Taxiing

JOINT ADVANCED MULTI-ENGINE T-44A

During winter be especially cautious as the coldest temperatures are normally encountered at night. Utilize

an APU if required.

Taxiing. When ready to taxi, turn the ice lights on or flash the taxi light momentarily. This will indicate to

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the lineman you are ready to taxi, and help illuminate the wings. It also alerts other traffic that you are

pulling forward. Once forward of the parking spot, secure the ice lights. Taxi forward only the minimum

distance required to check the brakes and release the lineman. Stay well clear of the taxiway at night.

When ready for further taxi, turn on the taxi light.

Taxi procedures are the same as daylight except greater caution must be exercised. The tendency is to taxi

fast during night conditions. This can be minimized by scanning out the side window for a better

perception of taxi speed. Do not hesitate to state your problem and ask for assistance if you become

disoriented. Mishaps have occurred when aircraft mistakenly taxied onto the wrong runway/taxiway

during night or low visibility situations.

NOTE: Be especially cautious of runway edge lighting and taxiway lighting. There are times when some lights will

not be on and they pose a serious hazard to potential propeller strikes.

If the aircraft must be shut down on a taxiway, notify Ground and leave the position lights on if possible.

Do not attempt to taxi on one engine. Have the aircraft towed to parking. A situation requiring a shutdown

would be an engine chip light, low oil pressure, etc. Since taxi on one engine is not authorized, the aircraft

would have to be shut down and towed in.

Be extremely cautious when operating near other aircraft or obstructions. Watch for unmarked hazards

such as fire bottles, chocks, and power/telephone poles. Utilize wing walkers if required.

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Field Lighting. Taxiway lights are blue. Runway edge lights are white, except on instrument runways,

where amber replaces white on the last 2000', or half the runway length, whichever is less (to form a

caution zone for landings). Green end lights are located on the approach end and red end lights on the

departure end. Runway lights are uniformly spaced at intervals of approximately 200'. Runway edge lights

are classified according to the brightness they are capable of producing: High Intensity Runway Lights

(HIRL), Medium (MIRL), or Low (LIRL). Runways may be equipped with touchdown zone lighting,

centerline lights, runway remaining lighting, high-speed taxiway turnoff lights, runway end identifier

lights, etc. Most lights at controlled fields can be adjusted by the tower upon request. At some fields, the P

must turn the lights on and often can also adjust the intensity. When using pilot-controlled lighting, a good

technique to utilize is to quickly key the mike seven times then adjust intensity as required. The lights will

stay on for a period of 15 minutes. Check the airfield diagram/Enroute Supplement to determine if pilot-

controlled lighting is available. When inbound on an instrument approach, you may want to activate pilot-

controlled lighting at the FAF inbound. Military fields utilize a white-white/green (split) beacon while civil

fields use a white/green beacon.

Naval air stations also have runway waveoff lights. They are red lights controlled by the tower. A waveoff

is required when flashed the waveoff lights.

NOTE: Cabaniss field does not have a beacon or lighted taxiway.

Many fields, such as CRP, utilize Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) lights as an aid in maintaining a

defined G/S. VASIs may be visible from 3-5 miles during daylight, and up to 20 miles at night. The most

common system is a 2-bar installation set at 3, often aligned with an ILS (Instrument Landing System)

G/S. An "on-glideslope" presentation would be: red over white ("pilot's delight"); low: red over red

("pilot is dead"); and high: white over white ("out of sight"). Some military fields such as NGP utilize an

optical landing system (OLS/Fresnel lens). Visual landing aids are part of the runway environment and

may be used as the basis for continuing an instrument approach and landing, after reaching Desired

Heading/Minimum Descent Altitude (DH/MDA).

Detailed information on lighting can be found in the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), FIH,

Enroute Supplement, IAPs, commonly called "approach plates", enroute chart, VFR sectional chart, etc.

Preflight planning is required to determine if lighting is available, and what type system is installed.

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NIGHT FAMILIARIZATION STAGE