think of the corner banks as a sequence — steep, medium, shallow, medium — not a single value. Say it aloud on the first lap if you have to.

3. Altitude drift in the corner turns

What it looks like: altitude unwinds 50–100 ft during the steeper corner turns (typically the downwind→base corner).

Why: not adding enough back pressure as bank increases — same physics as the steep turn altitude bust in Task A's common errors (A).

Fix: call out "back pressure" aloud as bank passes 20°. Hold the pitch reference against the horizon.

4. Airspeed bleed in the corner turns

What it looks like: airspeed drops 10–15 kt during corner turns.

Why: over-pulling on the elevator to hold altitude in a steep corner — the wing is over-loaded and dragging.

Fix: if altitude is sinking, reduce bank to bring the nose up. Don't pull harder at the same bank — that just trades airspeed for nothing.

5. Ground fixation

What it looks like: altitude and airspeed drift unnoticed while the pilot is locked on the field boundary.

Why: missing the scan cycle — eyes never come back inside.

Fix: 2-second scan cycle. Outside (ground reference + traffic) → inside (altimeter, airspeed, ball) → outside. Verbally call out altitude every leg if it helps establish the habit.

6. Entering at the wrong altitude

What it looks like: you start the maneuver above 1,000 ft AGL or below 600 ft AGL.

Why: descended from cruise but didn't level off before entry, or didn't climb to the right band.

Fix: hit the target altitude before you reach the entry point. Trim for level flight. Verify on the altimeter; cross-check the VSI is at zero.

7. Rolling out early or late at the corner

What it looks like: after the corner, you're not parallel to the next boundary at the offset — you're angled in or angled out.

Why: rolling out by feel rather than by visual reference to the next boundary.

Fix: lead with the boundary, not the heading. Pick the visual cue — the wing tip lining up with the boundary's far edge, or the nose pointing parallel to it — and roll out when the cue arrives.

How errors compound. Ground fixation (#5) is the root of altitude (#3) and airspeed (#4) drift, which both signal the DPE that S4 (division of attention) is failing. Drift-correction errors (#1) and bank-sequencing errors (#2) compound into a non-rectangular track, which is an S1 failure. The fix for almost every fault is anticipate the next corner — start the bank change a beat before the corner, not at the corner.