Airport Operations Flashcards
A runway threshold may be displaced because of an…
This portion of the runway is ____ to be used for ________, although it may be available for ______, ________ and ________ ________.
obstruction near the end of the runway.
not
landing
taxiing, takeoff and landing rollout.
What is this marking?
Blast pad/stopway area
A blast pad is an area where propeller or jet blast can…
A stopway area is paved in order to provide…
dissipate without creating a hazard.
space for an aircraft to decelerate and stop in the event of an aborted takeoff.
What are the three types of runways?
- Visual runway
- Non-precision instrument runway
- Precision instrument runway
What are the differences in runway markings for the three different types of runways?
Visual - designation, centerline, threshold (if used by international commercial transports), aiming point (runways >4,000’ used by jets)
Non-precision- designation, centerline, threshold, aiming point
Precision - designation, centerline, threshold, aiming point, touchdown zone, side stripes
What is this called?
Runway designation marking
What is this?
Touchdown zone markings
What are these called?
Aiming point markers
What are these called?
Side stripes
What is this?
Runway centerline
What are these markings called?
Threshold markings
What is this?
Runway threshold
What are these called?
Runway shoulder markings
What color are taxiway center lines?
Yellow with black edges
What is this?
What is it for?
Enhanced taxiway center line
Warning that you’re approaching a runway
- extends maximum 150’ from runway
What are these?
What does the dashed one mean
Taxiway edge markings
Adjacent pavement is for aircraft use and can be crossed, i.e. an apron
What is this area?
Taxiway shoulder area
What is this?
Surface painted taxiway direction sign
What is this?
Surface painted taxiway location sign
What is this circled 8 called?
Is it always a single number?
When is it used?
Geographic position marking
Can be a number and a letter or just a letter
Used during low visibility operations
What is this line?
Do you need ATC clearance to cross it?
Runway holding position marking
Clearance to cross the double line
No clearance needed to cross the dashed side
What is this?
Runway approach area holding position marking and sign
What’s another name for the Runway Hold Short line?
Visual holding point
or
Visual hold short line
What is this marking?
How else can it be referred to?
When is it used?
ILS critical area holding position marking
“Runway 15L CAT ? Holding Point”
Used when ceiling <800’, visibility <2sm
What is this?
If there’s no holding position line and an aircraft is crossing what should you do?
Taxiway intersection holding position line
Allow room for crossing aircraft
What are these?
Displaced threshold markings
What is this?
When will you see it used?
Surface painted holding position marking
Generally used when holding position/taxiway is >200’
What are these?
Vehicle roadway markings
What is this?
VOR receiver checkpoint marking
What is this?
Which side is under ATC control?
Non-movement area boundary marking
Dashed side
What do these yellow X’s indicate?
Runway or taxiway is permanently closed
What does the yellow X tell you?
Runway or taxiway temporarily closed
What are the six types of airport signs?
- Mandatory instruction signs
- Location signs
- Direction signs
- Destination signs
- Information signs
- Runway distance remaining signs
These airport signs have white text on a red background and are found at taxiway and runway intersections, holding positions, and other critical points on the airport surface
Mandatory instruction signs
What are the four types of mandatory instruction signs?
- Runway holding position signs
- Runway approach area holding position signs
- ILS critical area holding position signs
- No entry signs
What is the red sign called?
Where is runway 28 threshold?
Runway holding position sign
To the right
What kind of sign is this?
Runway approach area holding position sign
What is the red sign?
ILS critical area holding position sign
What kind of sign is this?
No entry sign
These airport signs have yellow text on a black background.
Location signs
What are the four types of location signs?
- Taxiway location signs
- Runway location signs
- Runway boundary signs
- ILS critical area boundary signs
What kind of sign is the D sign?
Taxiway location sign
What kind of sign is this?
Runway location sign
What is this sign called?
Which way does it face?
What does it mean?
Runway boundary sign
The runway
If you’re past this sign you’re clear of the runway
What is this sign called?
How does it work?
What does it mean?
ILS critical area boundary sign
Works the same as a runway boundary sign
If you’re past the sign you’re clear of the ILS critical area
These airport signs have black text on a yellow background. They display an arrow directing you to a taxiway, runway, or area.
Direction signs
What kind of a sign is the one with the arrows?
Taxiway direction sign
What kind of sign is this?
Runway direction sign
This type of sign looks the same as a direction sign but it shows the direction you need to go to arrive at a place.
Destination signs
What kind of sign is this?
Destination sign
These signs feature black inscriptions on a yellow background. The inscriptions are usually pieces of text containing important information
Information signs
What kind of signs are these?
Information signs
What kind of sign is this?
How much runway is remaining?
Runway distance remaining sign
2,000’
What do the yellow arrows indicate?
You cannot use a relocated threshold area for…
But you can use it for…
Relocated threshold
takeoff or landing
taxiing
Runway Safety Areas (RSA) is a defined surface surrounding the runway prepared for reducing the risk of damage to airplanes in the event of an _________, _________, or _________ from the runway.
undershoot, overshoot, or excursion
What are the categories of airports?
- Commercial
- Cargo
- Reliever
- General aviation (<2.5k boardings annually)
What are the types of airports?
How are they subdivided?
- Towered
- Nontowered
- Civil airports
- Military/Federal government airports
- Private airports
What is the preferred method for entering a traffic pattern at a nontowered airport on the traffic pattern side ?
What are the ways if coming from the non-traffic pattern side of the airport?
45* to the downwind at midfield
Cross over at midfield at least 500’ above pattern altitude. Two miles from pattern descend, do teardrop to make 45* downwind entry
Midfield crosswind at pattern altitude, less preferred than midfield teardrop
What is the difference between Primary and Nonprimary airports?
- Primary (>10k boardings annually)
- Non-primary(2.5k-10k boardings)
This is on a runway. What is it called?
What is it used for?
Land and hold short point
Land and hold short operations (LAHSO)
What kind of sign is this?
What does it mean?
Destination sign
- Runway 20 threshold is to the left
- Runways 32, 2, 14 thresholds are to the right
- Currently on taxiway Bravo and taxiway November will take you to those runways
Airport beacons are normally operated from ______ until ______. Sometimes they are turned on if the ceiling is less than _____ and/or the ground visibility is less than ____. However, there is no requirement for this, so a pilot has the responsibility of determining if the weather meets _____ requirements.
dusk until dawn
1,000’
3sm
VFR
What type of airport’s beacon flashes white and green?
Civilian land airport
What type of airport’s beacon flashes white and yellow?
Water airport
What type of airport’s beacon flashes white, yellow, and green?
Heliport
How does a military airport’s beacon flash?
Two quick white flashes and then a green flash
Approach light systems are primarily intended to provide a means to…
They can also aid pilots in operating under…
transition from instrument flight to visual flight for landing.
VFR at night.
Visual Approach Slope Indicators (VASI) provide obstruction clearance within ____ of the extended runway centerline and up to ____ from the runway threshold
10*
4 nm
There are 2-bar and 3-bar VASIs. The 2-bar provide a visual glidepath that is normally set to ___. The 3-bar system provides two glidepaths. The lower glidepath is normally set at ___ and the upper glide path ____ above the lower glide path.
3*
3*
1/4*
What kind of visual glideslope indicator is this?
Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI)
What kind of visual glideslope indicator is this?
Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI)
What kind of visual glideslope indicator is this?
3-bar VASI
What kind of visual glide slope indicator is this?
Amber =
Green =
Amber =
Red =
Tri-color visual glideslope indicator
Above GS
On GS
Slightly below GS
Below GS
What kind of visual glideslope indicator is this?
Above GS =
On GS =
Slightly below GS =
Below GS =
Pulsating VASI
Pulsating white
Steady white
Steady red
Pulsating red
What are the two synchronized, flashing lights on each corner of the runway landing threshold called?
Runway end identifier lights
What color are runway edge lights?
What about on instrument runways?
White
Yellow on the last 2,000’ or half the runway, whichever is less
What are the red lights at the end called?
What about the green lights at the bottom?
Runway end lights
Runway threshold lights
What runway lights are installed on some precision approach runways to facilitate landing under poor adverse visibility conditions?
When viewed from the runway threshold they are ______ until the last 3,000’ feet of the runway. The white lights begin to alternate with ____ for the next 2,000’. The remaining 1,000’ of runway centerline lights are ____.
Runway centerline lighting system (RCLS)
white
red
red
What are these lights called?
Touchdown zone lights
What are these lights called?
Taxiway centerline lead-off lights
What are these lights called?
Taxiway centerline lead-on lights
What are these lights called? This is a Land and Hold Short Point.
Land and Hold Short Lights
What are these blue lights?
Taxiway edge lights
What color are taxiway centerline lights?
Green
What are these lights called?
Where are they installed?
Clearance bar lights
Holding positions on taxiways
What are these called?
They could also be in a row of in-pavement yellow lights installed across the entire taxiway.
Runway guard lights
These lights consist of a row of red, steady burning in-pavement lights installed across the entire taxiway at the runway holding position, and elevated steady burning red lights on each side. Following clearance to proceed, they are turned off and lead-on lights are turned on. They’re automatically reset by a sensor or timer.
Stop bar lights
These airport lights warn pilots of obstructions both on and off the airport during daytime and nighttime. They can be ____ at night or ______ during the day and be ________ and/or ________ to mark obstructions.
red
white
steady and/or flashing
Obstruction Lights
These airport light systems are designed to provide a direct indication to you that it is unsafe to enter a runway, cross a runway, or takeoff from or land on a runway when the system is activated.
Runway Status Lights (RWSL) systems
What are the two types of Runway Status Lights?
- Runway Entrance Lights (REL)
- Takeoff Hold Lights (THL)
What kind of lights are these?
Red means…
Runway Entrance Lights (RELs)
STOP! Unsafe to enter runway
What are these lights called?
Takeoff Hold Lights (TOL)
The little end of the wind sock points in the direction…
the wind is blowing
When a wind sock and wind tee are collocated, the wind tee indicates…
landing direction.
The small end of a tetrahedron point in the direction of _______.
landing
What runway should you use for landing?
Standard left TP for runway 18?
If you were going to land runway 22, would you do left or right traffic?
18, tetrahedron points in direction of landing.
No, right traffic based on the landing strip indicators and traffic pattern indicators.
Left traffic
What is the recommended traffic pattern altitude?
1,000’ AGL, unless otherwise established
If remaining in the traffic pattern after takeoff, commence turn to crosswind leg beyond the departure end of the runway within _____ feet of pattern altitude.
300
If departing the traffic pattern after takeoff, continue _______ _____, or exit with a ____ degree turn to the traffic pattern side after reaching ________ _______.
straight out
45
pattern altitude
In the event of a radio receiver fail, what should you do?
Announce your intentions and follow light gun signals
If your radio transmitter fails, how can you acknowledge ATC instructions during daytime?
And at nighttime?
Rocking the wings
Blink your landing light
LIGHT GUN SIGNALS
Steady GREEN
- On ground =
- In flight =
Flashing GREEN
- On ground =
- In flight =
Steady RED
- On ground =
- In flight =
Flashing RED
- On ground =
- In flight =
Flashing WHITE
Alternating RED and GREEN
Cleared for takeoff
Cleared to land
Cleared to taxi
Return for landing
STOP
Give way to another aircraft
Taxi clear of the runway
Do not land
Return to starting point on airport
Exercise extreme caution!!!
