MCAA ATPL Theory Exam cheat sheet

ICAO Annex 2 contains the rules of the air; Annex 1 covers personnel licensing, Annex 8 airworthiness and Annex 14 aerodromes.

Standard VMC below 10,000 ft AMSL: flight visibility 5 km, 1,500 m horizontal and 300 m vertical distance from cloud.

At or above 10,000 ft AMSL, VMC flight visibility is 8 km with the same 1,500 m horizontal and 300 m vertical cloud separation.

Unless specially cleared, do not fly below 10,000 ft at more than 250 kt IAS.

IFR semicircular rule: magnetic tracks 000°–179° use odd flight levels; tracks 180°–359° use even flight levels.

A clearance must be read back when it contains a runway, altitude, heading, frequency or transponder instruction.

The standard aerodrome traffic circuit is left-hand unless ATC specifies otherwise; join on the downwind leg unless instructed.

Aircraft must carry the certificate of registration, certificate of airworthiness, crew licences and journey log as applicable.

A reciprocating engine completes intake, compression, power and exhaust strokes in two crankshaft revolutions.

Detonation is uncontrolled explosive combustion; pre-ignition is ignition before the spark; both raise cylinder head temperature and can damage the engine.

Carburettor icing is most likely at 0–15°C with high humidity; apply carburettor heat before ice forms.

A turbofan bypass ratio is fan-duct mass flow divided by core mass flow; high bypass ratios improve propulsive efficiency.

EGT is turbine-entry gas temperature and is a limiting parameter for many turbine engines.

Hydraulic pressure equals force divided by piston area (p = F/A); Pascal's law transmits pressure equally through a confined fluid.

Cabin pressure is regulated by the outflow valve; cabin differential pressure is cabin pressure minus ambient pressure.

A constant-speed propeller maintains selected rpm by changing blade angle; feathering aligns the blades with the relative airflow to reduce drag.

Jet A-1 is the standard turbine fuel; Avgas 100LL is used in spark-ignition piston engines.

Ohm's law: V = I × R; electrical power P = V × I.

Aircraft AC systems commonly use 115 V at 400 Hz; DC systems commonly use 28 V.

A transformer-rectifier unit converts AC to DC; an inverter converts DC to AC.

The pitot-static system supplies the airspeed indicator, altimeter and vertical speed indicator.

Indicated airspeed includes position and instrument error; CAS corrects these, EAS corrects for density, and TAS corrects for density and temperature.

With QNH set, the altimeter indicates elevation at the aerodrome; with QFE it indicates height above the reference datum.

The vertical speed indicator lags because it responds to a pressure difference through a calibrated leak.

A gyroscope resists changes to its spin axis (rigidity) and precesses when a force is applied.

ILS localizer frequencies are 108–112 MHz; glideslope frequencies are 329–335 MHz.

Pressure altitude = aerodrome elevation + (1013.25 − QNH) × 30 ft per hPa.

Density altitude is pressure altitude corrected for temperature; high temperature, elevation and humidity reduce performance.

Moment = weight × arm; CG = total moment ÷ total weight.

V1 is decision speed, VR is rotation speed, V2 is takeoff safety speed and Vref is landing reference speed.

Stall speed changes with the square root of load factor: Vs(new) = Vs × √n.

Takeoff and landing distances increase with weight, altitude and temperature, and with tailwind or upslope.

Contaminated runways reduce braking action and increase landing distance; apply the appropriate factor.

The fuel plan includes taxi, trip, contingency, alternate and final reserve fuel.

Specific range is air distance per unit fuel; maximum specific range occurs near maximum L/D.

Time of useful consciousness at FL350 is about 30–60 seconds; at FL250 it is about 3–5 minutes.

Hypoxia symptoms include euphoria, impaired judgement, cyanosis and tunnel vision; use supplemental oxygen immediately.

Carbon monoxide binds haemoglobin more strongly than oxygen; suspect it with headache and cherry-red skin.

Somatogravic illusion is a false pitch sensation during acceleration; somatogyral illusion follows sustained rotation.

Dark adaptation takes about 30 minutes; use off-centre viewing to detect dim objects at night.

Barotrauma occurs when pressure cannot equalise across the eardrum; the Eustachian tube must be cleared during descent.

Decompression sickness results from nitrogen bubbles after exposure to low pressure; avoid flying soon after diving.

Fatigue and circadian disruption reduce alertness; controlled rest and proper sleep are countermeasures.

G-induced loss of consciousness follows greyout and blackout; anti-G straining and suits increase tolerance.

ISA sea-level values are 15°C and 1013.25 hPa; the tropospheric lapse rate is about 2°C per 1,000 ft.

QNH is pressure reduced to sea level; QFE is pressure at the aerodrome reference point.

A cold air mass makes the altimeter over-read; “high to low, look out below” summarises the danger.

Geostrophic wind flows parallel to the isobars; surface friction causes it to cross isobars towards low pressure.

A cold front typically produces rapid lifting, cumulonimbus, showers and a sharp wind shift.

A warm front typically produces stratiform cloud, steady rain and poor visibility.

Clear ice forms from large supercooled droplets; rime ice forms from small droplets; both increase drag and reduce lift.

Radiation fog forms on clear, calm nights; advection fog forms when warm moist air moves over a cold surface.

Thunderstorm life cycle: cumulus, mature and dissipating; the mature stage has both updraughts and downdraughts.

One minute of latitude equals one nautical mile (1,852 m).

True bearing = magnetic bearing + variation (east add, west subtract); compass bearing also includes deviation.

The 1-in-60 rule: a 1° error over 60 nm produces a 1 nm offset.

A great circle is the shortest route between two points; a rhumb line crosses meridians at a constant angle.

VOR provides magnetic bearing from the station; DME provides slant range.

NDB transmissions are in the 190–1,750 kHz band and are received by the ADF.

GNSS RAIM detects inconsistent satellite signals and, with fault detection and exclusion, isolates faulty signals.

Track = heading + drift; the wind correction angle is applied into the wind.

Transition altitude is where the altimeter is set to standard pressure; transition level is the lowest usable flight level.

V1 is the decision speed; after V1 a rejected takeoff is normally not attempted unless the aircraft is unsafe.

Memory items are performed immediately; the checklist is then completed and confirmed.

Emergency descent after rapid depressurisation: oxygen masks on, descend to 10,000 ft or MSA, and turn off the seatbelt sign.

The sterile cockpit rule prohibits non-essential activity during taxi, takeoff, approach and landing.

The MEL allows dispatch with specified equipment inoperative; the CDL allows specified missing items.

Wake turbulence separation depends on aircraft weight categories; stay above and upwind of a preceding aircraft's flight path.

Hazardous goods must be declared, packaged and loaded according to the technical instructions.

Transponder code 7500 is unlawful interference, 7600 is radio failure and 7700 is general emergency.

ETOPS governs twin-engine operations beyond a specified diversion time from an adequate aerodrome.

Lift = CL × ½ρV²S; induced drag = CDi × ½ρV²S.

Critical angle of attack is the angle at which the wing stalls; it is independent of weight and speed.

Induced drag decreases with increasing speed; parasite drag increases with the square of speed.

Maximum L/D gives best glide angle and maximum range in still air; minimum power speed gives best endurance.

Dihedral gives lateral stability; sweepback improves high-speed performance but can cause Dutch roll.

Flaps increase CL and drag; slats delay the stall by increasing the critical angle of attack.

As Mach increases, shock waves form and Mach buffet or Mach tuck can occur near the critical Mach number.

Load factor n = L/W; in a level turn n = 1/cos(bank angle).

Adverse yaw is caused by increased induced drag on the downgoing aileron; coordinated rudder is required.

VHF aeronautical communications use 118.000–136.975 MHz; 8.33 kHz channel spacing is standard in Europe.

121.5 MHz is the civil emergency frequency; guard it when able.

MAYDAY is spoken three times for distress; PAN-PAN three times for urgency.

Read back runway, altitude, heading, frequency and transponder instructions.

“Wilco” means the instruction will be complied with; “Roger” means the message was received.

Transponder code 7500 is hijack, 7600 radio failure and 7700 emergency.

The phonetic alphabet uses Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett.

ATIS provides recorded aerodrome information; VOLMET provides meteorological information.

CPDLC allows controller-pilot data link communications; SELCAL alerts the crew to a call.