Wikipedia:POTD column/January 21, 2006

An airfield traffic pattern is a standard path followed by aircraft when taking off or landing at an airport.The pattern (or circuit) is a conventional standard path for coordinating air traffic. It differs from so-called "straight in approaches" and "direct climb outs" in that aircraft using a traffic pattern remain in close proximity to the airport. Circuits are usually employed at small general aviation (GA) airfields and military airbases.

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