thanks everybody for your replies.
I have done the tutorial.
what i do not need to know is how to fly a pattern.
my question is.
in game after you contact an airport for landing instruction a pattern entry sign post appears with a height, in the direction of the airport.
how do i then activate the pattern entry sign post so that in the atc window the option to ask to be cleared to land appears.
do i need to be above or below the indicated height as i pass thru the sign post ?, is there a specific direction i should be traveling in as i approach the sign post ?
i have spent ages flying back and forth thru the post at different heights and directions, and in the end i just land and have the atc tell me to get off the runway as i did not have permission to land.