convair880mfan, reference your question:
convair880mfan wrote:I am wondering whether this kind of thing is still used?
yes, of course they are still used--at least at my operator--because as pilots transition to a new aircraft, they need a certain amount of structure and defined procedure until they gain experience and confidence in flying the aircraft. The caveat to this, naturally, is that we also expect pilots to have flexibility and hopefully exercise good judgment so as to be able to vary from those procedures when required; for example, ATC request for higher airspeed or being assigned an altitude higher than standard.
As an example, in the A320 series, in a perfect world, if an aircraft is making a downwind arrival to an airport, my carrier recommends being at Flaps 1 and 210 KIAS abeam the airfield. Then, we teach to reduce to 180 KIAS and select Flaps 2 on base, then gear down and Flaps 3 one mile prior to the FAF, and finally, Flaps Full and landing checklist crossing the FAF.
In another aircraft I flew, it was similar--Flaps 20 abeam the airport, Flaps 30 on base, Gear and Flaps 40 a mile from the FAF, and Flaps 50 at the FAF. If making a straight in approach, the saying was, "20/20: Flaps 20 at 20 nm from the field."
You will get many more responses to your question, but couple this with your previous question about drag devices and slowing down, and this is where judgement and experience come in to play, with the need for speedbrakes and perhaps gear to achieve the desired results of speed, configuration, and proper glidepath.
The reason for a structured landing pattern is: it gives the pilots a basic plan of airspeed, altitude and configuration from which they can begin to deviate, as necessary. A plan provides a basis from which you can begin to deviate.
e38