Always Remember to Taxi with Care

There’s no shortcut that is worth risking a dinged propeller or any other airplane damage.

Meg Godlewski

Tuesday, March 05, 2024 at 06:55 PM ET

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Seat placement can make or break a flight as sight picture can be everything for a pilot trainee. [Credit: Pixabay]

Key Takeaways:

Safe taxiing requires constant situational awareness, including checking for foreign object debris (FOD), maintaining wingtip clearance, and staying on designated taxiways.
Pilots should taxi slowly, utilize energy management instead of riding brakes, and perform thorough brake checks before flight.
Strictly adhere to taxiway lines and paths, avoiding shortcuts, and ensure all ground equipment like tie-downs and chocks are properly stored to prevent accidents and damage.

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Lesson two was about to begin for the private pilot candidate. Before I climbed into the airplane I spied something on the taxiway that shouldn’t be there. It was a bolt about half as big as a smartphone. I picked it up and the learner remarked it was a good thing we didn’t taxi over it. I agreed and noted foreign object debris (FOD) isn’t the only thing to worry about when you are taxiing from parking.

Watch Those Wings

“Move like a minesweeper in troubled waters,” my instructor said as we pulled out of the aircraft parking area. Protocol at the school meant pulling the aircraft out of its parking stall with the towbar and positioning it perpendicular to the stall and making sure the tail wasn’t pointed at another aircraft before engine start.