UMD Piccolo Autopilot Review Flashcards
How does the aircraft respond to an open ended flight plan?
It bounces back and forth between the last two waypoints.
As a general good practice, how should flight plans be indexed when sent to the aircraft?
Indexed in increments of 10 for ease of use and to keep from overwriting other flight plans.
What is the only state in which a boundary (geofence) can be sent to the aircraft?
As an “inside the boundary only” gate.
What happens to the aircraft if a boundary is set to “inside” and hasn’t been sent to the aircraft.
The system will warn you if you get close to the geofence, but will not perform any boundary termination procedures if breached.
What are the three types of boundaries (geofences)?
Inside, Outside, and Never
What color are the flight plan points if it is local?
Grey
What color are the flight plan points if it is remote?
Color of the associated aircraft (Usually blue)
What is likely the issue if the aircraft will not climb, descend, speed up, slow down, or change heading?
One of your command loops is set to “on” instead of “auto”.
What does the ETE tell you on the PFD?
Time until the next WAYPOINT
What is the issue if the altimeter appears to change from MSL to AGL?
The flight plan may have a point that is set to AGL.
Alt B. Alt. A. Alt G.
Barometer Altimeter AGL Altimeter GPS Altimeter
Your min and max altitude should be set in:
A. MSL
B. AGL
C. GPS
MSL
What is the advantage of creating a flight with AGL?
Because of the terrain data, AGL essentially allows terrain following.
What are the three types of flight plans that can be created?
Landing Plan, Quick flight plan, Multipoint flight plan.
Go To vs Track To?
Go To will make a b-line, Track To will attempt to get the waypoint by staying on the flight plan.
What is the PDOP and what indicates a good value?
Position Dilution of Precision: Components of position error introduced by the arrangement of the GPS satellite constellation. (satellite spread quality) Typically these values should be less that 3. (lesser is better)
What does the Deadman line do?
It is a software switch what requires constant refresh commands to remain in the “on” position.
What is RSSI, and what indicates a good value?
Receive Signal Strength Indicator: The RSSI number is in units of dBm and ranges from -71 (strong signal) to -115 (no signal)
What is WGS?
World Geodetic System: This is the altitude system that is used in Piccolo. It is utilized in cartography and satellite navigation systems. It relies on a geoid that defines nominal sea level. The concept of the geoid is helpful when defining altitudes for both flight and simulation.
