Flight Instruments

Question 1

The dial of a typical altimeter is _______

Answer 1

graduated, with the numerals arranged clockwise from 0 to 9. The shortest hand indicates altitude in tens of thousands of feet, the intermediate in thousands of feet, and the longest in hundreds of feet

Question 2

Adjustments for non-standard conditions are performed by _______

Answer 2

setting the corrected pressure into a barometric scale on the face of the altimeter; only then will the altimeter indicate the precise altitude

Question 3

Altitude is _______

Answer 3

vertical distance above some point or level used as a reference

Question 4

There are as many kinds of altitudes as there are _______

Answer 4

reference levels from which to measure those altitudes

Question 5

Indicated altitude is ______

Answer 5

The uncorrected altitude read directly from the altimeter when it is set to the current altimeter setting.

Question 6

The vertical speed indicator (VSI), sometimes called vertical velocity indicator, indicates _______

Answer 6

if the airplane is climbing, descending, or in level flight. The rate of climb or descent is indicated in feet per minute. If correctly calibrated, zero would indicate level flight.

Question 7

The vertical speed indicator is capable of displaying two different types of information:

Answer 7

Trend information which shows an immediate change in the rate of climb or descent

Rate information which shows a stabilized rate of change in altitude

Question 8

An example of trend information on a vertical speed indicator:

Answer 8

For example, if an airplane maintaining a steady 500-foot-per-minute (fpm) climb slightly lowers its nose, the VSI would immediately sense this change and would indicate a decrease in the rate of climb. This first indication is called the trend. After a short time, the VSI needle will stabilize on the new rate of climb. The time between the change in the rate of climb and until it displays an accurate indication of the new rate is called the lag. Some airplanes are equipped with instantaneous vertical speed indicators (IVSI), which have accelerometers to compensate for the lag of a typical VSI

Question 9

Airspeed indicator:

Answer 9

The airspeed indicator is a sensitive differential pressure gauge that measures and promptly shows the difference between pitot (impact) pressure and static pressure. When the airplane moves through the air, the pressure on the pitot line becomes greater than the pressure in the static lines. This difference in pressure is registered by the airspeed pointer on the face of the instrument, which is calibrated in mph, knots, or both

Question 10

Static pressure:

Answer 10

The static pressure is the atmospheric pressure at the flight level of the aircraft.

Question 11

There are four airspeed types, which can be remembered using the mnemonic _______:

Answer 11

ICE-T

Indicated airspeed

Calibrated airspeed

Equivalent airspeed

True airspeed

Question 12

Indicated airspeed:

Answer 12

indicated airspeed is the speed shown on the airspeed indicator

Question 13

Calibrated airspeed:

Answer 13

calibrated airspeed is indicated airspeed corrected for instrument and positional errors.

Question 14

Equivalent airspeed:

Answer 14

EAS is calibrated airspeed (CAS) corrected for the compressibility of air at a non-trivial Mach number

Or

the speed at sea level, under ISA conditions, that would generate the same incompressible dynamic pressure as the true airspeed (TAS) and altitude at which the aircraft is flying.

Question 15

True airspeed:

Answer 15

True Airspeed is equivalent airspeed corrected for temperature and pressure altitude.

Question 16

Airspeed white arc:

Answer 16

This arc is commonly referred to as the flap operating range since its lower limit represents the full flap stall speed and its upper limit provides the maximum flap speed. Approaches and landings are usually flown at speeds within the white arc

Question 17

Lower limit of white arc VS0:

Answer 17

the stalling speed or the minimum steady flight speed in the landing configuration. In small aircraft, this is the power-off stall speed at the maximum landing weight in the landing configuration (gear and flaps down).

Question 18

Upper limit of white arc (VFE):

Answer 18

the maximum speed with the flaps fully extended

Or

the maximum permissible speed for the landing flap configuration, which is the full/maximum extended flap setting.

Question 19

Green arc:

Answer 19

This is the normal operating range of the airplane. Most flying occurs within this range.

Question 20

Lower limit of green arc (VS1):

Answer 20

the stalling speed or the minimum steady flight speed obtained in a specified configuration. For most aircraft, this is the power-off stall speed at the maximum takeoff weight in the clean configuration (gear up, if retractable, and flaps up).

Question 21

Upper limit of green arc (VN0):

Answer 21

the maximum structural cruising speed. Do not exceed this speed except in smooth air.

Question 22

Yellow arc:

Answer 22

caution range. Fly within this range only in smooth air and then only with caution.

Question 23

Red arc:

Answer 23

never exceed speed. Operating above this speed is prohibited since it may result in damage or structural failure.

Question 24

All airplanes have six basic flight instruments:

Answer 24

airspeed indicator

attitude indicator

altimeter

turn coordinator

heading indicator

vertical speed indicator

Question 25

There are two types of turn indicators:

Answer 25

The turn-and-slip indicator and the turn coordinator

Question 26

Both turn-and-slip indicator and turn coordinator show _______

Answer 26

turn direction and coordination, and also serve as a backup source of bank information in case attitude indicator fails

Question 27

Both the turn-and-slip indicator and the turn coordinator run on _______

Answer 27

battery power. The gyroscopes of both will start spinning when turning on the master switch. If you don’t hear their gyroscopes spinning, then they aren’t going to work correctly.

Question 28

If both the turn-and-slip indicator and the turn coordinator lose electrical power _______

Answer 28

a red flag will pop up

Question 29

Remember the A TOMATO FLAMES acronym, which are the VFR day minimum equipment requirements found in far 91.205:

Answer 29

A - Airspeed indicator
T - Tachometer (for each engine)
O - Oil Pressure Gauge (for each engine)
M - Magnetic Direction Indicator
A - Altimeter
T - Temperature Gauge (for each liquid cooled engine)
O - Oil Temperature Gauge (for each air cooled engine)
F - Fuel Gauges (For each tank)
L - Landing Gear Position Indicator
A - Anticollision Light
M - Manifold Pressure guage (for each Altitude Engine)
E - ELT
S - Seatbelts for each occupant

Question 30

The turn-and-slip indicator doesn’t show any bank information, but it does show _______

Answer 30

if the airplane is in a left or right turn

Question 31

If the turn-and-slip indicator needle is on one of the left or right tick marks, then _______

Answer 31

that will indicate the airplane will make a 360 degree turn, in 2 minutes, in the direction of the turn. This equates to 3 degrees per second, which is what we call the standard rate turn

Question 32

The turn-and-slip indicator operates on a principle known as _______

Answer 32

gyroscopic precession, which basically states that any time I apply a force to a spinning gyroscope, there’s a resultant force that occurs 90 degrees ahead of the force applied along the plane of rotation.

Question 33

Not only is a gyro rotor able to spin on its axis, but _______

Answer 33

a single gimbal allows the gyro rotor to tilt one direction or another.

Question 34

When an airplane turns in a certain direction, the turn-and-slip gyroscope _______

Answer 34

turns with it, this places a force on the sides of the gyro rotor, and because of precession the force is transferred to the vertical ends of the gyro rotor, making the bottom part tilt laterally into the turn direction. Since the gyroscope is connected with the instrument’s needle, the needle will move in the turning direction. When the airplane returns to wings level, spring tension returns the gyro rotor to its upright position, and the needle moves back to the center.

That’s how this device works to give the rate of turn in the airplane

Question 35

In both a turn-and-slip indicator and a turn coordinator, coordination is achieved by an _______

Answer 35

inclinometer, which is a liquid-filled curved tube with a ball inside. Some pilots call it the slip/skid indicator.

In straight and level flight, gravity pulls the ball to the lowest point at the center. When on a turn, as long as the load is perpendicular to the wings, the ball will remain centered. Sometimes a sideways force acting on the airplane displaces the ball either to the left or right.

When making a turn, as long as the nose is aligned with the direction of travel, will the ball remain centered. This is what we call a coordinated turn.

Skidding turn is when the tail of the airplane is outside of the turn, and so the ball will also be outside.

Slipping turn is when the tail is inside of the turn, and so ball will also be inside.

Rudder pedals are used to step in the direction of the ball to align the nose in the direction of the turn

When stepping past the center, just release rudder pressure instead of switching to opposite rudder pressure

This is how the rudder pedals and the inclinometer are used to maintain coordinated flight

Question 36

A big difference between the turn-and-slip indicator and the turn coordinator is that the _______

Answer 36

gimbal that holds the turn coordinator gyro in, is tilted at a 30 degree angle

Question 37

The turn coordinator also lets us know the standard rate _______

Answer 37

of turn, but not the bank angle, which is a common misconception

Question 38

Because the gyro on the turn coordinator is set at an angle (canted), _______

Answer 38

it initially also shows roll rate. Once the roll stabilizes, it indicates the rate of turn.

Question 39

When your instructor asks you what the turn coordinator is for, you can tell them:

Answer 39

It gives you roll rate and rate of turn

Question 40

The attitude indicator, also called artificial horizon, shows _______

Answer 40

a miniature airplane and horizon bar, which display a picture of the attitude of the airplane. The attitude relationship between the miniature airplane and the horizon bar, is the same relationship between the real airplane and horizon. The attitude. This instrument gives instantaneous indications of even the smallest changes in attitude

Question 41

Banks under normal cruising conditions are typically _______

Answer 41

below 30 degrees

Make sure you check the poh for your bank angle limit

Question 42

The miniature airplane on the attitude indicator can be adjusted _______

Answer 42

up or down to get accurate attitude, but this should be done on the ground. If you have to do it in flight, it should be done in straight and level flight. The knob is twisted to adjust it

Question 43

An attitude indicator is what type of instrument?

Answer 43

a gyroscopic instrument. Sometimes their gyros use electricity to spin, but most training aircraft use suction from the vacuum system to spin it. If there’s not enough suction on the vacuum system, then the attitude indicator won’t work properly.

The gyro is spun by the air in the vacuum system, and rigidity in space tells us that the spinning motion keeps it rigid in space on a horizontal plane. Gimbals are attached to the gyro rotor axis, allowing the airplane to move around the stable gyro. The gimbal is mounted inside the attitude indicator, which is then connected to the horizon reference arm, and the reference arm connected to the horizon bar on the attitude indicator.

As the airplane rolls and pitches, the horizon bar maintains rigidity in space along with the gyro rotor

Question 44

On airplanes with digital flight instruments, the attitude indicator _______

Answer 44

is large, and the horizon line spans the entire length of the primary flight display (pfd). The primary flight display uses an attitude and heading reference system (AHRS), which is a box that uses solid-state lasers to sense pitch, bank, and yaw information, which is then sent to the display.

Question 45

What item was developed to reduce compass reading errors?

Answer 45

A vertical card compass

Question 46

The horizontal situation indicator (HSI) is _______

Answer 46

an aircraft flight instrument normally mounted below the artificial horizon in place of a conventional heading indicator. It combines a heading indicator with a VHF omnidirectional range-instrument landing system (VOR-ILS) display.

Question 47

How can pressure altitude be calculated from the aircraft’s altimeter?

Answer 47

Pressure altitude can be calculated by adjusting the aircraft’s altimeter to a standard pressure setting, usually 29.92 inches of mercury (inHg) or 1013.25 hectopascals (hPa), and then reading off the altitude indicated on the altimeter

Question 48

What is a course deviation indicator (CDI)?

Answer 48

A course deviation indicator (CDI) is an avionics instrument used in aircraft navigation to determine an aircraft’s lateral position in relation to a course to or from a radio navigation beacon

Question 49

What is a LOC (Localizer?

Answer 49

A Localizer (LOC) (above left) transmits VHF signals (108.1 MHz to 111.95 MHz) to provide aircraft with lateral guidance that allows pilots to ensure their aircraft is properly aligned with the center of the runway during the approach and landing phases of flight