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It doesn’t matter whether you are flying a Cessna 152 or a Boeing 747, knowing how to taxi an airplane safely and efficiently are just as important as flying the airplane.

It is unfortunate, but numerous accidents occur every year because an aircraft collides with a vehicle because the pilot fails to clear the area or because it moves forward because the brake wasn’t set.

One of my flight instructors once asked, “How fast should you taxi an airplane?“

It’s a question asked by a lot of flight instructors. The answer you hear mostly is, “A brisk walk!” Or something similar. He looked at me and said, “Well, what’s a brisk walk?” At that point, I gave up and shrugged my shoulders.

He said, “Wouldn’t it be a speed that was safe? One that you could stop the airplane quickly in an emergency and always have control.” Again, I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Yea, I guess.“

Over the years, I learned how to taxi safely and with finesse. It really all made sense one day when I was watching the “Blue Angels” practice one day in Rockford, Illinois. We were waiting out a break in their practice session to be able to take off for Denver. Three Blue Angels were up practicing while three more were waiting at the end of the runway for their turn. The three in the air eventually landed and were taxing back to the ramp when I noticed how regally they were taxiing. They were in no hurry at all, if fact they were going just the right speed that spoke volumes about how important and good they were. I thought to myself, “Man, that looks cool!”

Now, if you have ever flown a Cessna 150, you know that you steer with the foot pedals, you brake with pressure on top of the rudder pedals, and you control speed with a combination braking and increasing/decreasing engine speed with the throttle. Through a series of rods, wires, and pulleys you control the nose wheel. Many other airplanes these days have gotten away from such contraptions and just use differential braking.

The CRJ200, on the other hand, is steered using a tiller or the rudder pedals. The tiller on the CRJ200 is located on the captain’s side on side console and gives you a great range of motion. There is no mechanical connection between the flight deck controls and the steering actuators. Nose wheel steering commands are transmitted electronically using “steer-by-wire” technology.

So how do you taxi?

Do you think about your taxi?

Are you heavy on the thrust/throttle and brakes?

The first thing I do before I even start engines is discuss the “possible” and “alternate” taxi routes to the runway using the 10-9 chart for the airport. If you have ever flown into Chicago O’Hare, you will know that sometimes the taxi can be unbelievably complicated. It is important to have a plan in your head and be familiar with the airport layout before you even start to taxi.

The next thing I consider is the ramp congestion.

At some airports, especially the smaller outstations, the ground crew don’t have pushback tugs which means that I have to start both engines at the gate and turn out towards the taxiway. In Chicago, many times I’m pushed back from the gate into the middle of the ramp. In either case, I need to consider the equipment and personnel around me. I don’t want to put too much thrust into the engines and possibly knock over some equipment or blow some ground crew over.

When it is time to move the airplane, I clear my side and the co-pilot clears their side. Once I have confirmation from the ramper that the area around my airplane is clear, only then can I release the brakes and start moving the airplane.

But before I add thrust to move the airplane, I  consider how much power to use to overcome the inertia of moving a big airplane. After the brake is released and before I add thrust, I slowly release the pressure on the toe brakes. Now is the time for finesse. I think about how heavy my airplane is today, the ramp conditions (i.e., snow, etc.), how much of a turn to I need to make, and what equipment (trucks, baggage carts, terminal ramps, airplanes) is around me.

Once I release the toe brakes, and before I add thrust, I wait to see if the airplane starts to move by itself.

If it does start to move, I just touch the brakes again, ever so slightly, to make sure I have brakes in case of an emergency. If I don’t need power, I let the idle thrust get me going. If I do need power, I slowly advance the thrust levers till I do start moving. Once I’m moving, the thrust levers get pulled back just enough to keep the speed I want all the while keeping my feet on the brakes in case I need to make a quick stop. In many cases, idle thrust will be enough to keep me going.

Once moving, it is my goal to give the passengers a smooth ride just like if they were riding in the back of a limousine. If I do my job right, they won’t feel us start moving, they won’t hear the engines spool up, they won’t feel the turns, and they won’t feel the stops. Essentially, they should be in the back and not even aware that they are riding in an airplane.

Furthermore, if the passengers look outside the window, they won’t see us barreling along like we are ready for takeoff. I’ll be taxiing at a pace that is both safe and pleasant and allows me to see things developing me ahead of time and adjust for taxi instructions without jeopardizing the safety of my passengers or my airplane.

Real life event. We were in San Francisco one morning after having just landed. It was dark outside and wet. We were cleared to the gate when ground control says over the radio, “Hawaiian 123, give way to the regional jet crossing from left to right.“

Well I had already seen this airplane and was slowing down. Hawaiian didn’t answer, so the ground controller said it again. This time they answered but they weren’t paying attention and asked the controller to “say again.” By this time it was too late. If I hadn’t come to a stop, anticipating that they may not stop and assuming I had the right-of-way, we might have collided.

It is a lot easier to stop a CRJ200 than it is to stop a Boeing 767 taxiing at high speed across a runway. Needless to say, the Hawaiian airplane never slowed down or acknowledged the clearance. Not a good situation but my passengers never knew what happened because I never had to take emergency action.

With that in mind, I always strive to stop the airplane smoothly and without the ever present jerk. It takes a lot of work and planning. Just like when you are thinking what are the “next two things” in the air, during your taxi operations, you should be doing the same thing. I found that as you come to stop, if you slowly let up on the brake pressure, you will come to a nice stop without the jerk.

Finally, while parking, as I pull into the gate, I look for where the CRJ nose wheel is suppose to stop, I’m watching my wing walkers, I’m watching the center line, I’m watching my guideman and I’m listening to my co-pilot. As I slow into the ramp, keeping my feet on the brake pedals, I advance the thrust levers just a bit to keep me moving. I am now controlling my speed primarily with the brakes pedals, adding and releasing pressure as needed to maintain a constant speed. You will find that when you are in tight quarters, having some thrust already applied, when you make the turn you can control it with the brakes and make a nice, smooth controlled turn. I’ve seen a lot of pilots fall behind the power curve, get stopped and now add too much power to get moving again. Things get a bit dodgy and can result in an abrupt stop or a nose wheel steering failure which can be disconcerting and annoying for the passengers. Plus, if you do come up short, that extra thrust should be enough to get you moving again without gunning the thrust levers.

Do I do it right every time? No way! But I always go into it with a plan. I always strive for safety first which translates into a smooth, comfortable taxi for my passengers and shows that the regional airline pilot has just as much professionalism and airmanship as the pilots at the majors.

One final note! Whenever you are stopped, put the brake on! Stop, Brake! Stop, Brake! You will be glad you did!

To Your Flying Success,

Jeffrey

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