Line Guys: Chocking Nose Wheel Vs Main Gear

Sinistar

Sinistar

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Brad
Okay, I must admit this one threw me a bit. Until I started flying into some of the larger FBO's, either myself or a line guy has always chocked the main gear on the pilots side. But the last few, especially larger FBO's have been chocking the nose wheel????

Being of the superior race of high wing flyers (uh-oh!) I could always just look down and left to verify the wheel isn't chocked. And sometimes (windy) I purposely leave that chock in until I am about to get into the plane. Plus it was easy to just kick the front half out of the way get going.

Placing a chock around the nose wheel means getting near the prop - twice. And I feel like I need to fully remove it vs just kick the front part out of the way. So where do I place it...back behind the main gear where I can see it :mad:

So what's up with chocking the nose wheel on a single engine plane, especially near a prop?

(ps. I tried my best to not use 'chalk' or 'choke' when talking about chocking)
 
Jamie Kirk said:
If you put it on the nose gear the plane can’t move.

If you place them on a single main the plane can rotate on that point if winds get gusty
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On an airplane with a free-castering nosewheel (e.g., Grumman-American types), it's best to chock both mains. If only the nosewheel or a single main is chocked, the airplane can weathervane and the nosewheel will turn and just roll out the side of the chock.
 
When I was a ramp rat I'd personally chock the nose wheel and the left main at a minimum. I'd never reach through the prop arc to chock the nose wheel, especially if the pilot was in the aircraft. Going around to the side of the cowl and chock from behind the prop is the smart move there. Most of my coworkers would only chock the nosewheel as it was generally the easiest to get to on a small aircraft. We were supposed to marshal every aircraft on the ramp when they arrived/departed and it was our job, not the pilot's, to remove the chocks before departure and signal the pilot to let them know we had done so.

A lot of smaller aircraft who didn't get/request a marshaller would kick out the front of each chock and taxi away without issue. It was SOP to triple-chock all aircraft on the ramp when the forecast had high winds.
 
Just make sure you chock both sides. o_O

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On the twin seems most places chock both mains. I prefer the nose wheel to be chocked because when if I forget I can just pop over it and be on my way.
 
From a pilot perspective, I chock the left main for the reasons noted by our dear OP. It’s so easy to see from the pilot seat and so easy to pull right before jumping in.

From a line person perspective who might need to move the plane with either a tug or hand towbar, I would chock the nose for ease of operations.

Either is fine.
 
Pilawt said:
On an airplane with a free-castering nosewheel (e.g., Grumman-American types), it's best to chock both mains. If only the nosewheel or a single main is chocked, the airplane can weathervane and the nosewheel will turn and just roll out the side of the chock.
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A tightly chocked front wheel won't allow this, unless winds are so high as to put the plane sideways on its gear.
 
I disagree. If there is sufficient wind the nose gear can raise back (especially if you've used the seatbelt to "gust lock" the yoke, yielding the nose chock useless.

I've seen the Navion jump chocks on both mains as well in order to weathervane into the wind. Chocks really only prevent gentle rolls.
 
Seen it from just one main, just the nose wheel, the nose wheel and one main, both mains, to all wheels.

As long as it works, meh
 
I now chock the left main and make sure the connecting rope is on the inside. I once tried to taxi with the chock in place and had to shutdown to remove it. Now I can reach out with the handle of the tow bar and pull in the chock if I forget (once so far).
 
Sinistar said:
Okay, I must admit this one threw me a bit. Until I started flying into some of the larger FBO's, either myself or a line guy has always chocked the main gear on the pilots side. But the last few, especially larger FBO's have been chocking the nose wheel????

Being of the superior race of high wing flyers (uh-oh!))
Click to expand...

I stopped reading right there....
 
SkyDog58 said:
From a pilot perspective, I chock the left main for the reasons noted by our dear OP. It’s so easy to see from the pilot seat and so easy to pull right before jumping in.

From a line person perspective who might need to move the plane with either a tug or hand towbar, I would chock the nose for ease of operations.

Either is fine.
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I can't see any of my tires from inside the plane. I carry one set of chocks and do the nosewheel myself if the ramp is unattended. Not sure I can jump it, it gives pretty good resistance (but I probably could if I tried). Definitely place and remove the chocks from the side, preferably the right side since that's where my door and the baggage door to access my chocks are . . . .
 
Hank S said:
I can't see any of my tires from inside the plane. I carry one set of chocks and do the nosewheel myself if the ramp is unattended. Not sure I can jump it, it gives pretty good resistance (but I probably could if I tried). Definitely place and remove the chocks from the side, preferably the right side since that's where my door and the baggage door to access my chocks are . . . .
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Oh, I’m sure I’d change from left main to either right main or nose if I flew a low wing single door type of plane as well.
 
Were I used to work we chocked the nose gear to cut down on the potential for a weather vane event (chocks alone won't eliminate the potential).

The not wanting to go under the prop aspect? Chocking the nose gear does not require one to get into the prop arc. Hooking up a tow bar does. And that's something both line people and pilots alike do day in and day out without issue.

The wanting a line person to chock the main near the pilot door in case you forget to remove it? Its the line persons job to chock the plane. Its the pilots job to pre-flight the plane. The problem of one party not doing their job correctly should not become the responsibility of the other party to solve.

When you remove the FBO's chock you can do it one of two ways. Remove the front chock and place it behind the rear chock but make sure when you taxi out, you do not begin any turn until the mains are beyond where the nose gear was sitting. Or you can remove the chocks completely and place them under either wing tip. Either way works fine.
 
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Jamie Kirk said:
If you put it on the nose gear the plane can’t move.

If you place them on a single main the plane can rotate on that point if winds get gusty
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Put a chock under a main and push the aft of fuselage with a steerable nose gear and see if you can rotate the plane.
 
If the winds are high enough/forecast high enough to weathervane my plane with nose gear chocks, I'm gonna tie it down!
 
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