I was taught the old "Lights, Camera, Action" thingy when crossing the
hold line onto the runway for takeoff.


"PS2727" wrote in message
...
I think the tower was a bit harsh then because at several large airports
ALL
aircraft are asked to keep the transponder on during ground operation all
the
way to/from the gate. TCAS systems have a mode which gets rid of most
unwanted
warnings for takeoffs and landings. There is nothing at all wrong with
turning
the transponder on when approaching #1 for takeoff, it's better than
forgetting
to turn it on at all. If it is an ongoing problem at that airport try
calling
the folks in the tower to find out why and how they would like
transponders
handled on their field.