Flight Operations and Procedures
Normal and abnormal operations
Flight operations questions probe your understanding of standard operating practice: pre-flight planning, fuel requirements, takeoff and landing briefings, and emergency procedures. You should know the memory items for engine failure after takeoff in a twin - maintain control, establish best single-engine climb speed, identify, verify, feather, and secure - and understand why the identify and verify steps are deliberately separated. Know the meaning of V1, Vr, V2, Vmc, Vyse, and Vne, and be able to explain what happens if Vmc exceeds V1.
Procedures and checklists
Understand the philosophy of do-list versus read-and-do checklists, and why emergency checklists may be committed to memory but always verified against the written checklist. Know the purpose of a sterile cockpit, the stabilized approach concept, and the go-around decision.
Traps
Questions frequently confuse Vmc (a certification speed under specific conditions) with the actual minimum controllable speed in a given aircraft state. Others ask about the effect of aft centre of gravity on Vmc, or about the consequences of feathering the wrong engine. Read carefully whether the question asks for the first action or the complete procedure.
Worked example
A twin loses an engine at 400 feet AGL after takeoff. The correct sequence is: maintain directional control with rudder, pitch for Vyse, then identify and verify the failed engine before feathering. Attempting to feather before verifying has caused fatal accidents where the good engine was feathered.