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[q]What is a Class B airspace, and what are its limitations?
[a]Answer:
Surface to 7,000 feet or up to 12,500 feet surrounding a nation’s busiest airports. Clearance to enter is required. For VFR operations; 3 miles, clear of clouds, and at least 1,000-foot ceilings, or special VFR. Speed limit is 250 knots.
[q]What is the reciprocal of 318°?
[a]Answer:
(+2,-2 method) 138°
[q]What is the speed limit in Class B airspace?
[a]Answer:
250 Knot.
[q]What is the maximum airspeed and area of in Class D airspace?
[a]Answer:
200 KIAS or below, 2,500 feet above the surface within 4 nautical miles of the primary airport of a Class D airspace
[q]Define Class B airspace?
[a]Answer:
Airspace from the surface to 10,000 feet MSL surrounding the nation’s busiest airports. The configuration of each Class B airspace area is individually tailored and consists of a surface area and two or more layers (think upside down wedding cakes), and is designed to contain all published instrument procedures once an aircraft enters the airspace. An ATC clearance is required for all aircraft to operate in the area.
[q]How far away can a takeoff alternate be for an aircraft with two or more engines?
[a]Answer:
For aircraft having two engines, it cannot be more than one hour from the departure airport at normal cruising speed in still air with one engine inoperative. For aircraft having three or more engines, it cannot be more than two hours from the departure airport at normal cruising speed in still air with one engine inoperative.
[q]If ATC instructs you to turn immediately to a designated heading on takeoff, when do you turn?
[a]Answer:
Immediately when ATC issues a clearance or instruction, pilots are expected to execute its provision upon receipt.
[q]What are standard takeoff minimums?
[a]Answer:
For aircraft having two engines or less, standard takeoff minimum is one statute mile visibility. For aircraft having more than two engines, half a statute mile visibility.
[q]The LOC inbound course is 360°, the final approach fix is the XYZ VOR 090° radial at 20 DME. You are on the 288° bearing to the station, established on the LOC. How far is the final approach fix?
[a]Answer:
6 miles. 60 to 1 Rule. 60 miles out, 1 Deg = 1 mile, 20 miles out, 1 Deg = 1/3 mile. Bearing difference is 18 Deg/3 = 6 miles.
[q]What is the rate of descent necessary for a 3° ILS?
[a]Answer:
Example; 180kts GS, 180 x.5=900 fpm. (or, 180/2 +zero = 90 +0 = 900 fpm.)
[q]What is indicated airspeed?
[a]Answer:
Indicated airspeed is the actual instrument indication for some given flight condition. Factors such as an altitude other than standard sea level, errors of the instrument and errors due to installation, compressibility, etc., may create great variance between this instrument and actual flight speed.
[q]What is calibrated airspeed?
[a]Answer:
Calibrated airspeed is the result of correcting IAS for instrument errors and errors due to position or location of the installation.
[q]What is equivalent airspeed?
[a]Answer:
EAS is the result of correcting CAS for compressibility effects. At high-flight speeds, the stagnation pressure recovered in the pitot tube is not representative of the mainstream dynamic pressure due to a magnification by compressibility.
[q]You are FL370 in cruise flight. The OAT increases 5°, and the headwind increases 5kts. What happens to your TAS and GS?
[a]Answer:
5 × 1.2 = 6kts. Gain in TAS, and GS increases by 1kt.
[q]Convert Mach number to ground speed At FL260, Mach .08.
[a]Answer:
At FL260 Mach 0.8 = 480 knots. 480/60 = 8 miles per minute. 0.7 = 420 knots = 7 miles per minute. 0.6 = 360 knots = 6 miles per minute. 0.5 = 300 knots = 5 miles per minute.
[q]Two aircraft are traveling 50 miles apart in the same direction. The aircraft in the lead is going .76 Mach, and the aircraft in trail is going .86 Mach. When will the second aircraft catch the first aircraft?
[a]Answer:
50 minutes. At FL260 0.1 Mach = 1 mile per minute. At 50 miles apart, the faster aircraft will catch the slower aircraft in 50 minutes.
[q]A 747 is traveling at 120kts and is crossing the outer marker which is 5 miles away from the runway. A DC-9 is traveling at 150kts, and is 7 miles behind the 747. Where will the DC-9 be when the 747 lands?
[a]Answer:
5.75 miles behind the 747. The 747 will land in 2.5 minutes. The DC-9 is traveling at 2.5 miles/minute. In 2.5 minutes, the DC-9 will have traveled 6.25 miles. It was originally 12 miles from the runway, so it is now 5.75 miles from the runway, or .75 miles outside of the marker.
[q]You are on an ILS and the preceding aircraft reports a speed loss of 20kts. What do you do?
[a]Answer:
Discontinue the approach. The definition of severe wind shear is “a rapid change in wind direction or velocity causing airspeed changes greater than 15 knots.”
[q]For a 3-degree descent, how do you determine distance and rate of descent?
[a]Answer:
Determine the distance to begin the descent by multiplying the altitude (in thousands) by 3. To determine the rate of descent, multiply ground speed by 5.
[q]If on a 3-degree glide slope at 700 feet per minute, as headwind increases, what correction must be made?
[a]Answer:
Reduce the rate of descent (due to slower ground speed).
[q]You are at FL350 going Mach 0.84, 112 miles from XYZ VOR. You are cleared to cross 12 miles outside of XYZ at 10,000ft and 250 KIAS. IAS in the descent is 300Kts. When do you start descending?
[a]Answer:
Use 3 miles per 1000 feet of altitude loss, and 1 mile for every 10 knots to slow the airplane. 3×25=75 miles, 50kts of airspeed loss will take 5 miles. 75+5+12=92 DME from XYZ VOR.
[q]You are at FL340, GS is 480kts, you are 96 DME from the VOR. At what descent rate would you use to cross a VOR at 10,000ft?
[a]Answer:
You are going 8 miles per minute, you are 12 minutes from the VOR. It will take 12 minutes to lose 24,000 ft = 2000 fpm.
[q]How do you calculate a VDP?
[a]Answer:
Calculate the VDP by dividing the MDA height above terrain by 300. Example, if the HAT or MDA is 600; 600/300 = 2 miles. The VDP is the point at which a 3-degree glide slope from the threshold intersects the minimum descent altitude (MDA).
[q]How do you compute descent rates, given speed in Mach numbers, distance, and altitude to lose?
[a]Answer:
To verify the airplane is on an approximately 3-degree glide path, use a calculation of 300-foot-to-1-NM. The glide-path height above TDZE is calculated by multiplying the NM distance from the threshold by 300.
[q]What is the maximum permissible variation between the two bearing indicators on a dual VOR system, when checking one VOR system against another?
[a]Answer:
The maximum permissible variation between the two indicated bearings is 4 degrees.
[q]You take position and hold on runway 9L in ATL. The published magnetic heading is 092 and your compass reads 088. The wind is 360 at 10. You are cleared for takeoff and told to fly runway heading. What heading do you fly?
[a]Answer:
You fly 092. From FAR/AIM; The runway heading is the magnetic direction that corresponds with the runway centerline extended, not the painted runway number. When cleared to “fly or maintain the heading that corresponds with the extended centerline of the departure runway. Drift correction is not applied; e.g., for Runway 4, with the actual magnetic heading of the runway centerline at 044, you would fly 044.
[q]What does EFIS stand for?
[a]Answer:
Electronic Flight Instrument System
[q]You are on the 090 degrees bearing to the station and are cleared to hold on the 060° bearing to the station. What is your initial heading outbound?
[a]Answer:
240 degrees without wind correction; extend outbound leg so that inbound leg is 1 minute (assuming standard hold). Triple the inbound wind correction on outbound leg and use standard rate turns.
[q]Bearing pointer moves from 5 degrees in front of the wing to 5 degrees behind the wing in 8 minutes, you are going 360 knots. How far from the station are you?
[a]Answer:
288NM; distance to the station in NM= minutes x speed/degrees. In this example, distance = 8×360/10 OR 288 miles/n or another method is to use two simple formulas: time in seconds/degrees of bearing change = minutes to station. With minutes to station, simply multiply by GS (in miles per minute) to equal distance. 480 (8 minutes)/10 degrees = 48 minutes from the station. 48 minutes x 6 (miles per minute) = 288.
[q]What is the frequency range for a VOR?
[a]Answer:
VORs operate within the 108.0 to 117.95 MHz range.
[q]What is the 60–1 rule?
[a]Answer:
The rule is based on the small-angle approximation (which states that for small angles, sin θ ≈ θ, where θ is in radians), along with the fact that one radian (which is about 57.3°) is close to 60°. In reality, a 1 mile in 60 error is 0.96°, and the rule becomes increasingly inaccurate for larger errors. But since even a skilled pilot cannot manually fly with better than about 2° accuracy, and winds are constantly varying, the rule remains useful for most realistic situations.
[q]Up to what distance is a compass locator usable?
[a]Answer:
The transmitters have a power of less than 25 watts, a range of at least 15 miles, and operate between 190 and 535 kHz.
[q]Under what conditions will the ILS critical area be in effect?
[a]Answer:
Less than ceiling 800 feet and/or visibility 2 miles.
[q]What is the frequency range for a localizer?
[a]Answer:
The localizer transmitter operates on one of 40 ILS channels within the frequency range of 108.10 to 111.95 MHz.
[q]A VASI is good up to what distance during the day/night? SM or NM?
[a]Answer:
These lights are visible from 3–5 miles during the day and up to 20 miles or more at night. The visual glide path of the VASI provides safe obstruction-clearance within plus or minus 10 degrees of the extended runway centerline and to 4 NM from the runway threshold.
[q]Which color on a tricolor VASI indicates the aircraft is low?
[a]Answer:
The below glidepath indication is red, the above glidepath indication is amber, and on glideslope is green.
[q]How long does the touchdown zone lighting extend on a runway?
[a]Answer:
The system consists of steady-burning white lights which start 100 feet beyond the landing threshold and extend to 3,000 feet beyond the landing threshold or to the midpoint of the runway, whichever is less.
[q]Which reports should be made to ATC or FSS facilities without a specific ATC request?
[a]Answer:
The following should be reported: vacating any previously assigned altitude or flight level for a newly assigned altitude; altitude change if operating on a clearance specifying VFR-on-top; when unable to climb/descend at a rate of at least 500 fpm; on a missed approach; change in airspeed by 5 per cent or 10kts (whichever is greater) from filed; the time and altitude upon reaching a holding fix to which cleared; or when leaving any assigned holding fix-point.
[q]Name any 3 of the 12 keywords that must be part of the text after the location identifier in a NOTAM D.
[a]Answer:
RWY, TWY, RAMP, APRON, AD, OBST, NAV, COM, SVC, AIRSPACE, U, or O
[q]How often are NOTAMs issued?
[a]Answer:
The Notices to Airmen publication is issued every 28 days.
[q]How do you find hours of operation of an airport?
[a]Answer:
Airport/Facility Directory (abbreviated A/FD).
[q]How can you determine whether a VOR has DME capability?
[a]Answer:
DME capability is indicated by a small “D” preceding the VOR frequency within a NAVAID identification box on any Jeppesen approach chart.
[q]Are holding patterns drawn to scale on approach charts?
[a]Answer:
Generally, they are not.
[q]How is a grid MORA displayed on an enroute chat?
[a]Answer:
Grid MORAs are displayed in a light green (when less than 14,000 feet and maroon when above 14,000 feet), bolded san-serif font on enroute charts in hundreds of feet. They provide 1,000 feet of clearance for all terrain and man-made structures in areas where the highest elevations are 5,000 feet MSL and 2,000-foot clearance in areas where the highest elevations are 5,001 feet MSL or higher.
[q]What color are IFR airports on enroute charts?
[a]Answer:
IFR airports are blue with tick marks (which designate the airport as Civilian as opposed to Military airports without tick marks) around the blue circle. VFR airports are green.
[q]What color and shape are compulsory checkpoints on an enroute chart?
[a]Answer:
Solid black and shaped as an equilateral triangle. Non-compulsory checkpoints are simply an outline of an equilateral triangle. A compulsory checkpoint with name and INS coordinates is a solid-black equilateral triangle with a small white dot within the triangle.
[q]What does the “x” symbol on an enroute chart indicate?
[a]Answer:
A mileage break or turning point.
[q]How do you identify a MOCA on an enroute chart?
[a]Answer:
MOCAs are printed with a “T” following the altitude.
[q]How do you identify a MORA on an enroute chart?
[a]Answer:
MORAs are printed with an “a” following the altitude.
[q]Where can you find a minimum crossing altitude on an enroute chart?
[a]Answer:
L MCAs are found underneath officially named intersections and may include direction for flights. Example; LOMAS MCA FL 60 SE indicates an MCA of 6,000 feet for SE-bound flights only, off an intersection name LOMAS.
[q]How do you identify an MEA on an enroute chart?
[a]Answer:
MEAs are printed in red and simply show the MEA altitude along an airway.
[q]What is an MEA?
[a]Answer:
MEA, or minimum enroute IFR altitude, is the lowest published altitude between radio fixes that meets obstacle clearance requirements between those fixes and, in many countries, assures acceptable navigational signal coverage.
[q]What is a MORA?
[a]Answer:
Minimum off-route altitude derived by Jeppesen. MORA provides known obstruction clearance 10 NM either side of a route centerline, including a 10 NM radius beyond the radio-fix reporting or mileage break defining the route segment.
[q]What is an MSA?
[a]Answer:
Minimum safe altitude depicted on an instrument-approach chart and identified as the minimum safe altitude which provides 1000 feet of obstacle clearance within a 25 NM radius from the navigation facility upon which the MSA is predicated. This altitude is for EMERGENCY USE ONLY and does not guarantee NAVAID reception.
[q]What are the rules related to MOAs?
[a]Answer:
MOAs are established for the purpose of separating certain non-hazardous military activities from IFR traffic and may be cleared through the MOA if IFR separation can be provided by ATC. Otherwise, ATC reroutes traffic.
[q]What is MEA?
[a]Answer:
Minimum enroute if altitude is the lowest published altitude between radio fixes which assures acceptable navigational signal coverage and meets obstacle clearance requirements between those fixes.
[q]What is MDA?
[a]Answer:
Minimum descent altitude is the lowest altitude, expressed in feet above mean sea level, to which descent is authorized on final approach or during circle-to-land maneuvering in execution of a standard instrument approach procedure where no electronic glideslope is provided.
[q]What is MSA?
[a]Answer:
Minimum safe/sector altitudes are published for emergency use on IAP charts. MSAs are in MSL and have a 25-NM radius: A single sector altitude is depicted on the plan view of approach charts. When necessary, the area may be further sectored into 4 separate MSAs. Sectors may be no less than 90 degrees in spread. MSAs provide 1000 ft. clearance over all obstructions but do not assure acceptable navigation signal coverage.
[q]Define MVA.
[a]Answer:
Minimum vectoring altitudes are established for use by ATC when radar ATC is exercised. Each sector boundary is at least 3 miles from the obstruction determining the MVA. To avoid a large sector with an excessively high MVA due to an isolated prominent obstruction, the obstruction may be enclosed in a buffer area whose boundaries are at least 3 miles from the obstruction.
[q]What is Class A airspace, and what are its limitations?
[a]Answer:
All airspace from 18,000 feet up to and including 60,000 feet within the 48 contiguous states (including DC) and most of Alaska, plus the airspace within 12NM offshore.
[q]What is Class C airspace, and what are its limitations?
[a]Answer:
All airspace from the surface to 4,000 AGL at an airport with an operating control tower is included. For VFR operations, this includes 3 SM, cloud clearance of 500 ft below, 1000 ft above, and 2,000 ft horizontally, and ceiling of 1000 ft, or special VFR. Typically, a 5NM radius core is also included, with a possible 10NM shelf that extends from 1,299 feet to 4,000 feet. The outer area may contain a 20 NM shelf. Two-way communications must be established before entry.
[q]What is Class D airspace, and what are its limitations?
[a]Answer:
All airspace from the surface to 2,500 AGL surrounding an airport with an operating control tower is included. Normally, this airspace is a circular area with a radius of 4NM. For VFR operations, the requirements are visibility of 3NM, cloud clearance of 500 ft below, 1,000 ft above, and 2,000 ft horizontally, with a ceiling of 1000 ft or special VFR. Two-way communication must be established before entry.
[q]Describe four different types of airport beacons.
[a]Answer:
Beacons rotate clockwise from above and at approximately 12PM. On average, a pilot will see 24-30 flashes per minute. White and green indicate a lighted land airport. Two white and one green indicate a military airport. Green, yellow, and white indicate a lighted heliport. White and yellow indicate a lighted water airport.
[q]How far apart do runways have to be to conduct simultaneous approaches to parallel runways?
[a]Answer:
An approach system permitting simultaneous ILS/MLS approaches to parallel runways must have centerlines separated by 4,300 to 9,000 feet and be equipped with final monitor controllers. For simultaneous parallel ILS, MLS approaches require radar monitoring to ensure separation between aircraft on the adjacent parallel approach courses.
[q]What is a MOCA?
[a]Answer:
Minimum obstruction clearance altitude is the lowest published altitude in effect between radio fixes on VOR airways, off-airway routes, or route segments which meet obstacle-clearance requirements for the entire route segment, and, in the USA, assures acceptable navigational signal coverage only within 22 nautical miles of a VOR.
[q]Where is the FAF on an ILS?
[a]Answer:
By definition, the FAF on a precision approach is the point where the minimum glideslope intercept altitude intercepts the glideslope. It is designated on government charts by the lightning bolt symbol for precision approaches or, when ATC directs a lower-than-published glideslope/path intercept altitude, it is the resultant actual point of the glideslope/path intercept.
[q]A PAPI showing four white lights indicates the aircraft is high by more than how many degrees?
[a]Answer:
3.5 degrees or more; four reds indicate low by more than 2.5 degrees.
[q]You are on a 20 DME arc at 240kts GS. What will your lead radial be to intercept the final approach course: 1–4 radials, 5–8 radials, or 9–12 radials?
[a]Answer:
5–8 radials: the aircraft is moving at 4 miles per minute (240 Knots), so a standard rate turn (2 minutes/360 degrees) will take 30 seconds to complete, and the aircraft will travel 2 miles. Using the 60-to-1 guidelines, the aircraft will travel 6 radials in the 30-second turn to final.
[q]What is 1600RVR converted to statute miles?
[a]Answer:
One-quarter statute miles
[q]You are flying a circling approach when you lose sight of the runway. How do you execute the missed approach?
[a]Answer:
Follow the missed-approach procedure for the approach used. Make a climbing turn towards the landing runway and continue the turn until established on the missed-approach course.
[q]What is the proper procedure if the decision to take the missed-approach course is made before reaching the MAP?
[a]Answer:
Obstacle protection for a missed approach is predicated on the missed approach being initiated at the decision altitude/height (DA/H) or at the missed-approach point and not at lower than the minimum descent altitude (MDA).
[q]You are executing a missed approach on Runway 09 and get cleared to hold south on the 180 degrees radial of the VOR on the field, at the 15 DME fix. What type of entry is required?
[a]Answer:
Parallel entry
[q]You are entering a hold and your L/D max speed is above the max holding speed for FAR91. What speed do you hold at?
[a]Answer:
You hold at max hold speed for FAR91, as long as it is 1.3 times VS.
[q]What speed should you use when diverting to an alternate?
[a]Answer:
14 CFR part 121 fuel requirements for domestic, flag, and supplemental: 3; thereafter, you should fly for 45 minutes at normal-cruising fuel consumption.
[q]L/D Max is at 240KIAS, Vflaps is at 205KIAS, and Vs is at 149KIAS. You get a holding clearance for 7000 ft. At what speed do you hold?
[a]Answer:
230 KIAS (max holding speed between 6000 ft and 14000 ft); ideally, an aircraft should fly in a holding pattern at a speed which minimizes fuel flow but within pattern and within the constraints of the aircraft/company operational criteria, as well as FAA-established recommended guidelines. Without those constraints, the best profile to fly in order to minimize fuel flow would be at a speed slightly slower than the speed for minimum drag. In this case, that would be 230 KIAS.
[q]What airspeed do you hold when you are at 8000 ft?
[a]Answer:
230 kts
[q]Is a stopway usable for take-off or taxi?
[a]Answer:
No.
[q]Is the area before a displaced threshold usable for take-off or taxi?
[a]Answer:
Yes
[q]You are flying at 0.86 Mach, and you elect to slow down for operational purposes. Below what airspeed do you have to advise ATC: Mach 0.85, 0.84, 0.83, or 0.82?
[a]Answer:
Mach 0.82; assuming FL360, 10 KIAS reduction in Mach is the equivalent of 0.82 Mach.
[q]What does a steady-green light signal from a control tower mean?
[a]Answer:
Air traffic is cleared to land, and ground traffic is cleared for T/O.
[q]What does a flashing green-light signal from a control tower mean?
[a]Answer:
Air traffic is cleared to return for landing and ground is cleared for Taxi.
[q]What does a steady red-light signal from a control tower mean?
[a]Answer:
Air traffic must give way to other aircraft and continue circling. Ground traffic must stop.
[q]What does a flashing red-light signal from a control tower mean?
[a]Answer:
Airport unsafe, do not land. Ground traffic must taxi clear of runway in use.
[q]A runway’s remaining centerline-lighting system consists of:
[a]Answer:
Alternate red and white lights from 3,000 feet to 1,000 feet, and then red lights to the end.
[q]Two rows of transverse light bars disposed symmetrically about the runway centerline describes which type of lighting?
[a]Answer:
Touchdown-zone lighting, or TDZL
[q]What does a flashing white-light signal from a control tower mean?
[a]Answer:
Not applicable to air traffic, and ground traffic should return to starting point.
[q]What does a red- and green-light signal from a control tower mean?
[a]Answer:
Exercise extreme caution.
[q]When is a destination alternate required under Part 121?
[a]Answer:
No alternate airport is required if, for at least one hour before and one hour after the estimated time of arrival at the destination airport, the appropriate weather reports or forecasts, or any combination of them, indicate that (1) the ceiling will be at least 2,000 feet above the airport’s elevation, and (2) visibility will be at least 3 miles.
[q]When is a takeoff alternate required under Part 121?
[a]Answer:
If the weather conditions at the airport of takeoff are below the landing minimums in the certificate holder’s operations specifications for that airport, then no person may dispatch or release an aircraft from that airport.
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