Flight Operations Flashcards
How is air worthiness verified?
Aircraft’s Certificate of Airworthiness
Pre-Flight Inspection (walk around)
Required Equipment
What is included in the pre flight inspection?
Crew License/Medical, POH, Registration, Airworthiness Certificate, Insurance, Journey log book
What crew qualifications and proficiency should be verified prior to flying?
License validity, recency (6, 24, 60 month), pilot proficiency check
What factors are included in flight planning?
Weather, NOTAMs, weight and balance, studied routes and destinations, charts and publications, flight plan, preflight inspection, required equipment onboard, informing passengers
What should passengers be briefed on before flight?
Seats and seat belts, normal and emergency exists, stowage of baggage, first aid, survival equipment, fire extinguisher, ELT, smoking, action in the event of an emergency, questions
Define datum, moment, and arm
Datum: an imaginary vertical plane or line from which all measurements of the arm are taken
Moment: product of the weight of an item multiplied by its arm and expressed in pound inches. Total moment is the weight of the aircraft multiplied by the distance between the datum and the center of gravity
Arm: horizontal distance in inches from the reference datum line to the C of G of the item
What are center of gravity limits?
Specified forward and aft or lateral points beyond which the C of G must not be located at any time
What will happen to an aircraft if the center of gravity is beyond it’s limit?
Aircraft may rotate prematurely on take-off and pitch up during the climb. Longitudinal stability will also be reduced and this can lead to inadvertant stalls and spins. Recoveries from this may be prolonged or impossible.
If the center of gravity is too far forward, the aircraft’s stall speed will be increased
What is empty weight and gross weight?
Empty weight: weight of the airframe, engines, and all operating equipement that have fixed locations
Gross weight: the max, loaded weight of the aircraft
What is the formula for load adjustment?
Baggage must be shifted from rear baggage area 125 to the forward baggage area 40. The aft C of G limit is 46, but the loaded C of G is 48. How much baggage should be moved forward?
70.5 lbs of baggage
What are critical surfaces?
Wings, control surfaces, propellers, rotors, horizontal stabilizers, and any other surfaces that contrinute to lift or stabilizing the aircraft
What is the clean aircraft concept? Why is it important?
Take-offs are prohibited when ice, snow, or frost is adhering to any surface. The concept is important because frozen contaminants can reduce lift by 30% and increase drag by 40%
What is the cold soaking phenomenon?
Occurs when the wings and fuel are much colder than the ambient temperature. Frost will form on the under and upper sides of the fuel tank region during ground turn-around time, and will reform when removed.
What is white-out?tmosphere optical phenomenon of the polar regions in which the observer appears to be engulfed in a uniformly white glow. Neither shadows, horizon, nor clouds are discernible; sense of depth and orientation is lost; only very dark, nearby objects can be seen. Whiteout occurs over an unbroken snow cover and beneath a uniformly overcast sky. Blowing snow may be an additional cause
What are the negative effects of in-flight icing?
Ice on props will reduce efficiency and increase vibration
Visibility from cockpit is reduced
Jet engine compressor stalls due to large pieces of ice entering into the engine
What are hazards associated with thunderstorms?
Turbulence, wind shear, lighting, rain, icing
While flying in a thunderstorm, when will the greatest turbulence be felt?
Updrafts (6000+ feet per minute)
Downdrafts (2000-2500+ feet per minute)
Compare increased performance shear and decreased performance shear.
Increased performance shear is caused by a rapid increase in headwind or decrease in tailwind. Will cause the aircraft to overshoot the runway
Decreased performance shear is caused by a decrease in headwind or an increase in tailwind. Will cause the aircraft to undershoot the runway. Most dangerous
What are the dangers of lighting? What aircraft are more susceptible to lighting strikes?
Dangers include explosion of fuel vapor, loss of flight controls, loss of electrical power, pilot blindness
Larger and faster aircraft are more susceptible to lighting strikes
Explain the dangers of rain during a thunderstorm
The impact pressure of rain can wear down plexiglass, erode fiberglass and antennas, and peel paint off. Rain can also affect airborne radars and flame out jet engines.
Rain on the windscreen causes a distortion that will make terrain contours appear lower than reality (error of approx 5° down)
What are warning stages of mountain waves?
Cap clouds, lenticular clouds, rotor clouds
What causes mountain waves?
Air pouring down the side of the mountain, creating eddies and vertical air currents
How fast are the downdrafts and updrafts caused by the mountain effect?
Downdrafts up to 2000 feet per minute, updrafts up to 5000 feet per minute
What are the two main ideas in collision avoidance?
Use the proper lookout and use the landing light (all day time aircraft in VFR conditions are required to run with all serviceable lights on in high traffic areas)
Runway numbering is done corresponding to the nearest __°, and is expressed as a __________
10, magnetic value
What colour is the airport beacon and how often does it flash?
White, 20-30 evenly spaced times per minute
What colours are threshold lights, end runway lights, and taxi way lights
Threshold: green
Runway: red
Taxi way: blue
What colours are towers marked with? Are they lighted?
Red and white. Towers can be lighted
How far apart should taxi way lights be spaced?
Not exceeding 200 feet
What is an ATC clearance?
Authorization from ATC for an aircraft to proceed within controlled airspace under specific conditions. Identified by “clear” in it’s text. Once accepted you are required to comply with the clearance
What is an ATC instruction?
Directive by ATC for air traffic control purposes. You are required to comply with and acknowledge receipt of an intruction
What is the maneuvering area? What is the apron?
Manuevering area: all parts of the airport intended for the movement of aircraft
Apron: area for loading and unloading the aircraft
What should be remembered when taxiing?
Acknowledge instructions or advise of your intentions
Give way to taxiing aircraft
Pass to the right of opposing traffic
Taxi at the proper speed
Use proper wind control inputs
Describe wind correction during taxiing
Describe all the different marshalling gestures
What causes wheelbarrowing? What is the result?
Occurs when pilot uses excess speed while making an approach in a full flap configration, or during takeoff when the pilot puts too much forward pressure on the control column as the aircraft accelerates.
Result is the main gear lifting off the ground and the nose gear staying on the runway
How do you recover from wheelbarrowing?
Reduce power, release forward pressure, nose up and full power
Describe the three types of hydroplaning
Dynamic Hydroplaning: occurs at high speeds with standing water on the runway reducing the aircraft’s cross wind capabilities
Viscous Hydroplaning: occurs at slower speed with only a thin film of water on a smooth runway
Reverted Rubber Hydroplaning: caused when the tires are locked up.
What is the formula used to determine dynamic hydroplaning minimum speeds?
What is the lift drag ratio?
The relationship between lift and drag. Obtained by diving the lift coefficient by the drag coefficient
What is flight for maximum range? How can it be achieved?
The furthest an aircraft can fly per unit of fuel consumed. Can only be achieved by flying at an angle of attack that gives the best lift/drag ratio
What is flying for maximum endurance? What affects it?
The maximum amount of time an aircraft can remain in flight for the given amount of fuel on board.
The time is less at higher powers and greater at lower powers
When is establishing maximum endurance in flight advisable?
When a pilot is requested to hold clear of a control zone
Describe the relationship between power and airspeed when flying for maximum endurance
Describe the relationship between power and airspeed when flying for maximum range
What is slow flight?
The range of airspeed between the maximum endurance speed for a particular aircraft, and a point just above the stall speed for the existing conditions of flight
When is slow flight encountered?
On take-offs, landings, and recovery from misjudged landings
Describe the power and drag curves for slow flight
What is a stall?
A loss of lift and increase of drag that occurs when the critical angle of attack is exceeded. Can occur at any attitude and at any airspeed yet the critical angle of attack remains constant for the same aircraft
What is the difference between a spin and spiral?
Spins occur when a stall is aggravated by a yaw. The wings are stalled. The airspeed is low and constant
A spiral is a steep descending turn in which airspeed, rate of descent, and wing loading increase rapidly. The airspeed may exceed VNE
Why does the TAS increase with altitude?
The air density decreases at higher altitudes
How does weight affect the stalling speed of an aircraft?
With added weight an aircraft must operate at a higher AOA to produce the lift necessary to support that weight. The critical AOA will be reached at a higher airpeed
How does the center of gravity affect the stall speed?
It the centre of gravity is moved to its most allowable forward position, the aircraft stall speed will increase
What will happen to the orientation of the aircraft is the centre of gravity is shifted to its most allowable forward position? What can be said about the aircraft’s weight?
The aircraft will have a ose down tendency which must be compensated with back pressure on the control column. This increased downloading on the horizontal tail can be considered an increase in the aircraft’s weight as it acts in the same direction
What happens when the centre of gravity moves rearward?
The stall speed decreases due to the decreased downloading on the horizontal tail. This should not be used as a method of decreasing stall speed because it makes it harder to recover from a stall
At what altitude does ground effect exert an influence?
At an altitude no greater than the aircraft’s wing span
Is a low or high wing aircraft more affected by ground effect?
Low wing
How much of a reduction in induced drag will a low wing airplane experience at the moment of take off?
about 48%, compared to the induced drag generated at flight altitude
What is the effect of density and humidity on aircraft performance?
The more dense the air is the better the aircraft performance. The humidity adversely affects the density of the air and thus aircraft performance
What generates lift?
The pressure differential over the wings
What is the intensity of wing tip vortices proportional to? What types of aircraft will produce greater vortices and when?
Directly proportional to the weight of the aircraft and inversely proportional to the speed of the aircraft. Heavier, slower aircraft will produce greater vortices during take off and landing at near gross weights and high angles of attack
Describe the three categories of aircraft weight
Group 1: heavy (max take off weight of 300,000lbs+)
Group 2: medium (max take off weight of 12,500-300,000lbs+)
Group 3: light (take off weight up to 12,500lbs)
What are the radar seperations between different categories of aircraft?
Heavy behind heavy: 4nm
Medium behind heavy: 5nm
Light behind heavy: 6nm
Light behind medium: 4nm
Describe your touchdown point relative to a heavy jet’s touchdown point when landing behind the jet
Describe how you would avoid a heavy jet’s wing turbulence in the air
Describe the jet blase area of a jumbo jet, medium jet, and executive jet
Where are the three search and rescue co-ordination centres located?
Victoria, Trenton, Halifax
What frequency do ELMs communicate on?
121.5Mhz and/or 243.0Mhz
How long can ELMs provide continuous operation for?
48 hours
What aircrafts do not require an ELT on board?
Gliders, balloons, airships, ultra-lights, gyroplanes, school operating aircraft <25nm
What is included in the ELT pre-flight inspection?
Switch is in arm position, check batteries, listen on 121.5 to ensure the ELT is not transmitting
How does an ELT sense a crash?
It contains a crash activation sensor, or G-switch which is designed to detend the deeleration characteristics of a crash and automatically activate the transmitter
How do you turn the ELT on after a crash?
Assume the automatic activation feature has failed and place the three position switch in the “On” position as soon as possible. Once it is on, leave it on
Where should the ELT be placed for best range?
As high as possible on a leel surface with no obstructions between it and the horizon. The antenna should be vertical (and ideally on a piece of metal to extend the transmission range)
When can an ELT be tested?
Only during the first 5 minutes of any UTC hour, and for no longer than 5 seconds
What are the two different emergency classifications?
Distress: condition of being threatened by serious and/or imminent danger requiring immediate assistance
Urgency: condition concerning the safety of an aircraft or vehicle, or of some person on board or within sight, which does not require immediate assistance
