Taking off from a taxiway

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dfwnightflyer

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Encountered the damnedest thing yesterday. While on short final for 17 at KTRL, I heard a Star duster call that he was taking the active. Thinking I was about to punch the throttle and go around to avoid turning his biplane into a triplane, he instead turns onto the parallel taxiway and takes off. I elect to land because I don't know which way he's gonna turn (standard left turns and all) and there are other planes in the pattern. He turns right and out of the pattern.
What would you have done in this situation? Approach end of 17 and taxiway pictured.

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I think I might have said something. As long as you had visual on him the whole time I think you actually did the most safe thing by landing, as planned.
 
I think that pilot either screwed up by mistake and thought the parallel taxiway was the runway as it appears leaving the ramp on the perpendicular taxiway you're at the runway end, and he/she didn't notice that it continued straight ahead to the actual end of the runway. Or he just did it on purpose, which wasn't smart with you on final. Did you transmit so that he/she should have heard you?
 
I made the standard base to final call. Made another one after he made his that I was on short final.
 
The pilot may have used the taxi way to give you added time to land,without having to go around.
 
The EAA's Ford Trimotor frequently uses Taxiway "P" to take off during Airventure. But then there are few "normal" ops at Airventure.

-Skip
 
I would have done everything I could to keep him in front of me. If that means landing on the runway while he departs on the taxiway, so be it. I might catch up with him on the go around and would want to make a quick low altitude turn away from him.

I would also talk to the local pilots, FBO etc, to learn if that is a normal occurrence at that airport for anyone to depart like that, or is it just that pilot.

The local FAASTEAM rep may want to chat with the pilot.
 
Even if one were to give the pilot the benefit of the doubt and assume that he took off from a taxiway on purpose, why would he call it "the active"? Bizarre.
 
You done good, a knucklehead in front of you is better than 2 in the bush.
 
Did he actually say he was "taking the active"? Since Terrell is untowered, there is no "active" runway. I also don't think there's anything necessarily "wrong" with taking off on a taxiway at an untowered field as long as he didn't cause a hazard. I think you did the right thing by staying behind him, keeping him in sight, and landing.
 
At one point a few years back, the runway at Eagle Colorado (KEGE) was closed. They were using the taxiway for takeoff and landing. Large jets were doing such for a couple of months.
 
If you have the opportunity, it would be best to simply ask him whats up with taxiway takeoffs. There might be a good reason for it that is not immediately apparent. In any case, from your description it did not sound egregiously dangerous. And searching for "taxiway departure midairs" resulted in....um, well nevermind.
 
Well, helicopters take off on them. The issue seems to be you were close to him. Go to Oshkosh sometime. They land 3 planes at a time on one runway!
 
I think he was just being an arse and didn't want to wait on you, so he said screw it, I'm going on the taxiway.
 
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