FAA ADX cheat sheet

14 CFR Part 65 Subpart C governs dispatcher certification: an applicant must be at least 23 years of age, read/speak/write English, pass the knowledge test, and pass an oral and practical test.

Under 14 CFR 65.53 the knowledge test must be passed within the 24 months preceding application for the practical test; §65.57 covers the practical test subject areas (flight planning, weather, navigation, aircraft performance, emergency procedures).

14 CFR 121.463 adds operator-level qualification requirements, satisfied by completing an FAA-approved dispatcher course or by equivalent experience as a pilot or dispatcher.

14 CFR 121.533 assigns operational control to the certificate holder; 121.535 makes the dispatcher jointly responsible with the PIC; 121.537 defines pilot in command authority and responsibility.

14 CFR 121.465 limits a dispatcher to 10 hours of duty in any 24-consecutive-hour period and requires at least 8 hours of rest within that period.

Dispatchers are safety-sensitive employees under 14 CFR Part 120 and are subject to pre-employment, random, reasonable-suspicion, and post-accident drug and alcohol testing.

An aircraft dispatcher certificate has no expiration date; recency and currency are maintained through the certificate holder's approved training program required by 14 CFR 121.401.

14 CFR 121.135 requires the certificate holder's manual to contain dispatch and flight-release procedures and the specific duties and responsibilities of aircraft dispatchers.

14 CFR 121.645 domestic fuel: taxi fuel plus fuel to the destination, then to the most distant alternate, plus 45 minutes at normal cruising fuel consumption.

14 CFR 121.619 permits a turbojet release without a destination alternate when, for 1 hour before and after ETA, the ceiling is at least 1,500 ft above the lowest published minimum and visibility is at least 3 SM.

14 CFR 121.647 requires fuel computations to consider wind, forecast weather, aircraft performance, route, altitude, and anticipated ATC delays.

14 CFR 121.625: an alternate airport must have an approved instrument approach and forecast weather at the ETA at or above the authorized landing minimums.

Heading math: true heading = true course ± wind correction angle; magnetic heading = true heading ± variation; compass heading = magnetic heading ± deviation.

Groundspeed from the wind triangle gives ETE = distance ÷ groundspeed, and trip fuel = fuel flow × ETE; a headwind raises both time and fuel burn.

Takeoff weight is limited by the structural limit, the runway/obstacle limit, the climb limit, and the landing weight limit at the destination or alternate, whichever governs.

14 CFR 121.649 and 121.651 require takeoff and landing to comply with approved weather minimums; a flight may not be dispatched to an airport forecast below those minimums.

A dispatch release must identify the aircraft, trip number, departure airport, destination, alternates, type of operation, minimum fuel supply, and the weather reports and forecasts used.

The PIC and the dispatcher share operational control; either may delay, divert, or cancel a flight, and the PIC has final authority in an emergency.

The release must be amended or reissued when weather, fuel, equipment, or routing changes make the original release no longer valid.

V1 is the decision speed at which accelerate-stop distance equals accelerate-go distance; a balanced field length minimizes required runway at the optimum V1.

Minimum second segment climb gradients with one engine inoperative, gear up, takeoff flaps: 2.4 percent (two-engine), 2.7 percent (three-engine), 3.0 percent (four-engine).

14 CFR 121.189 requires the net takeoff flight path to clear all obstacles by at least 35 ft vertically along the takeoff flight path.

14 CFR 121.195 requires landing distance available to exceed required landing distance at the destination and alternate, corrected for runway condition, wind, and temperature.

MEL relief categories: A - as specified in the MEL; B - 3 days; C - 10 days; D - 120 days, with the day of discovery normally excluded.

Contaminated runway (standing water, slush, snow, ice) performance data must be used; credit for reverse thrust or other stopping devices is taken only when approved.

METAR is the routine surface observation issued hourly or semi-hourly; SPECI is a special observation issued when conditions change significantly.

Ceiling is the height of the lowest broken or overcast layer, or the vertical visibility into an obscuration; VV reports vertical visibility.

TAFs are issued four times daily at 0000, 0600, 1200, and 1800 UTC and typically cover 24 to 30 hours.

AIRMETs cover below FL180: Sierra for IFR conditions and mountain obscuration, Tango for turbulence and strong surface winds, Zulu for icing and freezing levels.

Convective SIGMETs are issued at 55 minutes past the hour for tornadoes, hail 3/4 inch or greater, and surface wind gusts 50 kt or more; non-convective SIGMETs run 4 hours (6 for hurricanes).

Pressure altitude = indicated altitude + (29.92 − altimeter setting) × 1,000; each 0.01 inHg of altimeter error is about 10 ft.

Standard atmosphere: temperature decreases about 2 degrees C per 1,000 ft, reaching about −56.5 degrees C at the tropopause near 36,000 ft.

Freezing rain produces the most severe airframe icing because large supercooled droplets spread aft and freeze as clear ice; SLD conditions are especially hazardous.

Fog or low stratus becomes likely when the temperature/dewpoint spread is about 5 degrees F or less and the air mass is moist.

Class A airspace extends from 18,000 ft MSL to FL600, is IFR only, and requires altimeters set to 29.92 inHg.

Class B requires an explicit ATC clearance and a Mode C transponder within the 30 nm veil; Class C requires two-way radio and altitude reporting; Class D requires two-way radio.

VFR minimums in Class E below 10,000 ft MSL: 3 SM visibility, 500 ft below clouds, 1,000 ft above clouds, 2,000 ft horizontal from clouds.

Speed limits: 250 KIAS below 10,000 ft MSL; 200 KIAS at or below 2,500 ft AGL within 4 nm of a Class C or D primary airport; 230 KIAS in Class B unless a higher speed is approved.

MEA provides at least 1,000 ft of obstacle clearance (2,000 ft in designated mountainous terrain) within 4 nm of the airway centerline.

MOCA provides obstacle clearance but guarantees navigation signal reception only within 22 nm of the referenced VOR; VOR service volumes are 25 nm terminal, 40 nm low, 130 nm high.

RVSM applies from FL290 through FL410 with 1,000 ft vertical separation and requires RVSM-approved aircraft, altimetry, and trained flight crews.

ADS-B Out is required in Class A, B, and C airspace and above 10,000 ft MSL in Class E, using either 1090ES or UAT equipment.

The MEL permits operation with specified inoperative equipment under the operator's approved procedures; the CDL covers missing or non-standard exterior components.

Part 121 oxygen rules: passengers must be provided supplemental oxygen when cabin pressure altitude exceeds 15,000 ft, and at least 10 minutes of supply when above 10,000 ft.

A rapid depressurization calls for immediate donning of masks, establishment of communication, and an emergency descent to 10,000 ft or the minimum safe altitude.

Hypoxia types are hypoxic, hypemic, stagnant, and histotoxic; time of useful consciousness at FL350 after abrupt decompression is roughly 30 to 60 seconds.

Engine fire response sequence: shut off fuel, bleed air, and hydraulics to the affected engine, discharge the extinguishing bottle, and plan a diversion to the nearest suitable airport.

The clean aircraft concept prohibits takeoff with frost, snow, or ice on wings, control surfaces, or stabilizers; holdover time from the approved tables limits the protection interval.

14 CFR 121.557 gives the PIC authority to deviate from regulations in an emergency; the dispatcher assists, coordinates support, and must be kept informed.

Human factors for dispatchers: fatigue and circadian lows near 0300-0500 and 1500-1700 degrade judgment, and CRM requires explicit, closed-loop communication with flight crews.

Typical transport electrical values: 115 V AC at 400 Hz and 28 V DC; loss of AC generation may require shedding load and may affect anti-ice and fuel systems.