Taxi Instruction Short Hand?

bc2209

bc2209

Well-Known Member
I was thinking the other day about how you guys copy instructions at a busy, unfamiliar airport.

I have just become semi-comfortable with my own shorthand in writing down longer than average taxi instructions.

Is there a correct/standard way to copy instructions or does everyone have their own style?

This is reaching but if possible I'd love to see pictures of your short hand taxi instruction read backs.
 
bc2209 said:
I was thinking the other day about how you guys copy instructions at a busy, unfamiliar airport.

I have just become semi-comfortable with my own shorthand in writing down longer than average taxi instructions.

Is there a correct/standard way to copy instructions or does everyone have their own style?

This is reaching but if possible I'd love to see pictures of your short hand taxi instruction read backs.
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I write letters, and then a / in front of hold short instructions either on a pad of paper or into the scratch pad of the FMS. Once you write it down, look at the chart and take a look at where you're going. Don't move until you know where you're going. Once you're moving, just pay attention to the taxiway signs.

But don't worry, you'll still get lost at some point.

Also, on the arrival, when you're briefing the approach, brief your likely taxi route so you at least have an idea of where you're going before you land. In fact, on your departure brief (which you're doing, right?), before you've started the engine, take a look at how you'd expect to get to the taxiway. Makes life a lot easier.
 
What jtrain said. I write in the scratchpad of the FMS for the captain to see.
However I disagree with the expected taxi route. Do it often enough and you'll get complacent, then look like a • when instructions suddenly change ie. ORD.

Don't be like me the other night: make a left 270 instead of a right 90 turn to get out of the FBO ramp. A little preflight planning would have saved my fragile ego.
 
I will look at the taxi diagram during my departure brief, just to familiarize myself with the airport and when they give me my taxi instructions, it looks similar to this..."32 via A4 B6 C3 HS/22" and sometimes just "/22" As Jtrain said, I write it and then look at my taxi diagram again and then move. I too brief my expected rwy exit, stage left or right as well as where I am headed, during the arrival. Life is much simpler when you are ahead of the game.
 
Nark said:
What jtrain said. I write in the scratchpad of the FMS for the captain to see.
However I disagree with the expected taxi route. Do it often enough and you'll get complacent, then look like a when instructions suddenly change ie. ORD.

Don't be like me the other night: make a left 270 instead of a right 90 turn to get out of the FBO ramp. A little preflight planning would have saved my fragile ego.
Click to expand...

I've gone back and forth on briefing the expected taxi route. You're absolutely right about doing the wrong thing because you already drilled one taxi route into your head, but I've also had too many guys push back and hear, "32L at tango 10, alpha alpha 7 and tango," turn to me and say, "where's alpha?"

In my experience, the brief saves more problems than it creates, but you're 100% right that it has faults.
 
That's basically my short hand. I'll write something like "36 N M H/S 31"

When it comes to unfamiliar airports, I definitely have a taxi strategy before I get there. Nothing would be more awkward to exit the wrong side of the runway and have to cross back over it again while talking with ground. I heard that actually happened to one of my co worker's when his student did that to him. Not to mention, tower/ground aren't too sympathetic to it being your first time at an airport, and they'll rattle off taxi instructions just like any other airport. So you have to be ready...
 
JustinS said:
That's basically my short hand. I'll write something like "36 N M H/S 31"

When it comes to unfamiliar airports, I definitely have a taxi strategy before I get there. Nothing would be more awkward to exit the wrong side of the runway and have to cross back over it again while talking with ground. I heard that actually happened to one of my co worker's when his student did that to him. Not to mention, tower/ground aren't too sympathetic to it being your first time at an airport, and they'll rattle off taxi instructions just like any other airport. So you have to be ready...
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Or you can just say, "Er, we had a pencil failure, please say again, for Buzzsaw 5155..."

(That usually gets the point across to S-L-O-W D-O-W-N. Except in ORD, where you just follow the guy you're told to follow and hope to Christ he knows where he's going. DO NOT STOP.)
 
Autothrust Blue said:
Or you can just say, "Er, we had a pencil failure, please say again, for Buzzsaw 5155..."

(That usually gets the point across to S-L-O-W D-O-W-N. Except in ORD, where you just follow the guy you're told to follow and hope to Christ he knows where he's going. DO NOT STOP.)
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"Sir, you hear how fast I'm talking? That's how fast I listen. Now, can you please say that all again?"
 
jtrain609 said:
"Sir, you hear how fast I'm talking? That's how fast I listen. Now, can you please say that all again?"
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Well, pretty much. When the other side of the microphone is amped up, I read things back clearly and distinctly. (I might die if I get it wrong - that's motivation enough).

I just put a / before the hold short points; our TOLD cards have the runway and then the (via) part next to it.
 
Taxi instructions are complicated?

"...ready for takeoff, present position, westbound"


UH-1.jpg
 
I've moved away from briefing what I think we will get to looking at a few possibilities of what we might get.

Shorthand in the FMS is the way to go. Or asking for progressive at a field that has one taxiway is fun.
 
MikeD said:
The busier places, at the busy times, asking for a progressive is a great way to get instructions to the penalty box. :D
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I've asked for progressive at BOS the first and only time I've been there. Ground was super helpful. And not kind to Air France.
 
I use capital letters for Taxi-ways and Runways. HS/ for "hold shorts", @ signs for intersections of runways and taxiways. v = via, x = cross, that's about it for me.

RW7R @ A5 v K E M B A1 A HS/A4.

If anyone is wondering this is about the most convoluted taxi instruction I can think of at KMKE after crossing 1L and checking back on with ground. I also slow the F down at these places and make sure I've got my instructions copied right before I move anywhere.
 
Autothrust Blue said:
(I might die if I get it wrong - that's motivation enough).
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Reminds me of my instructor who always said, "They screw up, you die. You screw up, you die."

I made a point to make sure that my read back was correct by reading it at a good pace for the controller to actually listen to it.
 
Apparently, according to ASAP data for screwed up taxiing, 100% of the ASAP reports concerning such were from pilots who didn't write it down or input it into the MCDU/FMS scratchpad.
 
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