ASI Safety Tip: Marshalling Signals

Need to brush up on marshalling signals? We go over the basics here!
Check out this video, and taxi in to your next FBO or fly-in with more confidence!

[@MillionFoul]

Not even jet pilots understand every signal a marshaller has in their bag, so this is a very relevant video. They really like to slam the brakes the instant you start signalling the beginning of a stop command, and commonly either end up ten feet short of where you want them, or more annoyingly, about twenty feet too far. Also, pro-tip for you thousand hour pilots who don't understand how to park a plane: Your aircraft pivots over the main gear, not the cockpit. That means in order to put the aircraft where I'm telling you to, you need to go past me before beginning your turn. I'm looking at you, NetJets.

[@devindb757]

MillionFoul i worked at Signature FBO and the netjets comments are funny because idk what is but a lot of corporate pilots park so crooked!

[@MillionFoul]

@@devindb757 It's so weird! Like, I can park a Cessna straight, I can park a Lektro inside a cantaloupe, I can put a car in a parallel spot, why can't the guy getting paid ten times what I make park his Gulfstream (which can literally pivot in place on one tire) anywhere near where I asked him with me helping him? That being said, the guy who used to fly N93AT could park that plane wherever you asked and I loved him for it.

[@keemez]

hahahah NetJets. soooooo true. been there/tried to do that.

[@2caver]

@@MillionFoul Paid not "payed"

[@MillionFoul]

@@2caver Indeed.

[@BoB4jjjjs]

lol very funny with a serious side. The marshal running after telling the pilot to slow down, very funny lol.

[@dkdkdeden]

Very dangerous too

[@koriko88]

@@dkdkdeden I thought that too at first, but it does say "edited for dramatic effect" at the bottom.

[@7ZeroProductions]

If someone gives you the groin level Inserting Chocks signal when you aren’t in an airplane, proceed immediately to your emergency checklist

[@reformCopyright]

I would give that comment a thumbs up, but it already has 69.

[@afrini]

Magnus Holmgren now it has 96

[@K-IA]

@@reformCopyright come back now and give him the like.

[@reformCopyright]

@@K-IA OK!

[@placidotorres5771]

@@reformCopyright Almost 169 !!!!!!🫢🫢

[@adamrickman2461]

These video are so great and especially the marshal getting chased by the plane. It’s pretty easy to do this in post. Notice the shot is locked on a tripod and not moving. You have the marshal run by and once he is out of the way you can have the plane go by (or viceversa). Then in post you just layer them over and mask them close together and you won’t have to worry about the background. One of my favorite effects because it is so simple but works well. These videos are extremely well made and put together. The animation is great and the acting too. It’s cheesy but in a good way. They embrace the cheesiness of it and make it fun rather than awkward.

[@TheIronArmenianakaGIHaigs]

Another good informative but also funny video :D

[@mastermati773]

You here! I stopped playing WT, but your channel is so good!

[@NetAndyCz]

1:17 I have not mastered this taxi sideways technique but it would be very handy:)

[@maleeshapriyanjana7604]

The way you explain thr facts with funny ways is excellent !

[@JasonAirInc]

Thanks for posting this. So many are unfamiliar.

[@rampuscontrolius3949]

Don't take it so personal and literally. Anybody who has worked on the ramp for any length of time SHOULD KNOW that it takes you a few minutes for your turbo or helicopter to wind down.

[@mcp8063]

Cool stuff, I use many of these when directing cars while parking with great success

[@gregdannels1699]

Great job with the humor mixed in with all those who participated! :-))

[@ImGolden]

Helpful and genuinely funny, thanks. It helps that the signals do make sense, so even if you forget just think about it for a second.

[@flyingphobiahelp]

Superb. The levity really made it outstanding

[@jadwigapaczos8213]

THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR. MASTERPIECE.

[@jasonpecor]

I just stumbled upon this video today, and I want to say thanks for putting together this funny and useful tutorial.

[@nitehawk86]

It's kind of nice to have an ASI video with a lighter tone to it. :) Keep up the good work.

[@trilomann]

Thanks a ton for not saying “tarmac” at the end.

[@MacCekko]

This video is AWESOME, nicely humorous, well created, edited and filmed... apart from being EXTREMELY useful. Thank you guys! You really helped me (Oh, BTW, do not worry: I only 'fly' on simulators at home, here in Florence, Italy! 😅😉 )

[@roshanantony]

Am not even a pilot and I'm watching this kudos Air Safety Institute for this awesome video :)

[@SmittySmithsonite]

I love laughing while learning! 😂 Great video. 👍👍

[@RobertForslund]

That's how information sticks in your head a lot easier! =P If it's funny you're far more likely to remember it! =)

[@nk6197]

Arguably the best way to learn something class is loads better with some laughs

[@stevenrashby]

Well done! This needs to be required information for both pilots and volunteer marshalers at all flyins!

[@PilotPlater]

Beautifully done video guys. Cheers

[@captainlass9718]

wonderful video love it!! we need more of these!

[@joelfeuer619]

Well presented, very entertaining, nicely done.

[@deeanna8448]

This was funny and informative.

[@SJR_Media_Group]

I loved it... made a complicated topic fun and easy. Who says you can't have a little fun along the way.

[@shashkingsyndrome6401]

So informative yet entertaining. Good recall value!

[@markdolecki704]

Unfortunately, my turbocharged aircraft requires a 4 minute cool down. When I get a shut engine signal from the marshal, I signal back by holding up 4 fingers and pointing to my watch.

[@davidt8087]

So you have a piston turbocharged aircraft or a turboprop?

[@KnottyChan]

Behind Enemy Lines is my all-time fave movie. Ever since I saw a scene of a man doing the signal while the fighter plane gets off, i thought of it as the coolest job in the world. I've never forgotten this.

[@900bcy6]

Don't forget the salute!🛫

[@martinpauly]

Good video, and a useful reminder of what all these signals mean to us pilots. And top of that, this one was funny! Well done, ASF. - Martin

[@AirSafetyInstitute]

Thanks Martin! Love the content you put out!

[@drewfliesbikes]

Thank you! I got chewed out by a ground marshal yesterday so I'm here to learn it.

[@Poop-nu1so]

What does it mean when the ramp marshal is chasing you around with a fire extinguisher?

[@iatonnal]

Worked transient alert on the airfield in Bagram. We launched planes out as well as brought them in. Launching a single engine turbo out, I stood off to the side so as not to get violently run down, but the pilot interpreted my move forward signal, as a come straight at me signal. In the end I dodged off to the side and just gave him the so long signal.

[@FlyNAA]

I'd say few civilian pilots are exposed to "straight ahead" being anywhere other than where the marshaller is standing, or to being marshalled when departing.

[@778cadet]

OK i enjoyed that video, its good to learn things with a sense of humour envolved. That shows that people are not always serious, and can learn better with a litle laff.

[@CutieRingoJoy]

I don’t know how but I saw a video of it and now I'm watching a few videos just to watch the signals

[@AlexandrManuylov]

Great video, those variations always confused me. I am glad, I am not the only one :)

[@johnopalko5223]

Great tips, humor, and a little bit of Rossini. What's not to like?

[@bct_planespotter5598]

The "confused" part is the signal to follow the instructions of the person he/she is pointing at

[@markabarca5520]

Best video yet. More of these style videos please

[@J.millx7]

Thanks so much I learnt a lot today

[@ikay2102]

Nice one. Good to know info.

[@hanchengyu3119]

Very funny video and attractive interpretor too

[@bendeleted9155]

Ha! Long before KZbin, I could have used this. 1st cross-country solo, new airport...got my ass chewed a little.

[@raulramos6393]

Gear Whine we all did... We all did.

[@johnmarkey5470]

Ass chewing should be reserved for deliberate bad maneuvers, not for a student pilot.

[@ejmtv3]

Did not expect this to be funny!! LMAO thanks!

[@roytoy]

Lol. I always thought the man was telling me I screwed up and he was going to murder me as soon as I got off. Or that I had just ran over one of his pals and he was going to kill me. Good to know he just wanted me to shut down the engine.

[@1745vlad]

Thanks, very useful!

[@Collin857]

I actually learned something from KZbin, surprisingly

[@garycooperson8365]

Really appreciated having this be a bit fun!

[@ShoTaXxTV]

I think the last signal meant "proceed to next marshaller" its not the standardized signal but i have seen it before. Its when you have to do a u-turn for example.

[@mrreymundo5383]

1:14 - best part of vid!

[@happycrack69]

Yeah I’m in the private phase and I turned right instead of turning left one time and got an earful

[@liams.5536]

wave those wands high ATC!!

[@OMGLOL381]

If you still don't understand what the marshal instructions are, open your cockpit window and shout out 'Speak English dammit'

[@dadamanou]

Thank you.

[@mattbasford6299]

Cute video. What I get tired of though is people telling me to be professional. I am not a professional pilot. I don't fly for a living but for enjoyment and travel.

[@jannepeltonen2036]

Thanks for the brush-up, I rarely fly anywhere that has marshallers, so these things tend to rust :)

[@GZA036]

00:57 The Cessna 172 purred away a real horrorshow - a nice, warm vibraty feeling all through your guttiwuts. And soon it was trees and dark, my brothers, with real country dark....

[@AndrewTheiss]

This saved my life in Nam

[@jimmydougle9743]

Good video. The straight ahead signal shown is not ICAO standard though. Should be: "Bend extended arms at elbows and move wands up and down from chest height to head."

[@rohan4bomb]

I LOVED this video. I couldn't stop laughing @ 1:44

[@homefront3162]

Who is this man Marshall?

[@aamirsiddiqui7014]

what is the name of this sticks in the hands

[@3OrMoreBones]

747: Yeah, I can't quite tell the Marshall's signaling. Copilot: Let's turnoff the engines to hear what he has to say. Marshall: Now why am I signaling a 747 on an active runway? And why did this man shut off his engines?

[@buckyperchski-mc2vo]

Use Electric flashlight wands @ night. FAA discourages using flaming torches.

[@1QYITSTORM]

Lol luv it

[@nergisgocmen4619]

love that video ıts so funny

[@NicholasLittlejohn]

Mag-neato! 🤓

[@59Fif]

🤣 informative and funny

[@AviationJeremy]

Hint: when we tell you to go straight, unless there is an IMMEDIATE need to turn, go straight. If we tell you to turn, turn. When we tell you to stop, stop. We see more than you do, better than you do. I’ve had several close calls because the pilot thinks they know everything, and do their own thing.

[@Parker-di7ef]

And don’t forget, when the pilot scrapes his wing on the plane you’re parking them next to, it’s the marshalers fault. 🤷‍♂️

[@brayanvalenzuela8696]

Cómo se llama este trabajo?

[@BOLLOX64]

Arms at the side is far better than the "beckoning signal", as pilots can se the outspread arms better than the arms held in-front of the marshaller. WE were not allowed to use the "beckoning" style in the RAF

[@CFLARROW]

Marshall!!!!

[@victorvodkafish]

Marshaller has to be on the ball. Nightime, and one Dash-8 entered ramp, turned left, and headed straight for parked Embraers. I was newbie rampie, and doing the elbow bending "come to me" signal. At the last second, he turned towards me, shutdown, pax disembarked, then he came over and explained he was teaching me a lesson. He said I should have just held the wands straight up pointing skyward as "come to me". He added that the elbow bending was telling him to simply proceed ahead (towards the Embraers). DOH!

[@jjohnston94]

Do you mean that the "proceed ahead" signal means to go whichever direction you're facing? And that you should have waited until he was pointed at you before starting "proceed ahead"?

[@godzilla9416]

How to become a aircraft marshaller?

[@Browhan]

Why dont they use headphones to communicate

[@diegogarcia2515]

0:04 or you want to help the people at the car parking.

[@gomphrena-beautifulflower-8043]

How could 9 people give this a thumbs-down??. They must be the pilots just now realizing what those pesky people in Day-Glo vests waving around Day-Glo pool floaties have been doing all this time!

[@clintcarpentier2424]

Question - though I doubt I'll ever make use of the answer... I'm writing sci-fi, involving... spaceships. And I recently had an epiphany. Has anyone thought about how a marshaller would direct a craft that has multi-dimensional movement, within a confined area. For instance... A ship's shuttle bay. It's roof is three times the height of it's largest craft; this allows the craft to navigate over and around each other. And the craft are roughly the size and shape of a Chinook, minus the rotors; one has come in the door and needs to park at the back, without bumping the half dozen other "more important Chinooks" already parked in the way. Now these "Chinook" shuttles fly much the same as a real Chinook. The pilot can make the front and the back go any which way he wants, independently of each other. To make the problem clear, the shuttle can't land and taxi to it's parking spot, it has to fly over it's compatriots, but under the hanger ceiling, to get there.

[@ilovebirds7041]

I see that this comment is a year old, but I wanted to reply anyway since it's such an interesting thought! My best guess is that there would need to be a new set of signals made specifically for changes in height. Ascend and descend along with signals, similar to "stop" in the video, that would indicate the speed at which the pilot ascended or descended. Most of the horizontal movements could be kept the same, though I would suggest a pivot signal and a reverse signal (since I'm assuming these spacecraft are more maneuverable than an airplane on the ground). I would do this by making the turn signal more like hands on a clock or a compass, which the pilot copies until the marshall tells them to move in a certain direction. It would be important to note the difference between pivoting in a direction and moving in a direction, which I'd probably show through the off hand (such as the one in a turn signal) moving or not. The "straight ahead" would also need to be distinct from the "face me" signal, which someone in a different comment had trouble with. Since you mentioned that the spacecraft would also be maneuvering around other parked ones in the hangar, there would probably need to be signals specifically used for that, such as a signal for land, takeoff, hover, or other emergency procedures. I know you probably won't see this, but it was fun to think about!

That was funny

[@johnmarkey5470]

I have a serious problem with the video and taxi signals to pass the prop over a tie down rope that looks to be coiled but not tied securely to its anchor - and I have had to point this out to new FBO crew who were upset with me, until I explained to them how ropes and spinning props are a bad $$$ combination. Mutual respect is always good, but a PIC is, on every NTSB and insurance report, the PIC responsible in the final analysis.

[@magwils8299]

slow down gone misunderstood LOL

[@P61guy61]

Good video. But I wouldn’t walk through or near the prop arc to approach an airplane. Like a loaded gun, never get in front of the business end.

[@BoB4jjjjs]

What about helicopter signals?

[@MillionFoul]

Helicopter signals are mostly useless, as the pilot often cannot maneuver in the way a ramp agent requests in a safe manner. As a result, they generally just want to know where to put the helicopter, and understand the "position yourself nose towards me" signal to be just about 90% of the instruction they need. The agent should try to position them nose into the wind if possible, but obstructions and ramp considerations often make this impossible. The most important thing is just to position the helicopter a safe distance from any obstacles including other aircraft and let the pilot work out how to safely position themselves there. The marshaller is just there to tell them where to park and let them know if they're going to hit anything.

[@BoB4jjjjs]

@@MillionFoul Yes, but there are signals to bring a helicopter into land safely, maybe not so much in Civil Aviation, but in the Military and landing in tight spots. I have seen a helicopter guided down with signals at an accident into a tight spot. However, I was to interested in watching the helicopter to watch the signals that were given, but the pilot was looking straight at the person giving the signals. He looked as if he could have been out of one of the forces, possibly Army or Navy as he had short cropped hair, he knew how to guide the helicopter in and the pilot understood all his signals. So I just wondered what the were. I know it is much up to the pilot of the helicopter but if they were landing on the deck of a ship they must have to be directed in. I was just wondering.

[@MillionFoul]

@@BoB4jjjjs There are standardized signals, they are slightly different from the regular ones but can still be found in the AIM. The most important ones are to help the pilot maintain alignment with the landing area longitudinally and laterally. Ina tight spot this is very useful because the pilot cannot see the edges of his rotor disk or his clearance from obstruction but the marshaller can.

[@BoB4jjjjs]

@@MillionFoul Yeah. thanks.

[@nightwaves3203]

Pretty much the same. The hands raised is "assume control" signal to get you to focus on him for instructions so that you take his commands. Both hands out is hover. Both hands motioning to center of body is come to me. From level hands both up is raise, both down descend. Direction is simple. If slingloading a slash across chest is drop load. If you try these signals with an army pilot they all mean please don't smash me and the pilot does what he determines as appropriate. The please don't smash me doesn't always work when they are picking up a load :) At a flight service ramp good luck getting somebody that knows proper signals.

[@rainerzufall689]

Good video but I came here for... other gestures I really can't figure out. Damn it why can't the marshaller not just use the radio?

[@sakadabara]

So international sign for lack of understanding is shrugging shoulders. Hm . What about pointing with the index finger towards your head and spinning your hand ?

[@HiddenWindshield]

That's the signal for "crazy", not "I don't understand". Whether you're saying that you're crazy, or calling someone else crazy, is determined from context.

[@TheSoftballstar1261]

1:18 🤣

[@1rem1Art]

and how do marshallers control helicopters?

[@illustrious1]

The signals are the same. Most of the time we just do what we need to do for ourselves because few of ramp guys understand aerodynamics. Especially how they affect helicopters in windy conditions. If the ramp guys start giving you attitude just act like your losing control of the helicopter and after they scatter land where you want. 😂😂😂 JK follow directions.

[@MillionFoul]

@@illustrious1 As the only person at my FBO who knows how to marshal helicopters, I usually only tell them where to put their nose, because everything else is just chaff. The only signal I might use is to position themselves more forwards or backwards, but even that is rare because the pilot is not going to go backwards where he can't see about 95% of the time, and will just call on the unicom to ask what you want. I try to position them nose into the wind but that just never works due to the size constraints of our ramp and lack of helipad. Some pilots are markedly better at dealing with this than others.

[@bendeleted9155]

I was going to say, "They usually let the pilots do it", but then I thought better of it, so I won't. 😉

[@richardweil8813]

See my comment above, under this topic on Wikipedia there are signals shown.

[@gentlemengamings]

dont mistake the cut the engine signal as a threat to your life 🗣️

[@joeheitz1833]

made me laugh

[@Jeffrey-Flys]

With communication like that, those two must be married...

[@J.millx7]

Stop ,would make up ur mind😂😂😂

[@BonanzaPilot]

I thought those guys were ATC

[@1shARyn3]

:-D

[@747shadow3]

1:46 55+

[@vaderdarth5551]

Remember when the pilot waves with the aircrafts wings at you the marshaller he signals that you make the impression of a drunken person … so stop trying to signal ! And get out of the way .

[@davidmorgan8442]

Of course ive seen a air traffic controller before

[@vaderdarth5551]

Shrugging shoulders - don't understand 😊 Headbanging 'yes' - affirmative Applies to Pilot AND Marshaller . Marshaller headbanging 'no' with air guitar play - your engines don't meet our noise regulations

[@alexhami185]

Doesn't understand Marshall, stops abruptly on the runway

[@BeselerSimRacing]

Jesus god, it shouldn't be that hard for you pilots to understand what we are trying to get you to do. Also, if I'm marshalling you, you go where I tell you to, it's not park where you want!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@youhavenoprivacyandownnoth8289]

2:31 what about a threat to my independence as a strong woman who dont need no man?

[@soramame7528]

Pretty sloppy example.