PROFICIENCY & EFFICIENCY 86 TECHNIQUE 88 WX WATCH 91 PROFICIENCY 94 NEVER AGAIN AOPA's Rusty Pilots Program works with local flight training providers to help lapsed pilots get back into flying (www.aopa.org/ Community-and-Events/Rusty-Pilots). Centerline zealot Why the white stripe matters B Y D AV E H I R S C H M A N VIDEO Fly along in this video. 84 | AOPA PILOT January 2015 JOHN UELAND VIEW THE WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL about the white stripe? Why do flight instructors continually harp on the importance of tracking the centerline, even on wide runways? Is there something wrong with taking off or landing a little bit left or right of center? In truth, there's really no harm in a little sloppiness in the vast majority of the takeoffs and landings we make. For example, the main wheels on the single-engine piston single I fly are only eight feet apart, and the runway at my home airport is a full 100 feet wide, so there's a gigantic margin for error. You don't have to be William Tell to find a place between the edges of the pavement.http://www.aopa.org/Community-and-Events/Rusty-Pilots http://www.aopa.org/Community-and-Events/Rusty-Pilots http://www.aopa.org/Community-and-Events/Rusty-Pilots