Airport Lighting/markings
How do you depict a closed runway and where do you look?
Yellow X on the runway. Look in the NOTAMS
Tell me about class D:
Generally how wide and how far up does a class D airspace go?
What airspace does it revert to if the tower is closed?
What is needed?
Generally extends from the surface up to 2,500 feet. Normally 4nm radius.
If the tower is closed, will revert to a class E.
Two way radio communication, no certification needed.
What is the atmosphere composed of?
78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% other gases.
What does VOR stand for and what is it?
Very high omnidirectional range. Ground based facility, that is used for course guidance. VOR shoots radials out in all different directions allowing us to track to and from the VOR
What are the 3 most common wind indicators?
Windsock, wind tee, and tetrahedron
What color is the taxiway centerline and what does it look like?
Yellow and it’s a solid line.
Class A:
Where is it?
What is needed:
Weather mins?
18,000-FL600, overlying the waters within 12nm of the coast of the 48 contiguous states
Instrument rated pilot and instrument rated plane on an IFR flight plan
none.
What causes weather and wind?
Unequal heating of the earth.
VOR limitations:
VOR uses line of sight, which means terrain and obstructions can bloc the signals.
What are the 2 different types of NOTAMS and explain when each might be given.
Type D: Relative to the airport.
Type FDC: Navigation system is down
What color are the taxiway edge lights at night?
Blue
What is a MOA. What is it depicted by? Can you fly through them?
Military operating area. Contains military training activities. Depicted with magenta hash marks. Yes you can fly through them, but use extreme caution.
What way does a low pressure system vs a high pressure system flow?
High: down, outward, clockwise
Low: inward, upward, counterclockwise
Checking VOR accuracy: how often and how?
Every 30 days. There are 4 ways: ground, airborne, dual, and VOT. Ground: found in chart supplement where to go, max error is +/- 4.
Airborne: +/-6
Dual: using 2 vor receivers compare the 2 indications to one another. +/-4.
VOT: ground stations that are used specifically to test VOR receivers. These VOR test facilities only transmit one radial the 360 radial. Max difference +/-4.
What is a TFR? Why would a TFR be issued?
Airspace that temporarily restricts certain aircraft from operating within a defined area. Issued by NOTAM. Would be issued by VIP(president), airshows, events with more than 30,000 people, emergency air traffic rules, disaster hazards.
What is the importance of the runway holding position marking? What does it look like?
Safety boundary that prevents runway incursions. Ensures aircraft will stop at a safe distance away from the runway until they get the clearance or confirm there is no conflicting traffic at non towered airports. It’s made up of 2 solid lines and 2 dashed yellow lines.
Tell me about the Class B:
How far up does it usually go and what generally shape is it?
What is needed when you enter?
What are the weather minimums?
Surface up to 10,000 ft usually the busy airports. Looks like a wedding cake with lots of layers
You need at least a private pilot license. Or a student pilot with an endorsement. ATC clearance and mode C transponder.
3 COC
What are the 4 layers of the atmosphere?
Troposphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
thermosphere
What is reverse sensing?
Apparent force created by the rotation of the earth. This effect influences the path of earths weather.
Airport beacons: when will they operate and what’s the purpose? What color beacon flashes at Logan?
They will operate at night or below standard VFR. Help identify the different airports. White and green because its a civilian land airport.
What does SVFR allow you to do and what is it?
Special VFR. Allows VFR pilots to take off with reduced visibility when mins are below standard. Flight vis must be at least 1 SM and remain clear of clouds. You have to obtain from ATC. At night, pilot and plane must be IFR equipped.
What is a ridge? What is a trough?
Ridge: area of high pressure
trough: area of low pressure
What is RAIM?
Receiver autonomous integrity monitoring
the GPS signal reaching your plane may be weak, or you may not have enough satellites to safely say your location.
Raim uses an extra satellite to cross check the other satelites and tell you if they are reading accurate.
What is an isobar?
Lines of equal pressure on a weather chart. When they are closer together, more windy. Further apart means less winds