FAA Ground Instructor flashcards

31 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

14 CFR Part 61

Federal regulation covering certification of pilots, flight instructors, and ground instructors, including eligibility requirements, aeronautical experience, and the privileges and limits of each certificate.

Advisory Circular

An FAA publication that provides guidance, information, and acceptable methods of compliance; following it is not mandatory unless a regulation incorporates it by reference.

Aeronautical Information Manual

The FAA's official guide to basic flight information and air traffic control procedures; it is regulatory in tone but is not itself a regulation.

Airworthiness Directive

A legally enforceable FAA order requiring inspection, repair, or modification of specific aircraft, engines, or components; compliance is mandatory to keep the aircraft airworthy.

Class B VFR minimums

Three statute miles visibility and clear of clouds, plus an explicit ATC clearance the pilot must actually hear before entering the airspace.

Mode C veil

Airspace within 30 nautical miles of a Class B primary airport, from the surface to 10,000 feet MSL, where a Mode C altitude-encoding transponder is required.

Special VFR clearance

An ATC authorization allowing flight in a surface area of Class B, C, D, or E airspace with 1 statute mile visibility and clear of clouds; at night the pilot must be instrument rated.

Emergency transponder codes

Squawk 7700 for a general emergency, 7600 for radio communications failure, and 7500 for unlawful interference such as hijacking.

Critical angle of attack

The angle of attack at which the wing stalls; a stall can occur at this angle at any airspeed, weight, load factor, or aircraft attitude.

Best glide speed

The airspeed producing the maximum lift-to-drag ratio and minimum total drag, which yields the greatest horizontal distance for each foot of altitude lost.

Load factor in level turn

Load factor equals one divided by the cosine of the bank angle; a 60-degree bank produces 2 G and raises stall speed about 41 percent.

Density altitude

Pressure altitude corrected for nonstandard temperature; high density altitude reduces engine power, propeller thrust, and lift, lengthening takeoff and reducing climb performance.

Ceiling

The height of the lowest broken or overcast cloud layer above the ground, or the vertical visibility into an obscuration such as fog or heavy snow.

METAR versus TAF

A METAR is an hourly surface weather observation; a TAF is a terminal area forecast, typically covering a 24- to 30-hour period around a specific airport.

Advection fog

Fog that forms when warm, moist air moves horizontally over a colder surface and is cooled to its dew point, common along coastlines and often accompanied by wind.

High to low altimeter error

When flying from higher pressure into lower pressure without resetting the altimeter, indicated altitude reads higher than true altitude, placing the aircraft closer to terrain than shown.

Variation east magnetic least

To convert true heading to magnetic heading, subtract easterly variation and add westerly variation; the mnemonic means easterly variation gives a smaller magnetic value.

VOR check tolerance

Instrument pilots must check VOR receivers every 30 days; allowable error is plus or minus 4 degrees on a ground check and 6 degrees in flight.

Sectional chart scale

Sectional aeronautical charts use a scale of 1:500,000, approximately 8 statute miles per inch, and one minute of latitude equals one nautical mile.

ANDS compass rule

On east or west headings, acceleration causes the magnetic compass to indicate a turn toward the north, while deceleration indicates a turn toward the south.

Moment calculation

Moment is weight multiplied by arm, the distance from the datum; dividing total moment by total weight gives the center of gravity location.

Useful load

The difference between maximum gross weight and empty weight; it includes fuel, oil, occupants, baggage, and cargo that may be loaded.

Aft CG effects

Aft loading lowers stall speed and increases cruise speed, but reduces longitudinal stability and can make a stall recovery difficult or impossible.

Maneuvering speed Va

The airspeed at or below which full deflection of a single control will not exceed the limit load factor; Va decreases as aircraft weight decreases.

Minimum safe altitude

Over congested areas, 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within 2,000 feet horizontally; over other areas, 500 feet above the surface.

PARE spin recovery

Power to idle, Ailerons neutral, Rudder opposite the direction of rotation, Elevator forward to break the stall, followed by a smooth dive recovery.

IMSAFE checklist

A preflight self-assessment of Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, and Emotion used to decide whether the pilot is fit to fly.

Levels of learning

Rote, understanding, application, and correlation; correlation is the highest level because it links new knowledge to previously learned concepts and real situations.

Demonstration-performance method

A teaching method using explanation, demonstration, student performance, instructor supervision, and evaluation, well suited to psychomotor skills such as flight maneuvers.

Laws of learning

Readiness, exercise, effect, primacy, recency, intensity, and freedom describe the conditions that promote or hinder a student's learning.

Overhead question

A question posed to the entire group rather than one student, used to stimulate discussion and keep all learners engaged.