The Left-Turn Convention Every Pilot Learns Before Anything Else

Clearing turns — the check pilots make before starting a maneuver — are flown to the left as a matter of standard practice, not personal choice. The convention traces to the same safety procedures and overtaking rules that govern right-of-way in the air, and instructors treat it as essential from a student's earliest lessons. It's a habit set early in a trainer and kept for the rest of a flying career, however far a pilot's logbook eventually goes.

With reporting from Flying.