More Solo and a Question for the experienced pilots.

Interesting question, I've never heard this discussed specifically in my training or pilot groups. There are two primary responsibilities for a PIC, one is safe operation of your aircraft and then safety of other aircraft/others, and the second is observance of regulations.

As PIC, you should be taxi'ing so no harm comes to your aircraft, and you don't risk damaging other aircraft. You slant in the runup area so your prop blast doesn't hit another aircraft and throw rocks and debris at them. The regulations say you're supposed to follow airport signs and observe boundary markings and act accordingly. So in your case, I would say if you didn't feel that you could maneuver into the available space, then holding back was appropriate. Similarly if the other pilot could maneuver to pass you safely while observing markings, then he was OK too. The runup area markings are mostly advisory, but I would take the edge boundaries as mandatory, so if he was merely out of the runup box, probably not a big issue, but if he was outside the marked taxi zone, then technically incorrect. I've had Ground ask an aircraft ahead to hold right on the taxiway and ask me to maneuver past them, so passing is not specifically an issue. Anyway, this is how I would think it through, as I've said, I've never had this discussed before.

 

1/ The runup area allows you to get out of the way of others. When you are at the hold bars the expectation is that you are ready to go. Turbine aircraft do not do a runup, and generally are ready to go by the time they get to the end of the runway, so they bypass the runup area.
2/ Prop planes performing a runup can blow a lot of debris about. The runup area allows you to position the a/c such that the propwash is directed away from other airplanes. So performing the runup on the taxiway without knowing who is coming up behind you is not a good idea.

Runup areas at busy airports can be a PIA sometimes. The time that people spend there varies tremendously, for many reasons. You never know when someone will leave, and you also don't know what the situation was like when they pulled up, so can't be too judgemental about the situation. Try to find a spot and fit in. There will always be those who are in a hurry and disregard others.

Don't skimp on the checklist. I've seen people who bypass a runup completely because they'll say "its not the first flight of the day and everything is working fine". Mags and vacuum pumps are just as likely to fail during engine start as during flight. In fact you could fail a mag in flight and possibly not notice it until you perform the next runup.

You're getting a lot of learning in flying out of the LA basin. I learned at a small strip in the midwest and only had to concentrate on flying the airplane.

 

Damian - It's one of the reasons I like airports that actually have runup lines in the runup area so it's not a free for all! Airports like Camarillo actually have "Ts" painted in the runup area so everyone is facing the same way and lined up so as not to "prop blast" anyone else. It also precludes people from just placing themselves wherever they feel.

As a new pilot one of the things I know (and you know) is always err on the side of caution regardless. I've already encountered an impatient pilot (one guy was telling me to hurry up as I was pulling onto the runway ... said he was going to fly up my ass if I didn't get a move on). I just ignored him and proceeded accordingly.

I personally would have waited for the area to clear simply because I would not have wanted to block someone. Sounds like the runup area at Van Nuys is not that large. If someone wanted to hurry around me then so be it. As it turns out everything went well since you departed before the other two. As you have probably seen (and will see) all pilots DO NOT have the same courtesy and protocal levels.

Hurry up and get your license so we can fly somewhere and meet up!

 

Just a point, a run up area with gaps is not necessarily due to discourtesy. It could have started as 1, 2, 3, and 4, in sequence. But different aircraft can depart at different times depending on when they finish their checklist, instructor/student discussions, or when they get their IFR release (even in VMC, some pilots as well as some instructional IFR, will still file IFR). Once you get 1 or 2 out of sequence departures, the runup area could look pretty ragged.

 

Anywhere! Maybe Camarillo! Great restaurant right in front of the transient parking area with outdoor seating. Nice painted lines in the runup area!

 

Good poiint Yin! If plane 2 departs first and leaves an open space and you can't get to it - it looks like plane 3 is an idiot for blocking access to that space. Everyone definitely does not spend the same amount of time in the runup area due to various reasons. I've actually seen guys come in and leave within 30 seconds. Probably a quick runup, gauge and mag check and they're out of there! Scary!

 

Can't you do that before taxiing to the runup area?

 

Damien, Jeffrey: If you guys decide to come up to Camarillo, give me a shout and I'll come by with fellow F-chatter and 328 owner Mike M. We both live about 15 minutes from the airport. He and his wife used to own the Waypoint Cafe and also had a hanger there until recently.
I fly out of Santa Paula, but Camarillo is just as close.

-Greg

 

I remember going through " rudder exercise stalls" that forced me to concentrate on the target ahead and to keep the airplane on course when the airplane was approaching a stall. I went through these things until I was doing them automatically and my hands and feet were working together. Concentrate on a target at the end of the runway while you are flaring and keep the nose on it. I feel that some important basic techniques are no longer covered. Those deep stall exercises led to a spin if they weren't done properly since the stick was all the way back and you had full power. That led to spin training and that led to a lot of fun. Remember that when you are in a deep stall the only effective control is the rudder and you should use it to keep wings level.

 

I guess you could depending on where your plane is tied down. At a remote airport where your tie down is secluded and running your engine up won't endanger other planes, people or property then I suppose you could do it.

At an airport like John Wayne there are literally other planes less than two feet wing tip to wing tip from my plane and about four feet from tail to tail. There are plane owners and people walking around and cars parked in the tie downs when the planes are absent. No chance to ever do a runup unless you want to be kicked out of the airport permanently.

 

Hey Greg. Thanks for the invite. We'll take you up on it! Maybe we'll organize our own mini "fly in" for lunch when Damian gets his license. We'll celebrate!

 

There are various opinions on when to do a runup. My personal choice is to wait until all cylinder head temps are above 200F. This also ensures the oil has started to warmup. So a little bit of taxi at idle is needed to get to that point.

 

OK, makes good sense.