KCAA CPL Theory flashcards

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

VMC minimum visibility above 3050 m

At and above 3 050 m AMSL, VFR flight requires 8 km flight visibility and 1 500 m horizontal, 300 m vertical distance from cloud.

Semicircular cruising levels

Magnetic track 000–179° uses odd thousands plus 500 ft; track 180–359° uses even thousands plus 500 ft, above the transition altitude.

MAYDAY versus PAN PAN

MAYDAY repeated three times signals distress and immediate danger; PAN PAN repeated three times signals urgency with no immediate danger.

Right-of-way order

Balloon, glider, airship, aircraft towing, then powered aircraft. Converging aircraft give way to the one on the right; head-on both turn right.

Detonation versus pre-ignition

Detonation is explosive uncontrolled burning of the whole charge; pre-ignition is ignition of the charge before the spark, usually by a hot spot.

Magneto drop limits

On a warm engine, selecting each magneto in turn should give no more than about 150 rpm drop and no more than 50 rpm difference between them.

Blocked static port effects

With the static port blocked, the airspeed indicator reads higher than actual in a climb and lower in a descent; the altimeter freezes.

ELT frequencies

Emergency locator transmitters transmit on 121.5 MHz and, for satellite detection, 406 MHz; they activate on impact or manually.

Density altitude formula

Density altitude equals pressure altitude plus 120 times the difference between actual temperature and ISA temperature at that level.

Wet runway take-off factor

Take-off distance required is ground roll plus 15% on a dry runway and plus 30% on a wet or contaminated runway.

Centre of gravity formula

Centre of gravity equals total moment divided by total weight; adding weight aft of the CG moves the CG aft.

Crosswind component

Crosswind component equals wind speed multiplied by the sine of the angle between the wind and the runway centreline.

Time of useful consciousness

At 25 000 ft time of useful consciousness is about 3–5 minutes; at 35 000 ft it falls to about 30–60 seconds.

Somatogravic illusion

Linear acceleration during take-off is misinterpreted as a climb, prompting a dangerous nose-down input; deceleration feels like a descent.

Dark adaptation

Full adaptation of the eye to darkness takes 30–40 minutes; avoid bright white light and use red lighting to preserve it.

Carbon monoxide symptoms

Carbon monoxide poisoning causes headache, dizziness, nausea and cherry-red lips; treat with 100% oxygen and descend.

ISA sea level values

International Standard Atmosphere at sea level is 15 °C and 1013.25 hPa, with a lapse rate of 1.98 °C per 1 000 ft up to 11 km.

QNH versus QFE

QNH is pressure reduced to sea level and gives altitude; QFE is pressure at the aerodrome and gives height above it.

Cloud base calculation

Cloud base in feet is approximately the temperature/dew point spread in degrees Celsius multiplied by 400.

Stable versus unstable air

Stable air gives stratiform cloud, steady rain and smooth air; unstable air gives cumuliform cloud, showers and turbulence.

Great circle versus rhumb line

A great circle is the shortest path between two points; a rhumb line is a constant-track line, longer except on the equator or a meridian.

1-in-60 rule

A 1° error over 60 nautical miles produces a 1 nautical mile offset; 1° correction is needed for each 1° track error.

Variation and deviation

True plus variation gives magnetic; magnetic plus deviation gives compass. East variation is subtracted when converting true to magnetic.

High-to-low pressure flight

Flying from high to low pressure without resetting the altimeter makes the aircraft lower than the altimeter indicates.

Wake turbulence avoidance

Vortices are strongest from heavy, clean, slow aircraft; stay above the preceding aircraft's path and land beyond its touchdown point.

V speeds

V1 is decision speed, VR rotation, V2 take-off safety speed, and VREF the landing reference speed, usually 1.3 times stall speed.

Emergency squawk codes

Squawk 7700 for emergency, 7600 for radio failure, and 7500 for unlawful interference or hijack.

Load factor and stall speed

Load factor equals 1 divided by the cosine of the bank angle; stall speed increases with the square root of load factor.

Minimum drag speed

Total drag is minimum where parasite drag equals induced drag, which is also the best glide speed for the aircraft.

Critical Mach number

Critical Mach number is the free-stream Mach at which airflow somewhere on the aircraft first reaches Mach 1, causing shock waves.

Readback requirements

Clearances, runway, SSR code, altimeter setting, frequency and hold-short instructions must always be read back to ATC.

VOR radial definition

A VOR radial is the magnetic bearing from the station; the CDI centres when the selected radial matches the aircraft's position.