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Exams Taken
992,087
Feature Article: Taxiing
Because of side by side seating the student pilot must be helped
to find where to look for putting the nose wheel on the taxiway
center line. Move the plane so as to be centered on a line. Have
the student seated as usual and from a distance of thirty feet,
slowly move in stages toward the aircraft nose. To the student
you will be aligned with the center of students yoke. The center
line due to parallax goes between the student's legs though some
use the inside leg for aiming.. A post solo student might be helped
by an instructor some distance ahead and facing the taxiing aircraft
giving arm signals. See the AIM for taxiing signals.
The most likely aircraft accident occurs while taxiing. Casual
taxiing and parking attitudes are preludes to accidents. Taxi
scared. It is not possible to taxi too slowly but some compromise
with the practical requires a speed equivalent fast walk. Always
taxi as though the wind were at thirty knots to acquire expertise
in the correct yoke movement. In real windy conditions you will
have less than ten seconds to correctly position the controls.
Arrive at the run up area so as to allow the engine to face the
wind for additional cooling and to allow maximum room for other
aircraft. Circumstances such as blowing dust or noise may require
that aircraft be facing a specific direction while in the runup
area. Remain as far back from the taxiway as possible to allow
safe passage of long winged aircraft.
More Taxiing
Taxiing is flying with the wheels on the ground. There are
only two dimensions and you must control direction and speed.
You can control the speed with the throttle and the direction
with the combination of rudder and brake. Reduce power once you
start rolling. The wind effecting the wing and rudder are the
imponderables that require anti-instinctive control movements
of the yoke. Staying on the yellow lines should give obstacle
clearance but watch out anyway. The exception to this is when
there is snow/ice on existing tire tracks. Be original, make your
own tracks.
Taxiing starts once you leave the parking spot after doing the
brake check. Taxiing also begins when you cross the hold bar lines
on clearing the runway and completing the post-landing checklist.
Difficulty controlling taxi direction is indicative of a brake
or wind problem. If you are having taxiing difficulty, slow down.
Make sharp turns with careful use of a brake-power combination.
Do all taxiing that does not involve sharp turns by use of the
rudder pedals and not the brakes. Do not ride the brakes. At the
first opportunity get a look at their size and you will see why.
Hot brakes lose their ability to stop the plane.
Clearing the final and BASE should be a part of every takeoff.
Monitoring the radio, alone, is not sufficient insurance to be
sure that another aircraft will not make your takeoff more thrilling
than usual.
The POH usually indicates a neutral for head and tail winds and
all . For all other winds dive away from quartering winds behind
you and climb into any quartering headwinds. In winds less than
20 knots I believe that you are just as well off diving away from
any wind behind you and climbing into any kind of head wind.
Taxiing hand signals are self evident. When you turn off the magnetos
it is a courtesy to show the keys to the line boy in front of
the airplane.
Reader questioned my following statement:
In your Shutdown checklist, there is this entry: "Make a
smooth/sharp turns".
Why the statement?
Most aircraft are parked in rows that require them to be pushed
back into their allotted space. At my home field the aircraft
are parked in rows. The incompetent pilot swerves far too close
to one side of the land and then makes a sweeping turn to face
away from his tie-down. Over the year more of our club planes
have been damaged by such a procedure than by any other cause.
A skilled pilot can make the turn very smoothly with brake and
power while keeping the cockpit over the taxi center line. One
of the last things a student learns to do well is taxi. 46% of
all aircraft damade results from taxiing impact.
I am of a nature to believe that everything worthwhile has been
invented by a lazy man. This even applies to pre-historic times
as well as present day. Why is a computer better than a typewriter?
Being able to align an aircraft cleanly into position so that
it can be pushed back into its space without a towbar is a skill
that pays off during the first rain. At some point in a pilot's
flying career he is going to need this skill big time. Better
to get the basics early.
Last Modified July 8, ©2026 TAGE.COM