Base leg is defined as which of the following?

Base leg is defined as which of the following?

• A. A flight path parallel to the landing runway in the direction of landing.
• B. A flight path at right angles to the landing runway off its approach end and extending from the downwind leg to the intersection of the extended runway centerline.
• C. A flight path after takeoff and along the centerline.
• D. A flight path along the extended runway centerline from base leg to runway.

Answer: (B)

The base leg is the segment of the standard traffic pattern where you turn from the downwind to a path that is perpendicular to the runway, working toward the runway’s approach end and toward the extended runway centerline to set up the final. This right-angle transition from the end of the downwind to the point where you would line up with the runway for final is exactly what defines base. It’s not the leg flown parallel to the runway (that’s the downwind), nor the climb-out path after takeoff along the centerline, nor a path that follows the runway centerline from base to runway. The base leg exists specifically as the perpendicular leg connecting downwind to the final approach.

The base leg is the segment of the standard traffic pattern where you turn from the downwind to a path that is perpendicular to the runway, working toward the runway’s approach end and toward the extended runway centerline to set up the final. This right-angle transition from the end of the downwind to the point where you would line up with the runway for final is exactly what defines base. It’s not the leg flown parallel to the runway (that’s the downwind), nor the climb-out path after takeoff along the centerline, nor a path that follows the runway centerline from base to runway. The base leg exists specifically as the perpendicular leg connecting downwind to the final approach.