ANAC Private Pilot Airplane (PPA) (ANAC) cheat sheet

VFR minimum visibility in controlled airspace at or below 3,000 ft AMSL: 5 km flight visibility, 1,500 m horizontal and 300 m vertical distance from cloud.

VFR flight is not permitted above 15,000 ft AMSL in Brazil; special VFR requires ATC clearance and ground visibility of at least 1,500 m.

Aircraft registration marks (prefix PP/PT/PR for Brazil) must be displayed on the fuselage; the nationality mark is assigned by ANAC.

A private pilot licence (PPA) does not authorise flight for hire or remuneration; carrying passengers for payment constitutes commercial operation.

Class C airspace requires two-way radio communication and an ATC clearance; Class D requires radio contact but no clearance; Class E requires neither for VFR.

Medical certificate validity for private pilots under 40 years: 24 months; at or above 40: 12 months (Class 2 equivalent).

Aircraft must carry documents on board: registration certificate, airworthiness certificate, crew licences, journey log, and radio station licence.

The pilot-in-command is responsible for the safe operation of the aircraft and for compliance with all applicable regulations, regardless of ATC instructions.

Four-stroke cycle order: intake, compression, power (combustion), exhaust; the camshaft rotates at half the crankshaft speed.

Detonation (knock) is uncontrolled explosive combustion; pre-ignition is ignition before the spark; both are reduced by lower power, richer mixture, and cooler cylinder heads.

A fixed-pitch propeller at constant RPM produces more thrust at low airspeed and less at high airspeed; a constant-speed propeller maintains selected RPM via a governor.

The pitot-static system supplies the airspeed indicator (pitot + static), altimeter (static only), and vertical speed indicator (static only).

A blocked pitot tube with open drain hole makes the airspeed indicator read zero; a blocked static port causes the airspeed indicator to behave like an altimeter.

Carburettor icing is most likely at ambient temperatures between -7 °C and +21 °C with high relative humidity; carburettor heat raises intake air temperature and enriches the mixture.

The electrical system typically uses a 12 or 24 V battery, an alternator/generator, and a voltage regulator; the ammeter shows charge or discharge current.

Hydraulic brake fluid is incompressible; brake fade results from overheating and reduces braking effectiveness on landing.

Density altitude increases with high elevation, high temperature, high humidity, and low pressure; higher density altitude degrades takeoff, climb, and landing performance.

Takeoff distance increases approximately 10 % for each 1,000 ft increase in density altitude and about 10 % for each 10 % increase in weight.

Rate of climb = (excess power) / weight; climb angle = (excess thrust) / weight.

Best angle of climb (Vx) gives maximum altitude gain per unit horizontal distance; best rate of climb (Vy) gives maximum altitude gain per unit time.

Load factor n = 1 / cos(bank angle); at 60° bank the load factor is 2 g and the stall speed increases by a factor of √2.

Endurance is maximum at minimum fuel consumption per unit time; range is maximum at the speed for best lift/drag ratio (L/D max).

Weight and balance: CG must lie within the forward and aft limits; an aft CG reduces longitudinal stability and increases stall/spin susceptibility.

Fuel planning: VFR reserve in Brazil is 30 minutes of flight; the alternate fuel must be added when an alternate is required.

Hypoxia symptoms appear above 10,000 ft without supplemental oxygen; night vision deteriorates first, followed by colour and central vision.

Time of useful consciousness at 25,000 ft is approximately 3–5 minutes; at 40,000 ft it is about 15–20 seconds.

Hyperventilation causes dizziness, tingling, and fainting; treatment is to slow the breathing rate; hypoxia is treated with supplemental oxygen and descent.

Spatial disorientation results from conflicting vestibular inputs; the pilot must rely on instruments rather than sensations.

The most common cause of fatal general-aviation accidents is loss of control in flight, often following a stall or spiral dive.

Alcohol: a minimum of 8 hours between consumption and flight (bottle-to-throttle), and blood alcohol must be below the legal limit; fatigue and stress compound impairment.

Crew resource management (CRM) emphasises communication, leadership, workload management, and situational awareness to reduce human error.

The hypoxia-prone pilot may show euphoria and impaired judgement before noticing physical symptoms; self-assessment is unreliable.

Standard atmosphere: sea-level pressure 1013.25 hPa, temperature 15 °C, lapse rate 2 °C per 1,000 ft up to 36,000 ft.

QNH is the altimeter setting that makes the altimeter read elevation above mean sea level; QFE makes it read height above the reference point.

A cold front typically brings rapid passage, cumulonimbus clouds, heavy showers, and a wind shift; a warm front brings gradual cloud build-up and steady rain.

The tropopause marks the top of the troposphere; temperature stops decreasing with height there (approximately 36,000 ft in mid-latitudes).

Wind blows from high to low pressure; in the Southern Hemisphere the Coriolis force deflects it to the left, producing anticlockwise circulation around a high.

Fog forms when the air is cooled to its dew point; radiation fog forms on clear, calm nights and usually dissipates after sunrise.

Icing occurs in supercooled water droplets between 0 °C and -20 °C; clear ice forms in large drops and is the most dangerous.

Thunderstorms require three ingredients: moisture, instability, and a lifting mechanism; avoid flying under or near cumulonimbus.

1 nautical mile = 1,852 m; 1 knot = 1 NM/h; 1 degree of latitude = 60 NM.

True course ± wind correction = true heading; true heading ± magnetic variation = magnetic heading; magnetic heading ± deviation = compass heading.

Wind correction angle: sin(WCA) = (wind speed × sin(wind angle)) / true airspeed.

Groundspeed = true airspeed × cos(WCA) + wind component along track.

The 1-in-60 rule: a 1° error over 60 NM produces a 1 NM off-track displacement.

Magnetic variation is the angle between true north and magnetic north; it is east or west depending on location and is shown on charts.

A VOR radial is the magnetic bearing from the station; the CDI centres when the selected OBS matches the radial to or from the station.

Dead reckoning uses heading, airspeed, time, and wind to compute position; pilotage uses visual reference to landmarks.

Before takeoff: check weight and balance, fuel quantity and quality, run-up, flight controls, and emergency briefing for passengers.

The emergency checklist begins with: maintain aircraft control, analyse the situation, then act; aviate, navigate, communicate.

Engine failure after takeoff: lower the nose to maintain best glide speed, select a landing site within gliding range, and do not turn back below 1,000 ft AGL.

Wake turbulence: take off before and land after a larger aircraft; stay above and upwind of its flight path.

A go-around is mandatory if the approach is not stabilised by the decision altitude/height; apply full power, pitch for climb, and retract flaps in stages.

The stall recovery procedure: reduce angle of attack (lower the nose), apply full power, level the wings, and retract flaps as appropriate.

ATC readback is required for clearances, runway assignments, and hold-short instructions; use standard phraseology.

Emergency frequencies: 121.5 MHz (VHF) and 243.0 MHz (UHF); the transponder code for radio failure is 7600, for hijacking 7500, and for emergency 7700.

Lift L = ½ ρ V² S C_L; lift increases with the square of airspeed and with air density.

The four forces are lift, weight, thrust, and drag; in steady, unaccelerated flight they balance.

Induced drag decreases with increasing airspeed; parasite drag increases with the square of airspeed; total drag is minimum at L/D max.

The critical angle of attack is the angle at which the wing stalls; it is independent of weight, airspeed, and bank angle.

The stall speed increases with weight (V_stall ∝ √weight) and with load factor (V_stall ∝ √n).

Dihedral provides lateral stability; sweepback and high wing placement also contribute to lateral stability.

Adverse yaw occurs when ailerons are deflected; it is countered with coordinated rudder input.

The centre of pressure moves forward as angle of attack increases up to the stall, affecting longitudinal stability.