Training and Safety Tip: Guidance on the ground
Know the signs, for safety’s sake
Although some student pilots start learning to fly before they drive, many have been driving for years and find that when it comes to flying, they have to overcome habits that don’t transfer.
This includes “steering” with hand controls on the ground and taxiing to the side of the centerline rather than on it. But after teaching my son to drive recently, I realized there are many aspects of driving that do transfer to flying, including the need to learn and identify markings, signage, and lighting, which are consistent throughout the country, whether you are driving or flying.
The different types of runway markings depend on whether the runway is used for visual approaches, nonprecision-instrument approaches, or precision instrument approaches. But what they all have in common is that the runway markings are white. In the same way, regardless of the size of the airport or the number of runways and taxiways, the taxiway markings are consistently yellow. Of course, there are often exceptions to rules and one exception is that hold short lines are always yellow, even when they are located on a runway.
In general, signs depicting runway locations and directions are red and white, while signs depicting taxiway locations and direction are yellow and black. Black-and-white signs along the edge of some runways show the amount of runway length remaining.
Lights along the edges of runways are white. For instrument runways, yellow lights along the edges indicate the last 2,000 feet of the runway (or half the length if that is less). There are also lights depicting the end of the runway; these are red from the viewpoint of a departing aircraft but show as green in the other direction for arriving aircraft. Taxiways have edge lights that are blue and centerline lights that are green.
For both drivers and pilots, a red stop sign is universal, as is a red sign with a circle and line through it and/or the words “Do not enter”!
This article is meant as a general overview. As mentioned, there are exceptions, so ask your flight instructor about any nonstandard markings, lights, or signage you encounter at your airport or when visiting other airports.
