DGAC Bolivia Private Pilot (PPA) cheat sheet

Bolivia's civil aviation authority is the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil (DGAC); it issues and renews pilot licences under the Ley de Aeronáutica Civil and its reglamentos.

A private pilot licence (PPA) may not be used for compensation or hire; carrying passengers or cargo for payment requires a commercial licence and operator authorisation.

Pilot privileges are limited by the class and type ratings entered on the licence; flying an aircraft without the appropriate rating is unlawful.

A valid medical certificate appropriate to the licence must be held; the licence is not exercisable if the medical certificate has expired.

Before flight the pilot in command must confirm aircraft airworthiness (certificate of airworthiness, maintenance release) and required documents on board.

Documents normally carried on board include the aircraft registration, certificate of airworthiness, insurance certificate, and the pilot's licence and medical certificate.

Rules of the air follow ICAO Annex 2 principles: right-of-way, minimum safe altitudes over congested areas, and VFR weather minima apply in Bolivian airspace.

Aircraft accident and incident notification to the DGAC is mandatory and must be prompt; serious incidents require immediate reporting by the fastest available means.

Four-stroke cycle order: intake, compression, power, ignition; the power stroke delivers the only work, and the crankshaft converts reciprocating motion to rotation.

The mixture control sets fuel-to-air ratio; leaning is required as density altitude increases, because air mass per intake stroke falls.

Carburettor ice forms when temperature drop in the venturi plus fuel vaporisation chills moist air to freezing; apply carburettor heat and expect a temporary power loss.

The pitot-static system feeds the airspeed indicator (pitot plus static), altimeter (static), and vertical speed indicator (static); a blocked static port corrupts all three.

An alternate static source supplies cabin pressure; expect the airspeed to read high, the altimeter to read high, and the VSI to show a brief climb.

The magnetic compass indicates magnetic heading plus deviation and turning/dip errors; the heading indicator must be reset to the compass in level, unaccelerated flight.

Load factor increases in turns and pull-ups; at 60 degrees bank the load factor is 2 g, doubling the stall speed's square root factor and raising structural stress.

Electrical systems are typically a battery plus engine-driven alternator or generator; the ammeter or loadmeter shows charge or discharge, and the master switch controls the bus.

Weight and balance: total moment equals the sum of each item's weight multiplied by its arm; centre of gravity equals total moment divided by total weight.

The centre of gravity must lie within the forward and aft limits for every phase; exceeding the aft limit reduces static stability, exceeding the forward limit raises stall speed and landing distance.

Density altitude rises with altitude, temperature, and humidity; it degrades takeoff and climb performance and must be used when consulting performance charts.

Takeoff and landing distances increase with weight, density altitude, tailwind, and upslope; use the chart's correction factors for wind and runway slope.

Endurance equals usable fuel divided by fuel flow; range equals endurance multiplied by true airspeed, so a tailwind improves range and a headwind reduces it.

Fuel planning must include taxi, trip, reserve, and contingency fuel; the reserve is a legal minimum and may not be used for normal flight planning.

Climb gradient and rate of climb both decrease with altitude; service ceiling is the altitude where maximum rate of climb falls to a specified low value.

A flight plan must state route, cruising altitude, estimated times, alternate, fuel on board, and persons on board; changes must be reported to the appropriate ATS unit.

Hypoxia symptoms include euphoria, impaired judgement, headache, and cyanosis; the pilot may not notice onset, so use supplemental oxygen above the prescribed altitude.

Time of useful consciousness falls rapidly with altitude; above 10 000 ft without oxygen, judgement and coordination deteriorate before subjective awareness.

Hyperventilation and hypoxia share symptoms; if suspected, slow the breathing rate, and in either case descend and use oxygen if available.

Spatial disorientation arises when vestibular and visual cues conflict; in instrument conditions trust the flight instruments, not body sensations.

Night vision depends on rods and rhodopsin; dark adaptation takes about 30 minutes, and smoking, alcohol, and bright light degrade it.

Alcohol, fatigue, and some medications impair reaction time and judgement; the pilot must self-assess fitness and the standard is not to fly when unfit.

Carbon monoxide from the heater or exhaust causes headache and drowsiness; suspect it when cabin air smells of exhaust and use cabin heat only when the source is checked.

Decompression sickness and trapped gas effects occur with rapid pressure change; avoid flying soon after diving, and do not fly with a heavy cold.

Standard atmosphere: sea-level pressure 1013.25 hPa, temperature 15 C, lapse rate 1.98 C per 1000 ft (about 2 C per 1000 ft) in the troposphere.

QNH set on the altimeter gives elevation above mean sea level at the aerodrome; QFE gives height above the aerodrome reference point; QNE gives flight levels above 1013.25 hPa.

Stable air gives layered cloud and steady precipitation; unstable air gives cumuliform cloud, showers, turbulence, and good visibility between showers.

A cold front brings rapid passage, squall lines, thunderstorms, and a sharp wind shift; a warm front brings gradual approach with low stratus and steady rain.

Thunderstorms require moisture, instability, and a lifting trigger; avoid them by at least 20 NM, and never fly beneath or through a cumulonimbus.

Icing forms where visible moisture meets temperatures near 0 C; structural ice adds weight and drag and reduces lift, so climb or descend out of the icing layer.

Wind shear and microbursts cause sudden airspeed and sink changes; on approach, go around if airspeed or sink rate deviates sharply.

Fog forms when air cools to saturation; radiation fog is most likely on clear, calm nights, while advection fog needs moist air moving over a cooler surface.

Great circle is the shortest track between two points; rhumb line is a constant track but longer except on the equator or a meridian.

Variation is the angle between true and magnetic north at a place, taken from the chart; deviation is the aircraft's own magnetic error, taken from the compass card.

Conversion: true track equals magnetic track plus variation (east is least, west is best for magnetic-to-true); magnetic heading equals magnetic track minus wind correction.

1 minute of latitude equals 1 nautical mile; 1 minute of longitude equals 1 NM times the cosine of latitude.

The 1-in-60 rule: an off-track error of 1 NM after 60 NM flown equals a 1-degree track error; correction angle equals 60 times error divided by distance.

VOR gives magnetic bearing from the station; fly to the station with the OBS set to the radial and the CDI centred, and reverse sensing occurs when flying away on a wrong setting.

NDB/ADF gives a relative bearing from the aircraft to the station; magnetic bearing equals magnetic heading plus relative bearing.

GPS provides position and track, but satellite coverage, database currency, and receiver autonomy must be confirmed; do not rely on a single means of navigation.

Pre-flight action covers documents, weight and balance, fuel quantity and quality, weather, NOTAMs, and a takeoff and landing performance check.

V-speeds: VR is rotation speed, VX best angle of climb, VY best rate of climb, VFE maximum flap extended speed, VNE never-exceed speed.

Normal takeoff: line up, apply full power, check engine instruments, maintain centreline, rotate at VR, climb at VY, and retract flaps at a safe altitude and speed.

Stabilised approach criteria: correct speed, track, and glide path by a set altitude; if not stabilised, go around.

Go-around: full power, carburettor heat cold, positive rate of climb, retract flaps in stages, and confirm the climb before turning.

Engine failure after takeoff: maintain control, pitch for best glide or VY, select a landing site ahead, and do not attempt a turn back below a safe altitude.

Wake turbulence avoidance: land before the preceding aircraft's touchdown point and lift off before its rotation point, and stay upwind of its flight path.

Emergency descent and forced landing: declare MAYDAY, squawk 7700, select a field, fly a stable approach, and secure the aircraft before impact.

Lift equals the coefficient of lift times half the density times velocity squared times wing area; lift rises with the square of airspeed.

Angle of attack is the angle between the chord line and the relative airflow; stall occurs at the critical angle of attack, independent of airspeed, weight, or bank.

Induced drag falls with increasing airspeed while parasite drag rises; total drag is lowest at the speed for best lift-to-drag ratio, giving maximum range.

Load factor increases stall speed by the square root of the load factor; at 2 g the stall speed rises by about 41 percent.

Dihedral gives lateral stability; sweepback and fin area give directional stability; the horizontal tail provides longitudinal stability.

Aileron drag and adverse yaw are countered with coordinated rudder; differential ailerons and rudder coupling reduce adverse yaw.

The four forces are lift, weight, thrust, and drag; in unaccelerated level flight lift equals weight and thrust equals drag.

Flaps increase lift and drag and lower stall speed, but limit speed to VFE and reduce climb gradient when extended.

Standard readback includes clearances, runway, altitude, heading, and frequency; if a clearance is not understood, reply 'say again' rather than guess.

Phonetic alphabet: 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.

Distress call is MAYDAY (three times) for grave and imminent danger; urgency call is PAN-PAN for urgent but non-distress situations.

Squawk codes: 7700 for emergency, 7600 for radio failure, 7500 for unlawful interference; other codes are assigned by ATC.

VFR position report: station called, aircraft identification, position, altitude, next position and ETA, and other relevant information.

Radio failure in VFR: remain VFR, squawk 7600, and land at the nearest suitable aerodrome, then report to ATS.

Transmit with the aircraft identification first, keep transmissions brief, and use standard phraseology; state 'roger' only when a message is understood.

Emergency frequency is 121.5 MHz; use it when normal communication fails and monitor it when able.