Wing walkers and Pilots

[DanielDmn]

I know the wing walkers perform great chemistry with the marshallers when it comes to orientating planes on the ground while they are parking or being attached to pushback tugs. But during all these operations the pilots only get to see and respond to what the marshallers are signaling, while they can't really see what the wing walkers are doing from up there. So with that in mind, do pilots need in a practical way to know and understand all the wing walkers' gestures or would it only be something out of their curiosity?

Thank you!

 

[Sonerai]

Pilots must guess correctly or bang

 

[MsHighAltitude]

I would assume it's one standard set of marshalling signals, and the marshaller would guide the plane accordingly based on signals from the wingwalkers.

When I saw the title I thought you meant this:

 

[Plague]

When I saw the title I thought you meant this:

Moi aussi.

 

[Plague]

do pilots need in a practical way to know and understand all the wing walkers' gestures or would it only be something out of their curiosity?

I'm not sure but I think the gestures are pretty simple - Baton up = thumbs up = OK. Anything other = No or uncertain = Not OK.

As the walkers are not in the field of view of the pilots the pilot not driving could do his owl impression to look his side, but the other needs to be watching the marshaller full-time and shouldn't be trying to check the walker as well. That said, I'd expect most experienced pilots have seen these activities from a distance many times and will be familiar with the signals, though possibly less so than some frequent flier passengers who only have a side view

 

[MsHighAltitude]

Owl impression

 

[321Captain]

Owl impression

All I ever see from the wingwalkers is a red wand pointing up, or two red wands crossed in an X shape. That’s it.

 

[Plague]

All I ever see from the wingwalkers is a red wand pointing up, or two red wands crossed in an X shape. That’s it.

Sounds right. It's a binary choice.