Do helicopters fly a standard pattern before landing?
The FAA AIM, in 4-3-17 and the Air Traffic Controller Handbook, Section 11, explains VFR helicopter operations at controlled airports. The procedure will depend on the airport and the current traffic.


  Insofar as possible, helicopter operations will be instructed to avoid the flow of fixed-wing aircraft to minimize overall delays; however, there will be many situations where faster/larger helicopters may be integrated with fixed-wing aircraft for the benefit of all concerned.


Helicopters may operate from a designated helicopter landing area. The tower is responsible for separating them from other traffic. The helicopter can fly a much closer pattern than other aircraft, and may stay on the other side of the runway from the typical pattern. They may also operate straight in/out of the landing area, depending on wind and traffic.

They may also be cleared to take off or land in a "nonmovement" area that is not specifically designated for that activity, which could be a ramp at the airport or a location off-airport. This will be up to the tower to provide clearance and the pilot to execute safely.

Helicopters can also operate similarly to fixed-wing aircraft, taking off and landing using a runway, and following taxiways. Wheeled helicopters taxi on the ground. Otherwise, helicopters may either hover taxi, where they fly in ground effect at low speed, or air taxi, where they will fly out of ground effect up to 100 ft AGL and up to 60 kts, as directly as possible to the next point on the field, avoiding obstacles as needed.

Like ratchet freak says, they will generally come in horizontally while descending, flying into the wind, and then come into hover, where they will then be instructed by the tower to taxi to wherever they are going on the field.

Some airports, like in this photo of "spot Charlie" on Taxiway Zulu at Hayward Aiport, may have marked spots on the taxiways or non-movement areas for helicopter operations. In this case, students practicing landings and autorotations will be instructed: "Clear to land, Spot Charlie" to keep them off of the main runway 28L, while in left traffic on the opposite side of the runway of the smaller 28R.



As with any aircraft, the final authority for safety is the pilot, and they must be aware of their limitations and the conditions around them.

At non-towered airports, the procedures can be similar. The pilot should take the wind direction and traffic into account, and announce their intentions on the appropriate frequency.