![]() ![]() At an airport with an air traffic control tower, a pilot may not cross the runway holding position marking until cleared to do so by the air traffic controller. These runway holding position markings act as the border between taxiway and runway. The first, and by far the most common location, is on a taxiway at the intersection with a runway. Runway Holding Position Markings On Taxiways Knowing where to expect a holding position marking and what each means will undoubtedly aid a pilot’s situational awareness while operating in the airport environment. There are five locations where holding position markings may be found on airports. Holding position markings play a vital role in keeping aircraft adequately separated at intersections and other safety critical areas. In addition, some airports choose to further differentiate unusable pavement from usable pavement by painting the unusable areas green. Taxiway shoulder markings are yellow in color and run perpendicular to the taxiway centerline. Normally, a continuous taxiway edge marking is all that’s needed to differentiate the usable pavement from the shoulder, but in cases where it is less obvious, a taxiway shoulder marking is used. Like runways, taxiways and aprons may be outfitted with paved shoulder areas to prevent erosion from jet blast or stormwater. For example, a no-taxi island will be bordered by a continuous taxiway edge marking, while a dashed taxiway edge marking would be used to denote a taxi route along the outer edge of an apron. ![]() A dashed, double yellow edge stripe indicates that the adjacent pavement is intended for aircraft use and can be crossed. A continuous, double yellow edge stripe indicates that the taxiway edge should not be crossed. Depending on whether or not the adjacent pavement is intended for aircraft use, the edge marking is either continuous or dashed. Taxiway edge markings are used to define the edge of the taxiway from other pavement. The purpose of the enhanced centerline marking is to provide an additional visual cue to pilots that they are approaching a runway to help prevent runway incursions. At some airports, including all airports serving commercial airlines, the 150 feet prior to the runway holding position marking is marked as an enhanced runway centerline, which consists of the normal yellow runway centerline as well as two additional yellow dashed lines on each side of the centerline. In most circumstances, aircraft are expected to remain centered over the taxiway centerline unless obstacle avoidance dictates otherwise. The centerline, of course, is a continuous yellow line located along the center of the taxiway. While all runways share two common markings (the centerline and designator), a taxiway is really only guaranteed to have one, the centerline. In this issue, I’ll be covering taxiway markings and nearly every other marking you may come across on an airport. The last Aeronautics Report kicked off a series of articles focused on airport visual aids and provided an overview of runway markings. Published in Midwest Flyer – February/March 2017 issue ![]()
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