The Portland International Jetport welcomes Airlink Flight School to the community! 

About Airlink

Airlink, an FAA-approved operation, trains people to get a commercial or private pilot's license. The flight school uses small single- and twin-engine aircraft. During flight training students will routinely "fly the pattern" which is an approximately 2 mile circuit centered on the runway. Neighbors will experience repeated overflight of training aircraft. 

Runway Usage

Runway usage for flight training will be determined by the Air Traffic Control tower to maximize safety between training aircraft and commercial service. This will likely mean more utilization of the Jetports north/south runway for flight training.

"The Pattern"

Flight training consist of four legs.

Upwind is flying in the direction of runway usage. Typically a student will fly upwind between 1-2 miles beyond the end of the runway before turning to the crosswind leg.

Crosswind is flying perpendicular to the runway heading. This leg is typically between 1-2 miles in length before turning to the downwind leg.

Downwind is flying parallel to the runway but in the opposite direction of traffic. For safety reasons this leg is typically offset 1-2 miles from the runway to ensure separation of aircraft. When flying the pattern the downwind leg is typically the longest leg of the pattern between 3-4 miles in length before turning to the base leg.

Base is the opposite of the crosswind leg. The pilot turns perpendicular to the runway heading to line eventually line up with the final approach approximately 2 miles from the end of the runway.

Final is the last leg of the pattern. This 1-2 mile leg is where the aircraft lines up with the runway centerline and descends to land on the runway.