Operational Procedures
What this paper tests
Operational procedures covers everything between the pre-flight inspection and shutdown: aerodrome operations, wake turbulence, emergencies, communication failure, fuel and passenger safety, and approach-and-landing decision making. Questions are practical and often ask for the first action or the memory item.
Normal and aerodrome operations
- Before flight: weather, NOTAM, mass and balance, fuel, documents, ELT and emergency equipment.
- Taxi only with clearance; stop at the holding point; do not cross or line up without an explicit clearance.
- Wake turbulence: vortices sink and drift with the wind; take off before the heavier aircraft's rotation point and land after it, staying above its flight path.
- Stabilised approach: on speed, on path, configured and with a stable power setting by about 1000 ft in VMC and 500 ft in IMC; otherwise go around.
Emergencies
- Engine failure after take-off below about 1000 ft: lower the nose to best glide, choose a landing area within 30° of the current heading ahead, and do not turn back to the runway.
- Memory items: airspeed and glide, landing site, fuel selector, mixture, magnetos, carburettor heat, attempt restart, then forced-landing checks and a MAYDAY if time allows.
- Fire: shut off fuel and electrics to the affected engine, use the extinguisher, land as soon as possible.
- Radio failure in VFR: squawk 7600, remain VMC, broadcast blind on the last assigned and emergency frequencies, land at the nearest suitable aerodrome.
- ELT: 406 MHz beacons activate on impact or manually; test only in the first five minutes of a UTC hour and notify the tower.
Worked example
At 400 ft AGL the engine coughs and quits. Lower the nose, hold about 65 kt best glide, trim, and turn no more than 30° to a clear field ahead. Fuel selector to the other tank, mixture rich, carburettor heat on, magnetos BOTH, attempt restart. With the field made: master and fuel off, belts tight, doors unlatched, then a MAYDAY giving callsign, position, altitude, intentions and persons on board.
Traps that cost marks
- Attempting a 180° turn back to the runway after a low-altitude engine failure.
- Raising flaps too quickly during a go-around; raise them in stages once a positive climb is established.
- Squawking 7700 for radio failure instead of 7600.
- Saying 'take-off' when you only mean departure - the word is reserved for an actual take-off clearance.