Definition
An arrival to a runway made by aligning with the extended runway centerline and descending directly to land, without flying the standard rectangular traffic pattern (upwind, crosswind, downwind, base, final).
Plain English
You fly straight toward the runway and land, instead of circling around the airport first.
Context Anchor
Used in airport traffic pattern discussions, radio calls near an airport, and landing planning when an airplane approaches the runway from outside the normal pattern flow.
Why Pilots Care
At non-towered airports, a straight-in approach can conflict with aircraft flying the standard pattern. Pilots must make clear position calls, watch carefully for traffic on base and final, and yield to aircraft already established in the pattern.
Intuition Check
Straight-in does not mean the pilot has priority or can ignore the normal traffic flow. It only describes the path: directly lined up with the runway instead of flying the full pattern first.
Example Sentence 1
Cleared for the visual approach, the pilot flew a straight-in approach to Runway 27 rather than entering the downwind.
Example Sentence 2
Before accepting a straight-in approach, the pilot scanned the pattern for other traffic.