I flew my Bonanza into Cleveland Hopkins International Airport years ago to visit someone, and was not fully prepared for the departure. The midday arrival at KCLE was relatively calm, but I wasn’t prepared for the late afternoon/early evening regional jet rush hour. As I started to taxi, ground control was issuing instructions faster than an auctioneer with a hot date after work.
There are set taxi routes with coded names that all the regional pilots know. But visiting piston pilots don’t have a clue, and neither are they expected to. So, controllers tend to be very patient with us.
I was able to shoehorn in my taxi request and waited for a response amid the tsunami of directions. After stopping for a breath, the ground controller switched to his Mr. Rogers voice: “Bonanza 3473 Bravo, see that big airplane ahead of you with the engines on the wings? Turn left and follow him … but not too close. When you get to the bright flashing lights, stop until I tell you it’s safe to take off.”
