GCAA PPL Theory Exam cheat sheet

ICAO Annex 1 covers personnel licensing, Annex 2 the rules of the air, and Annex 8 airworthiness; the Chicago Convention recognises complete and exclusive sovereignty over national territory.

ICAO VFR minima at and above 3,050 m AMSL require 8 km flight visibility and cloud separation of 1,500 m horizontally and 300 m vertically; below 3,050 m the visibility minimum is 5 km.

When two aircraft converge at the same level, the aircraft on the right has the right of way; head-on traffic both turn right, and an overtaking aircraft keeps clear.

VFR fuel planning must include a reserve of 30 minutes by day and 45 minutes by night at normal cruising altitude, in addition to trip fuel.

Above 3,000 ft, VFR magnetic tracks 000–179° use odd thousands plus 500 ft, while tracks 180–359° use even thousands plus 500 ft.

A controlled flight must obtain an ATC clearance before entering controlled airspace and must read back route, altitude, heading, and frequency instructions.

Aircraft documents carried on board include the certificate of registration, certificate of airworthiness, crew licences, and radio station licence.

In an emergency the pilot-in-command may deviate from the rules to the extent necessary and must inform ATC as soon as practicable.

The four-stroke piston cycle consists of induction, compression, combustion (power), and exhaust; one complete cycle takes two crankshaft revolutions.

Carburettor icing is most likely between about 0°C and 10°C with high humidity; it can occur in clear air and typically causes a gradual RPM loss.

During a magneto check, RPM drop must remain within POH limits; roughness or excessive drop indicates an ignition fault.

Oil lubricates, cools, cleans, and seals the engine; oil pressure indicates flow and oil temperature indicates the engine's thermal state.

The altimeter subscale sets QNH to read elevation on the ground, QFE to read height above a reference point, and 1013.25 hPa for flight levels.

Near sea level, a pressure change of 1 hPa corresponds to about 30 ft, and 1 inHg corresponds to about 1,000 ft.

The alternator charges the battery and supplies electrical power; the ammeter shows charge or discharge, and the battery master connects the battery.

Forward centre of gravity improves stability but increases pitch control forces; an aft limit reduces stability and may cause loss of control.

Density altitude is pressure altitude corrected for temperature; it rises about 120 ft per °C above ISA and increases takeoff and landing distances.

Takeoff and landing distances increase with altitude, temperature, weight, tailwind, and upslope; they decrease with headwind and downslope.

Crosswind component = wind speed × sine of the angle between wind and runway; headwind component = wind speed × cosine of that angle.

Centre of gravity = total moment ÷ total weight, where each moment = weight × arm; the result must lie inside the certified envelope.

Climb gradient (%) = (height gained ÷ horizontal distance) × 100; obstacle clearance requires the planned gradient to exceed the required gradient.

Fuel plan = taxi fuel + trip fuel + contingency fuel + alternate fuel + final reserve + extra fuel.

Vx gives the greatest height gain for horizontal distance and is used for obstacle clearance; Vy gives the greatest height gain per unit time.

Use POH performance charts with actual pressure altitude and temperature, interpolating between tabulated values when necessary.

Hypoxia causes euphoria, headache, impaired judgement, and visual changes; supplemental oxygen is used above 10,000 ft and time of useful consciousness falls rapidly above 25,000 ft.

Hyperventilation produces dizziness and tingling from excessive breathing rate; slowing the breathing rate helps distinguish it from hypoxia.

Spatial disorientation is a false perception of attitude caused by vestibular illusions; instrument reference is the reliable remedy in cloud.

Fatigue impairs reaction time, attention, and decision-making; circadian low points and sleep debt increase the risk of errors.

Moderate stress can improve performance, but high stress narrows attention and degrades judgement; adrenaline prepares the body for immediate action.

Night vision relies on rod cells, which detect low light but poor detail and colour; off-centre viewing and about 30 minutes of dark adaptation improve it.

Carbon monoxide from a heater causes headache, dizziness, and confusion; open fresh-air vents, shut off the heater, and land as soon as possible.

Alcohol and drugs degrade judgement, coordination, and reaction time; their effects can persist after the noticeable symptoms disappear.

ISA sea-level values are 15°C, 1013.25 hPa, and 1.225 kg/m³; temperature decreases about 2°C per 1,000 ft up to the tropopause.

QNH makes the altimeter read elevation above mean sea level; QFE makes it read height above the aerodrome reference point; QNE uses 1013.25 hPa.

Unstable air produces cumuliform clouds, showers, turbulence, and good visibility between showers; stable air produces stratiform cloud, haze, and steady precipitation.

A cold front moves quickly and brings cumulonimbus cloud, heavy showers, thunderstorms, wind shifts, and a temperature drop after passage.

A warm front moves slowly and typically brings stratiform cloud, continuous rain, and improving visibility after passage.

Wind veers with altitude in the Northern Hemisphere, meaning it shifts clockwise; backing is the opposite, anticlockwise shift.

Airframe icing is most likely between 0°C and -20°C in supercooled cloud; pitot heat and anti-ice systems are used as required.

Thunderstorms contain hail, severe turbulence, microbursts, and wind shear; avoid flying beneath the storm and give large margins around cells.

A great circle is the shortest path between two points on the Earth; a rhumb line maintains a constant track but is longer except along the equator or a meridian.

To convert true to magnetic, subtract easterly variation and add westerly variation; reverse the operation when converting magnetic to true.

Compass deviation is caused by aircraft magnetic fields and is applied using the compass correction card.

Track is the path over the ground, heading is the direction the nose points, and drift is the angle between them; wind correction angle opposes drift.

The 1-in-60 rule states that a 1° tracking error puts the aircraft about 1 nautical mile off track after 60 nautical miles.

Time = distance ÷ groundspeed; fuel used = fuel flow rate × time.

A VOR radial is a magnetic bearing from the station; the CDI centres when the selected radial matches the aircraft position line, with TO/FROM indicating direction.

Indicated altitude differs from true altitude when temperature differs from ISA; cold air makes the altimeter over-read and true altitude lower.

Pre-flight checks include documents, weather, NOTAMs, fuel quantity, weight and balance, and takeoff and landing performance.

Passenger briefing covers seat belts, exits, oxygen use, smoking prohibition, and secure stowage of baggage.

Runway incursion prevention requires reading back hold-short instructions and never crossing a hold-short line without ATC clearance.

Sterile cockpit procedures prohibit non-essential conversation and tasks during taxi, takeoff, approach, and landing.

After engine failure on takeoff, lower the nose to the published glide speed, select a landing area, and avoid sharp turns.

For an electrical fire, switch off the battery master and alternator, use the appropriate extinguisher, and land as soon as practicable.

Wake turbulence avoidance: stay above and upwind of a larger aircraft's flight path; on takeoff rotate after the preceding aircraft's rotation point.

Before diversion, assess fuel, weather, terrain, airspace, and alternate aerodrome suitability, then inform ATC.

Lift = CL × ½ρV²S, where CL is lift coefficient, ρ is air density, V is true airspeed, and S is wing area.

A wing stalls at the critical angle of attack, typically about 15°, regardless of speed, weight, or altitude.

Stall speed increases with weight and load factor: new stall speed = old stall speed × square root of the load factor.

Induced drag decreases as speed increases, while parasite drag increases with the square of speed; total drag is lowest at L/D maximum.

In a level turn, load factor = 1 ÷ cosine of the bank angle; a 60° bank produces a load factor of 2.

Static stability is the initial tendency to return to equilibrium; dynamic stability describes the subsequent motion over time.

Ailerons control roll, elevators control pitch, and the rudder controls yaw; adverse yaw is caused by increased lift on the rising wing.

Flaps increase lift and drag, lower stall speed, and steepen the approach path; retracting flaps reduces lift and drag.

The ICAO phonetic alphabet uses Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.

Standard digit pronunciation includes tree for three, fife for five, and niner for nine; each digit is spoken separately.

Roger means the message was received; Wilco means it will be complied with; Affirm and Negative are used for yes and no.

Read back clearances that include runway, altitude, heading, frequency, and route instructions.

MAYDAY spoken three times signals grave and imminent danger and has priority over all other transmissions.

PAN-PAN spoken three times signals an urgency condition that is not immediately dangerous but requires priority.

Squawk 7700 for a general emergency, 7600 for radio failure, and 7500 for unlawful interference.

On radio failure, squawk 7600, continue under VFR if possible, land at the nearest suitable aerodrome, and notify ATC.