Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

Engine startup request

Asked by: 4956 views Private Pilot

Good Afternoon Everyone,

As a normal procedure in my flight school I use to start up my engine and afterwards make initial contact to clearance delivery and request clearance for vfr flight.

However, I was a reading the far/aim and it states " pilots of departing aircraft should communicate ground control/clearance delivery frequency prior starting engines to receive engine start time, taxi and or clearance information"

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

2 Answers

  1. Best Answer


    lhornaday on Jun 05, 2017

    This is intended for airline use when gate hold procedures are in effect at a particular airport. It is used when departure delays are anticipated at the airport, not for traffic flow reasons.

    See AIM 4-3-15 for more detail.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. R. Anderson on Jun 06, 2017

    Hello John318,

    To expand a bit on your question, there are (generally) two reasons that a pilot (IFR only) would call ATC prior to starting engines.

    1. “Gate Hold procedures” (when delay is expected to be 15 minutes or more). This is usually announced on the ATIS frequency. (AiM 4-3-15)

    2. “Pre-taxi clearance procedures,” which is a published and established procedure (recommended, not required) where a pilot receives his/her IFR clearance before engine start. The published frequency for this procedure can be found in the “Chart Supplement” for the airport in question. See KJFK for example, which has both a published frequency for “Gate Hold” and “Pre-Taxi” clearance. (AIM 5-2-1)

    Note that these procedures apply to all IFR aircraft, not just Airline (Air Carrier) aircraft.

    Remember to always listen to ATIS and read the Chart Supplement for the airports you are operating from.

    Good question.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.