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Find Your Way on the Surface

Piper Aircraft
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Always use an airport chart (digital or paper) to orient yourself and know your current location.
  • Write down complex taxi clearances to ensure you remember the instructions accurately.
  • Plan your taxi route by working backward from your destination runway or intersection on the chart.
See a mistake? Contact us.

When you’re at an unfamiliar airport and you get taxi instructions as you’re sitting among a maze of taxiways, it’s easy to be lost and a bit confused even as you’re sitting still. So here are a couple of tips to help you feel found and confident instead.

Have a chart handy. I use one of my favorite iPad apps with geo-referenced airport diagram, so I can tell where I am. But a chart made of…what is that material called? Oh yeah, “paper,” can work too. The point is, use a chart!

FLYING Staff

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