Operational Procedures
Core concepts
Operational procedures cover normal, abnormal and emergency operations: checklists and their use, takeoff and landing performance requirements, fuel planning and reserves, wake turbulence separation, runway incursion avoidance, emergency descent and evacuation, and the use of standard calls. Know the purpose of the before-takeoff and approach checks, and the logic of memory items versus read-and-do items.
Traps
Questions test whether you know when a checklist may be abbreviated and when it must not. Wake turbulence questions require the correct separation and avoidance technique: land above the preceding aircraft's flight path and touch down beyond its touchdown point. Be careful with rejected takeoff decision speed and with the meaning of "landing distance available" versus "takeoff distance available". Also know the priority of an emergency and the requirement to declare it.
Worked example
A light aircraft follows a heavy jet on final. Rule of thumb: stay at or above the heavy's flight path and land beyond its touchdown point, because vortices sink and drift with the wind. Allow a separation interval based on the wake category, and be ready to go around if the path cannot be kept clear.
Exam technique
Choose the answer that follows the checklist and the flight manual. Answers that skip a check or improvise a procedure are usually wrong.