Taxi at a new airport

At a new airport, plan your taxi before you move. Here is the Oakland diagram. The checkride standards list this step: before you taxi, plan the route and find the hot spots. Say you start here, in the general aviation area. Ground control says to taxi via Charlie and Bravo to Runway 28R.

Trace it on the diagram. Turn left onto Charlie, then right onto Bravo at the runway end. Stop short of the runway, and wait for a takeoff clearance. Your route passes two hot spots: HS 2 at the start, and HS 1 at the end.

Read the Chart Supplement description of each one. At HS 2, pilots leaving the ramp sometimes miss their turn. They go onto Golf or Hotel, and then onto the runway. Brief it: turn left onto Charlie as you leave the ramp. Stay off Golf and Hotel, which lead to the runway.

At HS 1, taxiways Alfa and Bravo both cross Runway 28R. Pilots sometimes mistake one for the other. Brief it too: turn onto Bravo, the first of the two. Now taxi. Keep the diagram in view, and match each sign to your brief.

If you are unsure of the route, ask ground control for progressive taxi. The AIM says it gives step-by-step directions. At any new airport, trace the route, find the hot spots, read their warnings, and brief them.