AMSMAN From Ireland, joined Jan 2002, 1016 posts, RR: 7 Posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 4 hours ago) and read 5657 times:
Ive noticed that, even though pilots cant see their nose gear, they still manage to keep the wheels exactly on the yellow taxi line, right up onto the gate!!!
How is this done when they cant see their nose gear???
Cdfmxtech From United States of America, joined Jul 2000, 1338 posts, RR: 29 Reply 3, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 3 hours ago) and read 5512 times:
Some pilots are equipped with whats called BPTGS (Body Part Taxi Guidance System).
The BPTGS is pretty simple. For instance, when taxiing the B737, I've been taught to keep the centerline in line with my inner right thigh. This differs on other aircraft such as the B757 for me.
I'm just a tech who taxies, so maybe a "real" pilot can shed some light. But most that I have talked to use the BPTGS method
Cosync From Mexico, joined Nov 2001, 556 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 1 hour ago) and read 5415 times:
do u know how funny that sounds to me.
Body part taxi guidance system. heheheh i mean come on. i but a mechanic invented that name. sounds like a big electronic system, that uses an eyeball on the nosewhell to display on a little screen in the cockpit. hehehehe.
VC-10 From United Kingdom, joined Oct 1999, 3677 posts, RR: 37 Reply 8, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week ago) and read 5420 times:
The technique is generally to have the centre line to 'run up the inside of your inbd leg. I have used this as a guide on the A340, DC10 & 747.
The A346 has two taxi aid camera's, one at the top of the fin that gives you a view of the wing upper surface to between the indb & otbd engines to fwd of the nose and, providing the flaps are up the MGL. On the screen there are markers that indicate the MLG Ctr line.
The other camera is aft of the nose gear and looks fwd at the back of the NLG and so the taxiway centreline.
When switched on the views are shown on the ND with the fin view taking up the top 2/3rds of the screen and the remaining 1/3 showing the fwd camera view.
VC-10 From United Kingdom, joined Oct 1999, 3677 posts, RR: 37 Reply 9, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week ago) and read 5380 times:
The other technique with the 747 can be seen in the photo below. When you are correctly position in the seat if you line up the taxi-way centre line with the bottom of the slope that can be seen on the glareshield you will be correctly postioned on the taxiway.
NKP S2 From United States of America, joined Dec 1999, 1714 posts, RR: 6 Reply 10, posted (11 years 2 months 6 days 22 hours ago) and read 5353 times:
On smaller jets ( 737, "baby buses" ) it's pretty much the same for me, body parts and all. On the 757/767, we're initially taught to center our crotches on the taxi line. Easier to learn at night IMO as the use of the light beam from the nosegear mounted taxi light(s) gives confirmation of your centering and you can adjust and learn from there. Since the 757 nose gear is about 1/2 mile behind the cockpit, turning requires a fair amount of compensation for this fact, and I "discovered" a good way of intially judging the location: The angled runway turn-off lights are nosegear mounted; so I would roughly align the beam with the angled line that runs from the intersecting taxiway to the one I'm on-- that told me my nosegear was pretty much at the point of the two lines intersecting. Even so, it felt odd at first, especially on narrow taxiways, having my butt over the grass when making a 90 degree turn. Much more so a DC10 and especially the Concorde, I imagine.
Night_Flight From United States of America, joined May 1999, 156 posts, RR: 1 Reply 11, posted (11 years 2 months 6 days 19 hours ago) and read 5324 times:
The Piper Seminole's I fly and some other aircraft have a small mirror on the left engine to view the nose-gear's position.
This mirrior also allows the pilot to view the nose-wheel's position on the center line if needed.
Remember when sex was safe and flying was dangerous?
Skyguy11 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 12, posted (11 years 2 months 6 days 12 hours ago) and read 5273 times:
QUOTE:
"It's like not hitting the curb with the front wheel when you park the car, you can't see the wheel, but you get a feeling for where it is."
Crap! I hit the curb all the time .
Another technique works quite well for me and it gets better as the planes go up in size. You try to 'put it between your legs'. Simply, instead of trying so hard to keep the midline of the plane directly over the line, try to put the line between your legs. You're close enough to the center of the plane for it to not make a difference. This especially helps when on final approach and you are trying to track the centerline.
ThirtyEcho From United States of America, joined Dec 2001, 1634 posts, RR: 1 Reply 13, posted (11 years 2 months 6 days 12 hours ago) and read 5244 times:
There are plenty of taxiways with no centerline. So let me rephrase the question: How can you go up your driveway if you can't see your car's wheels? Same sorta thing.
AA_Cam From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 14, posted (11 years 2 months 6 days 10 hours ago) and read 5250 times:
In my Piper Warrior I don't think it is that severly difficult, or that big of a deal. But when I pull up to the pumps, my wingtip comes about 18" from a light pole lighting the fueling/deicing area, making my line tracking very important. In that situation I use the "BPTGS." I haven't heard it called that befor, but I'll go along with it!
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