From the ramp to the runway, better airmanship begins with your feet!
By Mike Rosenfield
January 2026, Aerocadet Aviation Safety Desk
There is a persistent illusion in aviation that “real flying” begins at the takeoff roll and ends at touchdown. Taxiing, by comparison, is often treated as an administrative chore—something to be endured between checklist items rather than mastered. Yet accident reports, maintenance logs, and the quiet wisdom of experienced instructors all point to the same conclusion: many bad outcomes begin on the ground, and many good pilots reveal themselves there too.
A recent training and safety reminder from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association highlights a deceptively simple principle that cuts to the heart of ground handling discipline: easy on the brakes. It is advice so basic that it is often ignored—and so fundamental that ignoring it can undermine everything that follows.
The taxiway tells the truth
Taxiing exposes habits in their rawest form. There is no lift to mask poor coordination, no altitude to buy time, no “we’ll fix it on the next approach.” What remains is pure aircraft control: rudder, throttle, brakes, and judgment.
One of the most common errors seen in student pilots—and more than a few licensed ones—is riding the brakes while adding power. The airplane moves, but not cleanly. Steering feels mushy. Turns require more effort than expected. The pilot subconsciously presses harder, compensating for a problem of their own making. What looks like control is often just friction.
The danger here is subtle. Brake riding teaches pilots to associate drag with directional control. On the ground, that habit masks poor rudder use. In flight training, habits formed early tend to persist long after the instructor stops watching the pedals.
“Heels on the floor” is not a slogan—it’s a system
The classic instructor call—“heels on the floor”—is sometimes dismissed as old-school or overly rigid. In reality, it is a practical mechanical solution to a human-factors problem.
Keeping heels planted does three things immediately:
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Prevents inadvertent braking, especially during tight turns or high workload moments
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Forces reliance on rudder and nosewheel steering, where control properly belongs
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Separates power from stopping, eliminating the counterproductive habit of adding throttle against brake pressure
Taxi speed should be governed primarily by throttle management, not by braking. Brakes are for stopping—or for very deliberate, momentary corrections—not for continuous speed regulation.
This is not about being gentle for gentleness’ sake. It is about clarity of control. An airplane that responds cleanly to rudder input builds pilot confidence. One that feels resistant encourages overcontrol.
Speed on the ground: slower than you think
Unlike in the air, taxiing offers no numerical targets to hide behind. There is no “best taxi speed” in the POH. Instead, judgment rules.
A useful mental framework is simple:
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Straight, clear taxiways: no faster than a brisk walking pace
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Approaching intersections, ramps, or congested areas: walking speed or slower
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Wet, icy, or contaminated surfaces: slow enough that braking is almost unnecessary
If you ever feel the need to ride the brakes continuously, the airplane is moving too fast. The correct response is not more brake pressure—it is less power.
Taxi speed should allow you to stop the aircraft comfortably within a very short distance, without urgency or surprise. Anything faster is not efficiency; it is impatience.
Brake wear is the symptom, not the disease
Excessive brake wear, overheated discs, and premature maintenance findings are often blamed on aircraft design or operating environment. In reality, they are frequently the byproduct of technique.
Riding the brakes builds heat. Heat degrades braking performance. Degraded brakes tempt pilots to press harder. The cycle feeds itself until something fails—sometimes dramatically, sometimes quietly in a maintenance log.
But the deeper issue is not mechanical. It is cognitive. A pilot who habitually mixes power and braking is accepting internal contradiction as normal. That mindset has consequences well beyond the taxiway.
What instructors imprint lasts for years
Flight instructors play a decisive role here, whether they realize it or not. Taxi technique is one of the first things a student learns—and one of the last things explicitly evaluated. That makes it fertile ground for bad habits.
When instructors tolerate brake riding “just to get going,” they unintentionally teach that precision matters only in the air. When they correct it early and consistently, they teach something far more valuable: discipline is continuous.
Good instructors demonstrate taxiing the same way they demonstrate approaches—calm, deliberate, and unhurried. They narrate what they are doing. They explain why power comes off before brakes go on. Over time, students stop thinking about their feet entirely—and that is exactly the point.
Why this matters more than it seems
Taxi incidents rarely make headlines. They do, however, account for a significant share of insurance claims, bent metal, and shaken confidence. More importantly, taxi technique reflects how a pilot manages competing inputs under low stakes.
A pilot who cannot resist rushing on the ground is unlikely to show restraint when the stakes are higher. Conversely, a pilot who taxis smoothly, slowly, and predictably tends to approach flying the same way.
There is also a safety culture dimension. Slower taxi speeds reduce the risk of runway incursions, wingtip strikes, and pedestrian conflicts. They buy time to see—and to be seen. They reduce workload rather than adding to it.
Power and brakes are not partners
Perhaps the most important lesson is also the simplest: do not ask the airplane to accelerate and decelerate at the same time.
Before braking, reduce power.
Before adding power, release the brakes.
This sequencing is not optional. It is fundamental. Every time a pilot violates it, they are teaching themselves that inefficiency is acceptable. Over time, that lesson migrates into other phases of flight.
Airmanship starts before takeoff
It is tempting to measure pilot skill by landings alone. But landings are episodic. Taxiing happens on every flight, in every condition, often when attention is divided and discipline is tested.
Good pilots look unremarkable on the ground. They move slowly. They stop early. They do not rush. Their airplanes seem to obey them without argument.
That is not coincidence. It is the visible result of good habits, learned early and reinforced daily.
In aviation, safety is rarely about heroics. More often, it is about resisting small temptations—to hurry, to press a little harder, to “just get moving.” Few places reveal that truth as clearly as the taxiway.
And sometimes, the most professional thing a pilot can do is simply ease off the brakes.