Awareness at the Line

Have you ever been on short final and had an aircraft pull out on the runway in front of you, causing you to go around? How about coming in on a half mile final at a towered airport and an aircraft calls for takeoff clearance? Do they really think they will get cleared for takeoff with someone almost ready to land? Have you been number one at the line, patiently waiting for the aircraft on final to land before you call ready, and the airplane behind you in the runup calls ready? We’ve all been either the recipient or the giver of these events.

So how do we avoid the close calls and mistakes? AWARENESS and COURTESY! Such simple words, but complex concepts in practice.

Here are three of my pre-takeoff techniques that I hope will make a huge difference in how we play nice together in the pattern.

1. If you fly a high wing, pay attention to this: When you are at the hold short line and sitting perpendicular to the line, those big wings block you from seeing who’s on final or close in on base. This sets you up for the possible pull out on the runway or the unnecessary call to Tower for takeoff clearance. Now the Tower has to use valuable frequency time to tell you to hold short, followed by you repeating the hold short instruction.

Try this: Maneuver your airplane behind the line, so that your nose is on a 45° angle to final and base. Now take a careful look to see who’s there. If someone is on base or final, just hold your horses! Wait till they cross the line or land before you pull out or before you call ready for takeoff. This method applies to low wings too, even though it’s easier to see final. If we all did this, it would go a long way in eliminating those unnecessary calls or close calls on takeoff. It does not slow things up. You aren’t going anywhere till they land anyway.

2. Have you been number one at the line, patiently waiting for the aircraft on final to land before you call ready, and the airplane behind you in the runup calls ready, followed by the aircraft behind him or her? Pretty soon, everybody’s ready! If you are not number one at the line, you are not ready! Number one is ready and will call when final is clear. On a busy day or at a runway that Tower doesn’t have a good visual on who’s at the line, this can cause extreme confusion and another example of wasted radio calls, tying up the frequency. It’s like the Three Stooges “Who’s on first?” sketch. Tower has to ask who is number one, and it takes valuable frequency time to sort things out. Please be courteous and wait your turn.

3. Situational awareness requires listening as well as seeing. While in the runup, monitor the Tower/CTAF frequency to get a mental picture of who’s coming in, how far away they are, what runway they are landing on. At a non-towered airport this is extremely important. If someone is calling their base or final, wait. Someone on the downwind, get a visual and you probably have time to take off. Listen for opposing or crossing runway traffic too. Remember that nobody is required to use the radio at a non-towered airport, so Tip #1 is very important.

Hopefully these tips will help us all be safer and more courteous as we takeoff. Happy flying!