Training and Safety Tip: Know where to go when you get there
Study your destination airport's layout before flight
The Cessna 170 landed beautifully on Runway 8, then slowed and turned onto Taxiway F. I sighed. Not again.
I put on my hat and trudged across the gravel from my ancient hangar toward the unmarked taxiway. By the time I got there, the bewildered pilot was standing next to his classic taildragger, gazing at the cracked, weed-riddled ramp; the dirt taxiway; and the ancient beacon tower topped with two nesting crows instead of a beacon.
My hangar is on the wrong side of the tracks, but I love it.
“You bet,” I told him. “Gas, bathrooms…even ice cream.” Then, I directed him to the main apron and terminal on the other side of the field. “Flip a U-turn, taxi on down Eight to Charlie, cross One-Niner, then hang a right on Alfa. The apron is midfield.” Like any good chair-taxiing pilot, I demonstrated the turns with my hands as I talked.
“Ah,” he said, “I had a hard time sorting it out from the pattern.” I smiled politely, but I’m amazed by how often this happens at my home base—amazed because one thing you should always do as part of your flight planning is to study the layout of the airports you intend to use. Knowing where to go once you touch down is as much a part of flight planning as knowing how to navigate to the airport in the first place.
The chart supplement is one place to go to complete your knowledge of an airport, but I get it: The listings are text- and abbreviation-dense and take some practice to understand. And, while the chart supplement will tell you if there is fuel, it won’t tell you where on the field to find it.
Your electronic flight bag (EFB) can show you the way. The airport information tabs will tell you who on the airfield sells fuel, their hours of operation, and most importantly, where the service is located. For small airports with no “official” airport diagram, EFBs also include satellite images, allowing you to study the layout of the runways, taxiways, and infrastructure before your flight. This pattern view, without the distraction of the pattern, will help you to end up on the right side of the airport when you roll out, rather than looking lost and bewildered on the wrong side of the tracks.
