Backtracking

I am a newly certified RAA pilot . When backtracking , either prior to

take-off or after landing , should your aircraft be in the centre or to

the side of the runway. Both my Instructors differed on this point of

view .

'Biggles'

Hi Biggles

My instructors always taught me to follow the

centre line so you had more control or room to move should anything

happen plus being on the centre line clearly indicates to any other

aircraft, that may not have a radio and on final, that you are

definately on the strip and not in the process of turning off.

I agree. If you have entered the runway, having checked that there is

nothing on final, then it is "your" runway, so occupy it. If some smart

ass then decides to turn onto final and assume that he now has the

right to presume right of way then, IMO, he is wrong.

Mind you, having said that, he could always be in trouble, so don't sit too hard on your rights...

Biggles PM'd me yesterday and I replied in like fashion.

For the benefit of other users the following was my reply - which seems to coincide with Ian and Howard's.

From : Tony Hayes To : biggles Date : 18/1/2006 2:15 AM

Subject : RE: Backtracking

Hi,

Frankly I do not think it makes much difference – but it will depend

upon environmental circumstances from airstrip to airstrip.

The main point is that if you are backtracking then you are occupying

the active runway and denying its use to any landing aircraft. So you

may as well be in the middle (I like plenty of space around me so I can maintain a low pressure continual scan and not worry about falling off the edge!).

Start using just one side, especially on ‘casual’ airstrips and you are

encouraging someone to sneak in alongside you – possibly from behind if

they have interpreted your backtrack as the established landing

direction!

This raises another point and that ‘backtracking’ is primarily a radio call (although you do not need radio to do it – it is much of a courtesy).

I always teach, particularly in recreational operations, that your

intent should be clearly demonstrated by your actions and activity – so

what you are currently doing and obviously intend doing is very plain.

The standard circuit pattern is a classic example. You cannot get any

plainer than travelling down the middle can you?

To expand this just a tad – sometimes good intentions can be marred by lack of local knowledge or just plain inexperience!

My home airfield, Watts Bridge, has all-weather grass main runways 50

mtr wide. These are flanked seamlessly by 40 mtr wide taxi ways on each

side – and you can actually land on any of it!

Too often have I heard low hour, confused, poorly trained, or just

visiting pilots enter the taxiway but call backtracking the runway. The

confusion then spreads to onlookers as that radio call effectively

freezes a 130 mtr wide landable area for the sake of one aircraft

trundling down an extreme edge of one taxiway! Does not make much sense

does it?

Bottom line my friend is use the rules as firm guidance – but guidance!

In practice make your intent obvious by what you are doing – radio or

non-radio! It is OK being right but make sure you are not dead right!

Aye

Tony

One thing I have noticed is that aircraft taxiing along the centreline

when there are centreline marking are harder to see compared to an

aircraft offset - the longitudnal axis of the aircraft (especially a small aircraft, which may be predominantly white)

tends to blend in to the centreline markings when viewed from a

distance. This is not normally an issue on a grass or dirt strip, just

those big bitumen ones with centrelines.

About 12 years I had to review an accident report where a Twin Jet

landed on top of a twin turboprop - and part of the problem was that

the crew did not see the turboprop aligned with the centreline lights.