JCAA PPL Theory cheat sheet

ICAO Annex 2 (Rules of the Air) applies to all aircraft; JCAA Civil Aviation Regulations implement it in Japanese airspace, and the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau issues the PPL under those regulations.

Visual flight rules weather minima in controlled airspace generally: 3 statute miles (about 5 km) flight visibility, 500 ft below cloud, 1,000 ft above cloud, 2,000 ft horizontal from cloud; at or below 3,000 ft AMSL or 1,000 ft AGL (whichever is higher) the 5 km visibility and cloud-clearance minima apply.

VMC minimum visibility in uncontrolled airspace below 3,000 ft AMSL/1,000 ft AGL: 1.5 statute miles (about 2.4 km) by day; a higher minimum applies at night and above 10,000 ft.

Special VFR is available only when the pilot requests it and ATC issues a clearance; it requires clear of cloud and visibility of at least 1 statute mile (about 1.6 km) by day, and never relieves the pilot of see-and-avoid responsibility.

Aircraft on approach to land have right of way over aircraft in flight; lower aircraft has right of way over higher, except an aircraft must not cut in front of or overtake another on final approach.

Head-on converging: both turn right. Converging at roughly the same altitude: the aircraft with the other on its right gives way. Overtaking: the overtaking aircraft keeps clear, passing to the right.

Squawk codes: 7700 distress, 7600 radio failure, 7500 unlawful interference; codes are set only when directed by ATC or in the specified emergency.

A controlled flight must obtain an ATC clearance before entering controlled airspace and must read back clearances involving runway, hold-short instruction, and altitude assignments.

Documents carried on board: certificate of airworthiness, certificate of registration, crew licences, journey log, and (where required) radio station licence and aircraft radio apparatus approval.

Four-stroke cycle: intake, compression, power (combustion), exhaust; the crankshaft makes two revolutions per complete cycle, so each cylinder fires once every two revolutions.

Stoichiometric air/fuel mass ratio for gasoline is about 15:1; mixture is leaned as altitude increases because air density falls while fuel flow stays constant.

Carburettor icing is most likely at outside air temperatures between about -7 °C and +21 °C with high relative humidity; use carburettor heat to melt ice, which first causes a temporary further power loss.

Detonation is uncontrolled explosive combustion after ignition, aggravated by high manifold pressure, high cylinder head temperature and lean mixture; pre-ignition is ignition before the spark, often from a hot spot.

An alternator/generator failure is shown by a zero or negative ammeter reading and a discharging battery; electrical load must be shed and the flight terminated as soon as practicable.

Pitot-static: the airspeed indicator uses pitot (total) pressure against static pressure; the altimeter and vertical speed indicator use static pressure only, so a blocked static source affects all three.

Altimeter setting: below the transition altitude set QNH; at and above the transition level set standard pressure 1013.25 hPa (29.92 inHg), and the transition layer lies between them.

Magnetic compass: it indicates magnetic heading, is subject to deviation from aircraft magnetic fields, and shows turning and acceleration errors; it is reliable only in straight, level, unaccelerated flight.

Fuel: usable fuel is total fuel minus unusable fuel; the fuel gauge is not a substitute for calculated fuel, and the fuel selector must be on a tank with known quantity before flight.

Density altitude rises with high elevation, high temperature and low pressure; it is the altitude the aircraft feels, and it degrades take-off, climb and landing performance.

Take-off distance increases with mass, density altitude, headwind component reduction, uphill slope and soft or wet runway; landing distance increases with the same factors except wind.

Crosswind component = wind speed × sin(wind angle to runway); headwind component = wind speed × cos(wind angle). Use the aircraft crosswind limit as a hard limit.

Weight and balance: moment = weight × arm; centre of gravity = total moment ÷ total weight, and the CG must lie inside the forward and aft limits at take-off, in flight and at landing.

Forward CG increases stability and stick forces and lengthens take-off distance; aft CG reduces stability and can make stall recovery and spin recovery difficult.

Climb gradient (%) = (altitude gained ÷ horizontal distance) × 100; rate of climb = climb gradient × ground speed.

Fuel planning: trip fuel + taxi + contingency + alternate + final reserve (typically 30 minutes for VFR) must be on board; fuel in tanks must be checked against the plan before departure.

Best glide speed gives maximum range in a power-off descent; headwind increases the speed for maximum range, tailwind decreases it.

Pressure altitude = indicated altitude with the altimeter set to 1013.25 hPa; true altitude differs from pressure altitude by the temperature error of the atmosphere.

Hypoxia symptoms: euphoria, poor judgement, headache, cyanosis, tingling and loss of coordination; time of useful consciousness at 25,000 ft is roughly 3–5 minutes, at 35,000 ft about 30–60 seconds.

Hyperventilation causes dizziness, tingling and cramp from excessive CO2 loss; breathing into a bag or slowing the rate restores CO2, whereas hypoxia requires oxygen.

Spatial disorientation arises when the vestibular system gives false cues without visual reference; the remedy is to trust the instruments and maintain a scan.

The leans, somatogravic illusion and Coriolis illusion are vestibular illusions; the graveyard spiral is a common outcome of a prolonged unnoticed bank.

Night vision uses rods, which are slow to adapt and destroyed by bright light; dark adaptation takes about 30 minutes and is degraded by smoking and low oxygen.

Cabin altitude above about 10,000 ft requires supplemental oxygen for prolonged flight; smoking, alcohol and fatigue increase susceptibility to hypoxia.

Alcohol: even small amounts degrade judgement and reaction time; the standard rule is no alcohol within 8 hours of flight and blood alcohol below the legal limit.

Stress and fatigue: fatigue reduces vigilance, slows reaction time and impairs decision making; controlled rest and proper crew rest are the countermeasures.

Decompression sickness after diving: flying soon after diving risks bubbles; observe the recommended surface interval (commonly at least 24 hours after a no-decompression dive).

ISA: sea level temperature 15 °C, pressure 1013.25 hPa, lapse rate 1.98 °C per 1,000 ft up to 36,090 ft; the tropopause is at about 36,090 ft where temperature is -56.5 °C.

QNH is the pressure reduced to sea level; QFE is the pressure at the aerodrome; QNE is 1013.25 hPa used above the transition altitude.

Relative humidity near 100 % and a temperature close to the dew point favour fog and low cloud; a temperature-dew point spread of 2 °C or less is a warning sign.

Cumulonimbus clouds bring severe turbulence, icing, hail, microbursts and lightning; avoid them by at least 20 NM (or more) and never fly under the anvil.

Structural icing occurs where visible moisture exists at temperatures between 0 °C and about -20 °C; it increases weight, drag and stall speed.

Wind: surface friction reduces wind speed and veers the wind direction over land; wind shear is a sudden change in wind speed or direction, most dangerous on approach and departure.

Sea breeze blows from sea to land by day; land breeze blows from land to sea at night; katabatic flow is cold air draining downhill.

Altimeter error: flying from high pressure to low pressure without resetting the altimeter makes the aircraft lower than indicated ('high to low, look out below').

METAR is an aerodrome routine report; TAF is an aerodrome forecast; SIGMET warns of significant weather such as thunderstorms, turbulence and volcanic ash.

True course ± wind correction = true heading; true heading ± magnetic variation = magnetic heading; magnetic heading ± deviation = compass heading.

Variation is the angle between true north and magnetic north, east variation is subtracted from true to get magnetic ('east is least, west is best' for magnetic).

1 in 60 rule: a track error of 1 NM after 60 NM flown corresponds to 1° of angular error; use it to estimate heading corrections.

Time en route = distance ÷ ground speed; fuel required = time × hourly fuel flow; ground speed = true airspeed ± wind component along track.

Great circle is the shortest path between two points on a sphere; a rhumb line is a constant-track line and appears as a straight line on a Mercator chart.

A VOR bearing is the magnetic radial from the station; to fly to the station, set the OBS to the reciprocal of the radial and track inbound with a 'to' indication.

GPS: RAIM is receiver autonomous integrity monitoring; a loss of RAIM means the position cannot be trusted for navigation and the pilot must revert to other means.

Dead reckoning uses heading, airspeed and time with wind estimates; pilotage uses ground features; both must be cross-checked against each other.

Before take-off: check documents, weather, NOTAMs, weight and balance, fuel, and a departure briefing; the take-off briefing includes engine failure actions and the rejected take-off decision.

Engine failure after take-off: maintain control, pitch for best glide, select a landing area within the remaining height, and avoid turning back below a safe height.

Emergency: 7700 and MAYDAY on 121.5 MHz; urgency is PAN-PAN; radio failure squawk 7600 and follow the standard communication failure procedures.

Wake turbulence: generated by wingtip vortices, strongest when heavy, clean and slow; stay above and upwind of the preceding aircraft and land beyond its touchdown point.

Runway incursion prevention: read back hold-short instructions, confirm the runway in use, and never cross a runway without an explicit clearance.

Wind shear on approach: go around, apply maximum power, maintain pitch attitude and do not chase the airspeed indicator immediately.

Fire: shut off fuel and electrical supply, use the appropriate extinguisher, and land as soon as possible; do not restart an engine after an engine fire.

Pre-flight inspection must confirm control surfaces free and correct, fuel quantity and contamination, oil level, tyre condition and no obstructions in the pitot and static ports.

Lift L = ½ ρ V² S CL; lift increases with the square of speed and with air density, so high altitude or high temperature requires a higher true airspeed for the same lift.

Induced drag decreases with speed (proportional to 1/V²) while parasite drag increases with V²; total drag is minimum at the speed for best lift/drag ratio, which gives maximum range.

Stall occurs at the critical angle of attack, not at a fixed speed; stall speed increases with weight, load factor, forward CG and with ice or contamination.

Load factor n = L/W; in a level turn n = 1/cos(bank), so a 60° bank doubles the load and raises stall speed by about 41 %.

Angle of attack is the angle between the chord line and the relative airflow; the four forces are lift, weight, thrust and drag, in equilibrium in steady flight.

Static stability: positive static stability tends to return the aircraft to its original attitude; positive dynamic stability means the oscillation damps out over time.

Adverse yaw is the tendency to yaw away from the turn because the descending aileron creates more induced drag; rudder coordinates the turn.

Flaps increase lift and drag and lower stall speed; they also shift the pitching moment and reduce the go-around climb gradient when fully extended.

Ground effect occurs within about one wingspan of the ground and reduces induced drag, so the aircraft floats and may land long if the approach is fast.