Why is it called base leg?

RyanB

RyanB

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Just something to put out there, why do they call it "base leg"? The other terminology for pattern legs make sense like upwind,crosswind, downwind etc. but where does "base" come from?
 
Duhhh, if you drew a pattern on a piece of cardboard, cut it out and stood it on one end, which end would you normally stand it on?

Move on.
 
Just a stab, but I think it's the foundation for the final approach so it is the "base" for the final.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Duhhh, if you drew a pattern on a piece of cardboard, cut it out and stood it on one end, which end would you normally stand it on?

Move on.
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That's the dumbest answer I ever heard.
What if you stood the cardboard on it's side? Would you now call the Downwind the base?
 
It used to be called the "Bass leg" because that is generally when the planes reduce power and the engine produced a lower more guttural sound with lots of bass.

That started confusing people who were pronouncing it like the fish so they altered the spelling in 1983 to clarify when written.
 
The bottom leg of a right triangle is called the base. The downwind and base leg form a 90* angle in a no wind situation, so it is called the base leg.

That's my story and I am sticking to it.
 
JOhnH said:
That's the dumbest answer I ever heard.
What if you stood the cardboard on it's side? Would you now call the Downwind the base?
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Well, yeah, if a wind knocked it over, it would fall on the "downwind" side.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
It used to be called the "Bass leg" because that is generally when the planes reduce power and the engine produced a lower more guttural sound with lots of bass.

That started confusing people who were pronouncing it like the fish so they altered the spelling in 1983 to clarify when written.
Click to expand...

I don't drink much beer these days, but when I do, I'll order a pint of Base.
 
most people don't know that the leg was actually named after the Public Enemy song Bring the Noise, as in "Base (leg), how low can you go?". because, you know, the base leg is where you start your decent, so that's where that came from. fo realz.
 
Because when listening to heavy music, you're always waiting for the bass to drop. The Base Leg is where you start to reduce altitude, and therefore, you are waiting for the base to drop.

Final is called final because in the old days, you used to countdown to the TDZE starting from 10. If you entered final too far out, your countdown would reveal your mistake. There was a popular song in the 80s that captured the sentiment behind this written by Europe. Despite the name, they were all pilots in the United States.
 
Countercrosswind would be a mouthful to call out on the radio.
 
FastEddieB said:
There are no dumb answers.

Except maybe that one, of course!
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I wouldn't have posted it that way, except that his post started with "duhhh", which is slang for "that's stupid". I thought I would keep it in the same vein. If he meant for his "duhhh" to be humorous, then he should have accepted mine as such.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
It used to be called the "Bass leg" because that is generally when the planes reduce power and the engine produced a lower more guttural sound with lots of bass.

That started confusing people who were pronouncing it like the fish so they altered the spelling in 1983 to clarify when written.
Click to expand...


I vote for this one, lets get that in wikipedia.
 
Base to final ,just sounds right.
 
jim.nelson said:
It's from the French "basse" meaning "low".

I just made that up, but it sounds good.
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Dammit, I was Googling "Base" for that exact definition and couldn't find it. Thank you.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
It used to be called the "Bass leg" because that is generally when the planes reduce power and the engine produced a lower more guttural sound with lots of bass.

That started confusing people who were pronouncing it like the fish so they altered the spelling in 1983 to clarify when written.
Click to expand...

bass_turn.jpg
 
It's the leg you base your final approach off of.


Yes I made that up.
 
eman1200 said:
most people don't know that the leg was actually named after the Public Enemy song Bring the Noise, as in "Base (leg), how low can you go?". because, you know, the base leg is where you start your decent, so that's where that came from. fo realz.
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This is phenomenal.
 
Trapezoid
Upwind and Downwind are legs.
Crosswind and Base are bases.

"I'm flying the downwind leg" sounds ok but "I'm flying the base base" sounds dumb. So we don't say it. :)
 
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SixPapaCharlie said:
It used to be called the "Bass leg" because that is generally when the planes reduce power and the engine produced a lower more guttural sound with lots of bass.

That started confusing people who were pronouncing it like the fish so they altered the spelling in 1983 to clarify when written.
Click to expand...

lol. More than a little genius in this one...
 
Ryanb said:
Just something to put out there, why do they call it "base leg"? The other terminology for pattern legs make sense like upwind,crosswind, downwind etc. but where does "base" come from?
Click to expand...

Great question....

I can't wait to hear the actual answer...
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
It used to be called the "Bass leg" because that is generally when the planes reduce power and the engine produced a lower more guttural sound with lots of bass.

That started confusing people who were pronouncing it like the fish so they altered the spelling in 1983 to clarify when written.
Click to expand...

Semi clever but wrong. I consulted Dr. Irwin Corry who states that it is correctly pronounced BOSS leg, which of course refers to female anatomy, which means your getting close.
 
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If it wasn't called the base leg, we couldn't talk about the base turn to final spin. Duh. :D
 
i'm so confused at this point that I'll just do straight in arrivals regardless of traffic in the area. They're obviously smart enough to keep their bASSES at of my way, right? and they should watch their arms as well as their legs.
 
Youse guys are overthinkin' it as usual - ya can't call it "the other crosswind" sos ya gotta call it something else. Youse can see the entire airbase from the "base" leg sos ya might as well call it "Base" QED
 
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