weather & aeromedical

Question 1

AIRMETS

Answer 1

hazardous for limited capability aircraft, valid for 6 hours, could be regarding turbulence, moderate icing, mountain obscurations

Question 2

SIGMETS

Answer 2

significant meteorological conditions for ALL aircraft, valid for maximum of 4 hours, could be regarding severe icing, severe or extreme CAT (not. associated with thunderstorms), dust/sand storms

Question 3

Convective SIGMET

Answer 3

convective weather significant to ALL aircraft. valid for 2 hours, could be regarding severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, etc.

Question 4

METAR and TAF

Answer 4

Both are weather sources. TAF is the only forecast source (4x/day every 6 hours). METAR and TAF are NOT broadcasted on a frequency. Both cover 5 sm/nm around airport area.

Question 5

ATIS, AWOS, ASOS

Answer 5

ATIS: towered airports only, broadcasted every hour, letter code, very comprehensive

ASOS: tow./non-tow. airports, broadcasted every minute, more comprehensive

AWOS: tow./non-tow. airports, broadcasted every minute, less comprehensive

Question 6

three ingredients of thunderstorms

Answer 6

moisture, unstable air, uplifting force (i.e. a cold front)

Question 7

three stages of thunderstorms

Answer 7

cumulus: lifting action of air begins
mature: precipitation, big updrafts and downdrafts, all hazards are at the greatest intensity
dissipating: strong downdrafts, cell dies rapidly

Question 8

when does fog occur

Answer 8

when temperature = dew point
can happen by:
- temperature cools to its dew point
- dew point is raised to meet temperature (by added moisture)

Question 9

types of fog (radiation, advection, upslope, steam)

Answer 9

radiation: nighttime causes ground to cool down to its dew point, occurs on calm clear cool night

advection: warm moist air pushed by wind over cooler ground surface

upslope: moist air is force upslope and cooled

steam fog: air temperature over water cools faster than the water temperature… great lakes

Question 10

supercooled droplets

Answer 10

water droplets existing as liquid in temperatures below freezing (between 0 and -15 deg. cel.)

Question 11

types of structural icing

Answer 11

clear: LARGE supercooled droplets of water, heavy, forms as a clear sheet of solid ice, occurs between 0 and -10 deg. cel.

rime: SMALL supercooled droplet of water, white and rough, occurs below -10 deg. cel.

mixed: both clear and rime

Question 12

other types of icing (carburetor, instrument, intake)

Answer 12

carburetor: cooling effect of venturi causes ice to form in carburetor, forms in high humidity (>80%) and temps -7 to 21 deg. cel.

instrument: icing on instruments i.e. pitot-static, OAT gauge

intake ice: ice in the intake of an engine preventing air from flowing, reduces RPM

Question 13

frost

Answer 13

both temp. and dew point are below freezing, can obscure windshield and antennas, increases stall speed, reduce lift, MUST be removed before flight

Question 14

hypoxia

Answer 14

cause: insufficient supply of oxygen
remedy: breathe oxygen (time of useful consciousness decreases with altitude)
symptoms: fatigue, CYANOSIS

Question 15

hyperventilation

Answer 15

cause: excessive amount of CO2 is removed from the body due to heavy breathing
remedy: breath into a brown paper bag
symptoms: similar to hypoxia but NO cyanosis

Question 16

decompression sickness

Answer 16

cause: nitrogen bubbles that have accumulated under pressure (i.e. scuba diving) are released with lower pressure (i.e. high altitude)
remedy: waiting 12 or 24 hours before flight
symptoms: joint pain “the bends”

Question 17

oxygen requirements

Answer 17

above 12,500 including 14,000: minimum flight crew using sump. oxygen for portion of flight longer than 30 minutes
above 14,000: min. flight crew using supp. oxygen for entire time
above 15,000: passengers provided with supp. oxygen for entire time

Question 18

what is the main cause of sensory illusions

Answer 18

the fluid in ears eventually move with the plane (i.e. prolonged turn or climb). abrupt movement causes fluid to move from this position causing incorrect sensations

Question 19

the leans illusion

Answer 19

leveling the wings after a prolonged turn, you feel plane baking in opposite direction

Question 20

graveyard sprial

Answer 20

getting the leans illusion and reacting by baking the plane in the original direction of the turn. there is a loss of altitude and you pitch up, which tightens the turn and increases loss of altitude

Question 21

coriolis illusion

Answer 21

turning your head during a prolonged turn results in false sensation of acceleration or turning on a different axis

Question 22

somatogravic illusion

Answer 22

rapid accelerations causes sensation of higher pitch angle
rapid deceleration causes sensation of lower pitch angle

Question 23

inversion illusion

Answer 23

abrupt change from climb to straight and level causes a tumbling backward sensation

Question 24

elevator illusion

Answer 24

abrupt updraft may create the illusion of climbing

Question 25

recovering from unusual attitudes

Answer 25

correct power, pitch, wings level

Question 26

false horizon

Answer 26

pilot misidentifies the horizon line, caused by sloping clouds, obscured horizon

Question 27

autokinesis

Answer 27

staring at a stationary point for a long period of time, point seems to be moving

Question 28

runway width illusion

Answer 28

approach to a narrow runway gives the illusion that the plane is high

approach to a wider runway gives the illusion the plane is low

Question 29

runway terrain slope illusion

Answer 29

uploading runways causes gives the illusion the plane is high

Question 30

featureless terrain illusion

Answer 30

“black hole approach” i.e. water at night
gives illusion the plane is high, causes pilot to fly a low approach

Question 31

haze

Answer 31

causes runway to seem farther than it actually is

Question 32

fog

Answer 32

causes a nose-up illusion

Question 33

ground lighting illusion

Answer 33

lights can be mistaken for runway lights i.e. a bridge (ACY) or a road