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Circuit trainer preview

CIRCUIT TRAINER PREVIEW · CESSNA 172

Set up your circuit

Aerodrome
Runway
Circuit direction

This trainer flies a standard circuit. This field is fictional, so it never stands in for a real aerodrome's procedures. Real circuit directions, heights and procedures are in ERSA. AIP and ERSA (Airservices Australia)

Circuit flown here: Left-hand, the standard direction, at 1,000 ft above the aerodrome: the standard circuit height for medium performance aircraft such as the C172.

Sources for the standard circuit and the runway data
  • CASA Visual Flight Rules Guide v8.3 (February 2026)Standard circuit procedures (CASR 91.385) and Circuit heights. CC BY-NC 4.0, quoted with attribution to CASA
    “The standard aerodrome traffic circuit pattern facilitates an orderly flow of traffic and is normally a circuit pattern made with all turns to the left.”
    “Aerodromes that have right-hand circuits are listed in ERSA.”
    “Medium performance (includes most piston engine aircraft and gliders)”
    “1,000 ft above aerodrome elevation”
    The last two quotes are one row of the circuit heights table.
  • CASA AC 91-10 v1.7, Operations in the vicinity of non-controlled aerodromesSection 7.4 Arrival procedures. CC BY 4.0, quoted with attribution to CASA
    “The pilot should overfly or circle the aerodrome at least 500 ft above the circuit height, usually 2 000 ft or more above aerodrome elevation.”
    “When the circuit direction has been determined, the pilot should position the aircraft to a point well clear of the circuit (normally the non-active side of the circuit) before descending to the circuit height applicable to the aircraft’s performance (refer to Figure 3).”
  • Lilydale Airport (YLIL) is not in the trainer: runway 18/36, OurAirports gives no position for either end and no width.

Scenery is generic. Buildings, trees and hills are not the real aerodrome’s, and the ground is flat at the aerodrome elevation. There is no wind.

Scenario
Mouse
Yoke: forward pitches down, left and right roll. Click the view to capture the mouse.
Mouse wheel or [ ]
Elevator trim
+ and - (or Page Up/Down)
Throttle
F / Shift+F
Flaps down / up one stage
Z and X
Rudder (steering on the ground)
Arrow keys
Yoke without a mouse
B, C, V, P
Brakes, centre the yoke, change view, pause