Landing-pattern terminology, leg by leg
Downwind, base and final, the hand of a pattern, crab and drift, the holding area, the high-performance area and the alternate — what each term means and where it comes from.
Reviewed Oct 7, 2026 · 7 cited sources · Sources
The pattern and its three legs
A landing pattern is the planned downwind, base and final legs flown before landing, so that everyone in the air is predictable. [1]
The downwind leg runs with the wind behind you, parallel to the final and off to one side; base crosses the wind; final points into the wind, toward the landing area. [2]
Wind changes each leg differently: on downwind it adds to your ground speed, on final it subtracts, and on base it mostly pushes you sideways. [2]
Left-hand and right-hand patterns
The hand names the turn direction: in a left-hand pattern both turns go left, so seen from above the pattern runs anticlockwise; a right-hand pattern mirrors it. [2]
Drop-zone briefings usually publish one pattern per wind direction, each with its own hand, so the same drop zone can fly a left-hand pattern in the morning and a right-hand one after the wind changes. [3]
Crab and drift
To stay on a planned leg in a crosswind, the canopy points its nose partly into the wind — the crab angle — and the ground track stays where it was planned. [2]
Holding the leg's compass heading instead lets the wind carry the canopy off the line; that sideways movement is drift. [2]
Holding area and pattern entry
The holding area is where canopies wait, with the wind, until it is their turn to enter the downwind leg — out of the pattern and out of the high-performance area; where it sits is a briefing fact for each drop zone. [2][3]
Opening order usually sets landing order, and the pattern is entered one canopy at a time from the holding area. [4]
The high-performance area
USPA SIM 5-9 describes separate landing areas and traffic patterns for high-performance landings, so that fast, turning canopies and the standard pattern do not share the same air. [5]
Briefings mark where that area is and the rule that goes with it, alongside the main and alternate landing areas. [3]
Right of way and predictable flight
The lower canopy is widely taught to have right of way, because it cannot see above and behind it; drop-zone rules decide what applies locally. [4]
The commonly taught picture of a final near other canopies is a straight line, without S-turns, spirals or late changes of direction. [4]
Alternate areas, landing out and long spots
An alternate landing area is a planned option that gets its own normal pattern into the wind; briefings name the alternates in advance. [6]
Landing out is described in the Academy as a planned decision, made while the options are still open. [6]
A long spot means opening further from the landing area than usual; Pete Lubrano's article describes the set-up point over the ground moving closer to the landing area in a strong headwind. [1][7]
Sources
Each statement above was checked against these sources on Oct 7, 2026. Link checks come from the site's source registry; sources are listed as cited, not endorsed or ranked.
- GlossarySkyLara page — the sources behind it are listed on that page.
- Landing pattern & traffic — The landing patternSkyLara page — the sources behind it are listed on that page.
- Landing pattern & traffic — Reading a drop-zone briefingSkyLara page — the sources behind it are listed on that page.
- Landing pattern & traffic — Sharing the pattern: what is commonly taughtSkyLara page — the sources behind it are listed on that page.
- USPA SIM 5-9 — Canopy Piloting · www.uspa.orgchecked Oct 7, 2026
- Landing pattern & traffic — Adjusting the patternSkyLara page — the sources behind it are listed on that page.
- Skydivemag — You're Long. Now What? (Pete Lubrano) · www.skydivemag.comchecked Oct 7, 2026