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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!”

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A couple months ago I was flying from Dallas-Fort Worth (KDFW) to Denver (KDEN).

It had been a rough four-day trip so far and this particular leg was no different. Bad weather was ahead of us and the controller was swamped with airplanes being vectored this way and that way.

We had just been picked up by a Denver Center controller when it happened. We were issued, or I thought we were issued, a descent clearance.

I don’t remember the specific altitude change but I thought it was odd because it was the wrong altitude for the direction of flight; regardless, I read back the clearance and descended.

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Press play to listen to the podcast for this posting on your browser or download the “Altitude Awareness Stops Altitude Deviations” mp3 to your computer here [18 mins. 16.4 MB].

A few minutes later, the controller asked if we were descending. I said that we were maintaining the altitude we were cleared to. She said that we had never been cleared to that altitude. (Momentary awkward silence on the frequency…not good!) I responded by telling her that I HAD read back the clearance to her.

We were re-cleared to maintain our “new” altitude and were subsequently given a lower altitude. Meanwhile, I’m mad at myself for not having questioned the clearance and possibly executing a descent for another aircraft all the while replaying what just happened in my head.

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The other day we were flying somewhere, it really is a blur sometimes, and part of my pre-flight preparation is to program the Flight Management System (FMS) with all the pertinent information for our flight. It takes about 10 minutes, maybe less if I’m in a rush, to get it to a point that my first officer can double check the work.

Now the Collins FMS 4200 we use allows you to either enter stored routes in the database for quick retrieval or program the route one way point at a time.

You have to be careful either way.

Many times your “stored” route is different from your cleared route or your pre-departure clearance (PDC) route. You need to study your release and clearances carefully and then confirm the route that you have entered. Many times ATC will delete, change, or add a waypoint.

Whether you get your clearance via clearance delivery or through a PDC, if you don’t understand the clearance or you have a question about the routing, pick up the microphone and ask. Don’t take off if there is any doubt in your mind. I’ve become very cautious about this. I’ve learned that if either my first officer or myself have ANY doubt, whatsoever, about the clearance, we call.

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Dear Fellow Pilot:

As you know, I love to blog about flying and the CRJ200…but I couldn’t have done it without the help of Yaro Starak and Gideon Shalwick. And they have a book that you need to download (for free) if you want to take a crack at blogging.

It’s fre.e!

It’s no-nonsense!

And I think you will really connect with these guys. I know I did!

In fact, they are the only ones I listen to. And even if you don’t think you have something to blog about, it is still worth checking out because I think you will be surprised that you actually DO have something to blog about…and eventually you can make money doing it too!

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This is the second the part of my recurrent simulator proficiency check (PC) that I did. If you haven’t read the first part, CRJ-200 Recurrent Simulator Proficiency Check – Part 1, just click here.

As a recap, every six months I have to head to the “official” CRJ200 flight simulator at FlightSafety in Salt Lake City for either a proficiency check or LOFT.

This proficiency check (PC) was a little different than all my previous ones because this one was two days long instead on one day long. This new setup had an immediate benefit since the first day was a non-jeopardy training session, which means we could really blotch a maneuver and we would be retrained on it. It also benefited us because it gave us a chance to get comfortable with the simulator again, because the simulator doesn’t necessarily fly like the real airplane. Close but not quite.

On the first day, we did several maneuvers that we don’t normally do like high-altitude stalls, zero flap landings, and complex departure procedures in IMC weather with an engine-out at airports that have rising terrain and high-density altitudes. Good stuff!

Needless to say it was a good experience.

On day two though, we had the official PC.

At a minimum, doing a PC, we are required to comply with the Federal Aviation Regulations, FAR 121.439 (recent experience) and FAR 121.441 (proficiency checks), company procedures and operations, know the CRJ200 aircraft systems and fly to Airline Transport Practical Test Standards (PTS).

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