Rules of the Air — Page 133, Lesson 214

We're moving into a new part of the Rules of the Air chapter now — flight deck signals. These are the standardised hand signals used between ground personnel and the flight crew, usually during aircraft marshalling or engine start. They're defined by ICAO, so they're identical worldwide, and you'll be expected to know them precisely. Let's start with the first one: brakes engaged. The signal is to raise your arm and hand with fingers extended horizontally in front of your face, then clench your fist. So you start with an open hand, fingers together and pointing sideways, and you close it into a fist. That tells the pilot the parking brake is set. The opposite is brakes released. Here you raise your arm with your fist clenched horizontally in front of your face, then extend your fingers. So it's the exact reverse — fist first, then open the hand. One tells the pilot to hold the aircraft still, the other tells them the brakes are off and the aircraft is free to move. Next is insert chocks. Chocks are the wedges placed against the wheels to stop the aircraft rolling. The signal is: arms extended with palms facing outwards, then move your hands inwards to cross in front of your face. So you start with both arms out, palms showing, and you sweep them inward until they cross in front of your face. That tells the pilot the wheels are being secured. Then we have ready to start engine indicated. This one has a specific rule attached. You raise the number of fingers on one hand indicating the number of the engine to be started. And here's the numbering convention you must memorise: No. 1 engine is the port outer engine, that's the left-hand, outermost engine. No. 2 is the port inner engine, the left-hand, inner one. No. 3 is the starboard inner engine, the right-hand, inner one. And No. 4 is the starboard outer engine, the right-hand, outermost. So on a four-engine aircraft, the numbers run from left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4. If the marshaller holds up two fingers, they're telling you engine number 2 is ready to start. Finally, remove chocks. This is the reverse of inserting them. You start with your hands crossed in front of your face, palms facing outwards, then move your arms outwards. So the crossed position opens up, signalling the chocks are being taken away and the aircraft is clear to move. Take a moment to look at the figures on this page — they show each of these signals visually, which helps lock in the hand positions. The key thing to remember is that each signal has a precise starting position and a precise ending position — the order matters. Brakes engaged goes from open hand to fist; brakes released goes from fist to open hand. Insert chocks goes from arms out to crossed; remove chocks goes from crossed to arms out. Get those directions right, and you'll never confuse one signal with another.