19 Crosswind Circuits
CASA Recreational Pilot License (Aeroplane) — CASA Sample Syllabus Lesson 19.
This lesson introduces crosswind circuit technique, building on the student's established circuit skills from Lessons 6–15. The lesson covers aircraft and personal crosswind limits, how to calculate or look up the crosswind component, as well as how to taxi, take-off and land with crosswind. The student also reviews engine failure after take-off and in the circuit area, and practises radio communications in non-standard circuit situations.
Theory Brief
Section titled “Theory Brief”Crosswind limits (aircraft, operator, and personal), the crosswind component calculation, and the technique for correcting drift on landing — crabbing down final, then aligning with rudder in the flare and lowering the upwind wing slightly to settle onto the upwind wheel first. The theory covers each phase of the circuit — take-off roll, lift-off, approach, touchdown, and landing roll — and establishes the go-around decision as the primary airmanship tool. View the slides on this page below or open the slides directly.
Pre-flight briefing notes
Section titled “Pre-flight briefing notes”The pre-flight brief (~15 min, immediately before the flight) works best as an interactive whiteboard session, not slides — stepping through the circuit, the crosswind corrections, and the threats together with the student. These printable notes give you the briefing components (aim, today's flight walk-through, threats, directional-control airmanship emphasis) with prompts and fill-in blanks, plus a front page to sketch your own whiteboard plan and running order. Plan and run through it yourself before the lesson, but remember: modelling the process of the pre-flight brief is more important than presenting a polished one. This is why we do it interactively rather than as a presentation. Download the PDF of the briefing notes to print or use offline.
In-flight notes
Section titled “In-flight notes”Instructor kneeboard reference for the airborne sequence. These use a portrait layout for easier use on a kneeboard or device. View the slides on this page on the right or open the slides directly, or download the PDF of the in-flight notes to print or use on your device offline.
Post-flight debrief
Section titled “Post-flight debrief”I plan to add post-flight debriefs once I have more experience conducting them, but I'm assuming it'll be more of a personal preference with assessment outcomes than a set of slides.
Useful resources for students
Section titled “Useful resources for students”- The NZ Civil Aviation Authority has a comprehensive Crosswind circuit whiteboard (686 KB PDF) that covers the drift-correction diagrams and technique in the NZ CAA Flight Instructor Guide style — suitable for the student to download and study before the flight.
Example email to students before the lesson
Section titled “Example email to students before the lesson”If you are an instructor, feel free to modify this for your own use. Sending an email a few days before a lesson is a great way to engage people in the learning before they even arrive (if they have time and capacity).
Subject: Lesson 19 — Crosswind Circuits
Hi [name],
This next lesson builds directly on all the circuit practice you've done — the difference is that today the wind won't be conveniently aligned with the runway. We'll be flying crosswind circuits, which means learning to correct for the drift that a crosswind creates, especially at touchdown and during the landing roll.
Before the flight we'll have a short theory session (~30 min) covering crosswind limits, how to calculate the crosswind component, and the technique for correcting drift on approach and landing. Then we'll fly for about an hour of circuit practice.
If you'd like to prepare, the NZ CAA has a clear one-page Crosswind circuit whiteboard [1] worth a look. You can also work through the full briefings on this site [2].
When: [day]
See you then! [1] https://www.aviation.govt.nz/assets/licensing-and-certification/flight-instructor-guide/whiteboards/fig-whiteboard-ct-cwc.pdf [2] https://open-aviation-solutions.github.io/open-aviation-briefings/recreational-pilot-license/19-crosswind-circuits/