Originally Posted by
aa777888
It's a legit concern. Go walk on the asphalt/tarmac sometime after doing one. You'll see they leave more than just cosmetic damage. Best to do them on the parallel taxiway of possible.
Exactly, it does depend a bit on what the surface is made of: I'd expect concrete to be resilient enough, but tarmac on a hot day is easily damaged by bigger fixed wing aircraft turning on it, so I can see how skids could gouge it quite badly.