CFI'S POINT OF VIEW give way. This is not how we should be training new pilots as it only instills bad habits. This mindset may originate from operations at towered airports where a rigorous traffic pattern structure is not necessarily a normal operational discipline because ATC will position aircraft according to traffic needs and safety. It is not uncommon to be directed by ATC to " continue inbound and report a three-mile base/ final. " I suggest that pilots who may have made assumptions about the accepted traffic practices at airports in Class G or E airspace give AC 90-66B or the AIM a good read. The safest entry to a traffic pattern is the 45-degree to downwind, or overhead tear drop. Fly safely. Allen Alwin, a Wright Brothers Master Pilot and FAA Safety Team Representative since 2008, has completed 63 FAA Wings phases. He's a 3,600-hour pilot and active flight instructor and a Civil Air Patrol Check Pilot. Do you agree with the author? Share your thoughts on the subject and your experience with traffic pattern encounters, whether good or bad. Email machteld.smith@aopa.org or cfinewsletter@aopa.org THE MOST FREQUENT TRAFFIC CONFLICTS ARE CAUSED BY AIRCRAFT ARRIVING FROM A NEARBY TOWERED FIELD ANNOUNCING AN 8-MILE FINAL OR A 5-MILE EXTENDED DOWNWIND TO THE OPPOSITE RUNWAY, HOPING OTHER OCCUPANTS IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN WILL GIVE WAY.