Introduction to the Flight Deck Flashcards
What are the two different types of panels in airplanes?
Mechanical gauges (“steam gauges”) and glass panels (digital)
What are the three sections of a cockpit instrument system?
Left - flight, navigation, and engine instruments, electrical switches and circuit breakers
Center - Radio controls, engine controls, fuel controls, flaps, trim
Right - Cabin environment, hour meter, optional space
What are the six main flight instruments?
Airspeed indicator, Attitude Indicator, Altimeter, Vertical Speed Indicator, Heading Indicator, Turn Coordinator
What unit is the airspeed indicator measure in?
Knots (nautical miles per hour)
What is the distance of a nautical mile vs a statute mile?
1.00 nm = 1.15 sm
What do red, yellow, green, and white indicate on the airspeed indicator?
Red = Never exceed speed
Yellow = Speed only in smooth air
Green = Normal operating range
White = Flaps operating range
What does the vertical speed indicator measure?
The rate of climb/descent in feet per minute
What does the altimeter measure?
What do the two hands of the altimeter measure?
What does the diamond indicator measure?
Altitude of the airplane about sea level (MSL)
Small hand = 1000s of feet
Big hand = 100s of feet
Diamond = 10000s of feet
What critical information is needed to properly set an altimeter before flight?
Barometric pressure / atmospheric pressure
What does an attitude indicator measure?
Pitch and bank information relative to the natural horizon
What does the magnetic compass measure?
Direction which automatically orients to the magnetic north
What does the heading indicator measure?
Gyroscopically stabilized heading of the aircraft
What adjustments need to be made to the heading indicator before and during flight?
It needs to be adjusted to match the magnetic compass
What does the turn coordinator measure?
The direction and rate of the turn
What does the inclinometer measure?
Quality of the turn (slip/skid) as a properly balanced airplane
What does the tachometer measure?
The engine RPM, the primary indicator of power
How does a throttle control work?
Push forward to open throttle and increase power, pull back to close throttle and decrease power.
Friction knob adjusts difficulty of throttle changes
What does the mixture control do? How does it work?
It regulates the ratio of gasoline to air entering the fuel distribution system
Push in to enrich and increase gas ratio, pull back to lean and decrease gas ratio
What does the vacuum gauge measure?
The gyros on the attitude indicator and heading indicator rely on air pressure to operate, the vacuum gauge allows the pilot to measure the proper operation of the two engine driven vacuum pumps
What is the function of the fuel selector?
To select which fuel tank the engine draws fuel from, or both
On a glass panel cockpit, where the primary flight instruments presented?
On the Primary Flight Display (PFD) on the left
On a glass panel cockpit, where are the engine instruments and GPS presented
On the Multi Function Display (MFD) on the right
