KCAA PPL Exam cheat sheet

Kenya Civil Aviation Regulations are issued under the Civil Aviation Act and are modelled on ICAO Annexes; the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) is the regulator and the PIC is ultimately responsible for compliance.

VFR minima in controlled airspace at and above 3 050 m (10 000 ft) AMSL: 8 km flight visibility and 1 500 m horizontal, 300 m (1 000 ft) vertical distance from cloud.

VFR minima at and below 900 m (3 000 ft) AMSL: 5 km flight visibility, clear of cloud and in sight of the surface; in Kenya the aerodrome VFR minimum is commonly 5 km visibility with cloud base not below 450 m (1 500 ft).

Aircraft may not be flown below 150 m (500 ft) above ground or water except for take-off, landing or with the permission of the authority; over congested areas the minimum is 300 m (1 000 ft) from the highest obstacle within 600 m.

Aircraft must carry a valid Certificate of Airworthiness, Certificate of Registration, crew licences, journey log and, when required, a radio station licence; documents are inspected on ramp checks.

Alcohol: no crew member may act as a flight crew member with a blood alcohol concentration above 0.02% or within 8 hours of consuming alcohol, whichever is more restrictive.

Simulated instrument flight requires a suitably qualified safety pilot; a private pilot may not carry passengers for hire or reward nor be paid for flying, only cost-sharing is permitted.

Aircraft must be equipped with a functioning altitude-reporting transponder when operating in transponder mandatory airspace, and with ELT where required for the route flown.

Pilot-in-command must report any accident or serious incident to the nearest authority without delay; Kenya uses the ICAO occurrence categories and a mandatory occurrence reporting scheme.

Four-stroke cycle: induction, compression, combustion (power), exhaust; in a four-cylinder engine the crankshaft turns twice per complete cycle, so each cylinder fires once every 720 degrees of crankshaft rotation.

Detonation is uncontrolled explosive ignition causing high cylinder pressures and temperatures; pre-ignition is ignition before the spark. Both are countered by correct mixture, low power settings and using the correct fuel grade.

Carburettor icing is most likely at ambient temperatures between -7 C and +21 C with relative humidity above 50%; apply carburettor heat, which enriches the mixture and reduces power.

The pitot-static system drives the ASI, altimeter and VSI; the ASI uses dynamic pressure (total minus static), the altimeter and VSI use static pressure only. A blocked pitot with open drain causes the ASI to read zero.

The magnetic compass has turning and acceleration errors; it is unreliable in turns and during acceleration/deceleration, so use the gyro heading indicator for turns and reset it against the compass in level flight.

The suction-driven gyro instruments (attitude and heading indicators) rely on a vacuum pump; failure is indicated by a low suction gauge reading and gradual toppling of the gyros.

The electrical system is typically 14 V or 28 V DC with an alternator and voltage regulator; the ammeter shows charge or discharge and the master switch controls the battery and alternator contactors.

Landing gear: nosewheel steering is often limited and differential braking assists tight turns; the parking brake is a separate valve, and the gear-down indicator is a mechanical or electrical confirmation, not a substitute for a visual check.

Mass and balance: total mass = empty mass + crew + passengers + fuel + baggage; the centre of gravity must lie within the forward and aft limits for the whole flight, including fuel burn.

Moment = mass x arm (distance from datum); CG position = total moment / total mass. Adding mass aft of the datum moves the CG aft and vice versa.

Forward CG increases stall speed, lengthens take-off run and reduces elevator authority; aft CG reduces stability and can make the aircraft uncontrollable beyond the aft limit.

Density altitude = pressure altitude + 120 x (OAT - ISA temperature). High density altitude reduces engine power, propeller thrust and lift, increasing take-off and landing distances.

Take-off distance increases with mass, altitude, temperature, headwind loss and uphill slope; landing distance increases with mass, altitude, temperature, tailwind and downhill slope.

Fuel planning: trip fuel + taxi + contingency + alternate + final reserve (typically 30 minutes for VFR, 45 minutes for IFR) must be carried; fuel mass = volume x density (AVGAS about 0.72 kg/L).

Crosswind component = wind speed x sin(angle between wind and runway); headwind component = wind speed x cos(angle). Check against the aircraft crosswind limit before departure.

Climb and cruise performance tables are based on pressure altitude, temperature and mass; interpolate between tabulated values and always use the more conservative figure when in doubt.

Hypoxia: symptoms include euphoria, tingling, impaired judgement and blue lips; time of useful consciousness at 25 000 ft is about 3-5 minutes, at 40 000 ft about 15-20 seconds.

Hyperventilation causes dizziness, tingling and visual disturbance; treatment is to slow the breathing rate, and it must be distinguished from hypoxia by checking oxygen and descending.

Spatial disorientation results from conflicting visual and vestibular cues; the remedy is to trust the instruments and maintain a standard scan, especially in IMC.

The eye's fovea handles detail and colour in daylight, while rods provide peripheral and night vision; use off-centre viewing at night and allow 30 minutes dark adaptation.

Fatigue impairs reaction time and judgement more than skill; avoid duty periods that exceed flight time limits and use rest, hydration and caffeine strategically.

Stress and workload: the Yerkes-Dodson curve shows performance peaks at moderate arousal and falls at very low or very high arousal.

Decompression sickness (the bends) can follow a rapid pressure drop; flying after diving requires a surface interval, typically 24 hours after a no-decompression dive.

Illusions on approach: a narrow runway or upslope makes the pilot fly too low, a wide runway or downslope makes the pilot fly too high; black-hole approach causes a low approach.

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

QNH is the altimeter setting that makes the altimeter read elevation when on the ground; QFE makes it read zero, and the standard setting 1013.25 hPa is used above the transition altitude.

Cloud base (ft) can be estimated as (temperature - dewpoint) x 400 when the spread is in degrees Celsius, or by the rule 125 x (T - Td) in metres.

Cumulonimbus clouds bring turbulence, icing, hail, lightning and microbursts; avoid them by at least 10 nm laterally and do not attempt to fly beneath them.

Icing is most severe between 0 C and -15 C in supercooled cloud; structural icing increases mass and drag and reduces lift, so change altitude or route when it occurs.

Wind is named by the direction it comes from; a backing wind turns anticlockwise, a veering wind turns clockwise. In the northern hemisphere wind veers with height in the friction layer.

In the southern hemisphere, air flows anticlockwise around a high and clockwise around a low; in the northern hemisphere it is the opposite.

Sea breeze blows from sea to land by day; land breeze blows from land to sea at night. Anabatic winds blow upslope, katabatic winds blow downslope.

TAF gives aerodrome forecasts valid typically 9-24 hours; METAR is an observation. TEMPO indicates temporary fluctuations and BECMG indicates a gradual permanent change.

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

1 minute of latitude = 1 nautical mile; 1 degree of latitude = 60 nm. Longitude distance shrinks with latitude as 60 x cos(latitude) nm per degree.

True bearing = magnetic bearing + variation (east variation is added, west is subtracted); magnetic heading = true heading - variation.

Compass deviation is the error caused by aircraft magnetism and is applied after variation; deviation is read from the compass correction card.

Track is the path over the ground, heading is where the nose points; drift = track - heading, and wind correction angle is applied into the wind.

Time = distance / groundspeed; fuel required = time x fuel flow. Groundspeed = TAS + tailwind component (or minus headwind).

VOR gives magnetic bearing from the station (radial); the CDI centres when the selected OBS matches the radial, with TO/FROM indicating direction relative to the station.

NDB/ADF: the ADF needle points to the station relative to the aircraft heading, so relative bearing + heading = magnetic bearing to the station.

GPS: RAIM checks integrity; 4 satellites give a 3D fix, 3 give a 2D fix. Waypoint sequencing and CDI sensitivity change on approach (typically 1 nm full scale).

Pre-flight: check documents, mass and balance, fuel, weather and NOTAMs; brief passengers on exits, oxygen and the sterile-cockpit rule below 3 000 ft.

Engine failure after take-off: lower the nose to maintain best glide speed, select a landing area ahead, do not turn back below 300-500 ft unless briefed and trained.

Emergency descent: reduce power, extend speedbrakes/flaps as permitted, descend at VNE or a safe speed, and turn away from the runway to avoid traffic.

Fire in flight: close the fuel and mixture, use the fire extinguisher, and land as soon as practicable; an engine fire may require an emergency descent and immediate landing.

Radio failure in VFR: continue VFR, remain clear of controlled airspace unless previously cleared, and land at the nearest suitable aerodrome; squawk 7600.

Emergency frequencies: 121.5 MHz for civil emergency, 243.0 MHz military; the distress call is MAYDAY, urgency is PAN-PAN.

Wake turbulence: it sinks and drifts with the wind; take off before the preceding aircraft's rotation point and land after its touchdown point, staying above its flight path.

Runway incursion avoidance: read back clearances, use standard phraseology, and stop if unsure; never cross an active runway without an explicit clearance.

Lift = 1/2 x rho x V squared x S x CL; lift increases with the square of speed, so doubling speed quadruples lift at constant CL.

The four forces are lift, weight, thrust and drag; in steady level flight lift equals weight and thrust equals drag.

Induced drag decreases with speed while parasite drag increases with the square of speed; total drag is lowest at the speed for best lift/drag ratio (best glide).

Stall occurs at the critical angle of attack, not at a fixed speed; mass, load factor, CG and power affect the stall speed but the angle of attack at the stall is constant.

Load factor = lift / weight; a 60 degree bank gives load factor 2 and increases stall speed by the square root of 2 (about 41%).

The wing stalls from the root outward because of washout; ailerons remain effective longer, but the wing can drop sharply at the stall.

P-factor, torque, slipstream and gyroscopic precession cause left-turning tendency at high power and low speed; apply right rudder as needed.

Flaps increase lift and drag and lower the stall speed; they also shift the pitching moment and reduce the glide angle, so retract them during a go-around.

Static and dynamic stability: positive static stability means the aircraft returns to equilibrium; dihedral and wing sweep contribute to lateral stability.

Standard call: station called, own callsign, position, altitude, intention. Example: "Nairobi Tower, 5Y-ABC, Cessna 172, 10 nm south, 4 500 ft, inbound to land."

Read back all runway, altitude, heading and frequency instructions; read back of route clearances is required when the clearance is not as filed.

Distress call MAYDAY x3, urgency call PAN-PAN x3; state callsign, nature of emergency, position, altitude and intentions.

Squawk codes: 7700 general emergency, 7600 radio failure, 7500 unlawful interference, 7000 VFR in Europe, 1200 VFR in the United States.

Phonetic alphabet: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.

Numbers: transmit each digit separately, except whole hundreds and thousands, which may be said as "one thousand two hundred" and flight levels as "FL 85".

Radio failure: squawk 7600, continue VFR and land at the nearest suitable aerodrome; if IFR, follow the lost-communication procedure in the AIP.

Position reporting: give time, position, altitude, next position and ETA; use UTC (Zulu) and state the frequency change when instructed.