MCAA CPL Theory Exam cheat sheet

ICAO Annex 2 defines VFR minima: at and above 3050 m (10 000 ft) AMSL, 8 km flight visibility and 1500 m horizontal and 300 m (1000 ft) vertical distance from cloud.

Right-of-way order: balloon, glider, airship, then powered aircraft; an aircraft towing another has priority, and landing aircraft have priority over aircraft on the ground or in the circuit.

A controlled flight must request a clearance before entering controlled airspace; if communication is lost, squawk 7600, continue VFR and land at the nearest suitable aerodrome.

An aircraft must carry documents: certificate of registration, certificate of airworthiness, crew licences, journey log, and, where required, radio licence and third-party insurance.

ICAO Annex 1 PPL requires a Class 2 medical; validity is typically 60 months under age 40, 24 months to age 50, 12 months above 50 (verify national implementation).

VMC visibility and cloud-distance minima below 900 m AMSL in most EASA states: 5 km visibility, 1500 m horizontally and 300 m vertically clear of cloud, surface in sight.

Emergency frequency is 121.5 MHz; distress is MAYDAY (three times), urgency is PAN-PAN (three times), followed by callsign and nature of problem.

Aircraft must not fly over congested areas below 300 m (1000 ft) above the highest obstacle within 600 m, unless taking off or landing.

A semi-monocoque fuselage carries loads mainly through the skin and stringers; a monocoque shell carries them through the skin alone.

Aircraft electrical systems are typically 14 V (12 V battery) or 28 V (24 V battery) DC, with AC supplied by an alternator/inverter; a bus bar distributes power to individual circuits.

The magneto is a self-contained engine-driven ignition source; the engine keeps running with the master switch off, so the only sure shutdown is closing the fuel valve or mixture.

Carburettor icing is most likely at 0 to +15 °C with high humidity; apply carburettor heat fully and expect an initial power drop before recovery.

A constant-speed propeller maintains RPM by changing blade angle via a governor; loss of oil pressure drives the blades toward fine pitch (high RPM).

Hydraulic systems use a reservoir, pump, pressure relief valve and accumulator; the accumulator damps pressure surges and provides a limited emergency reserve.

Emergency equipment: fire extinguisher (halon), first-aid kit, ELT (406 MHz), life jackets when over water beyond gliding distance from shore, and portable oxygen above prescribed cabin altitudes.

Fuel grade: avgas 100LL dyed blue; Jet A-1 is kerosene-based and must never be used in a spark-ignition piston engine without approval.

Density altitude rises with elevation, temperature and humidity; it degrades take-off, climb and landing performance compared with ISA values.

Take-off distance required = ground roll + distance to 50 ft; landing distance required = distance from 50 ft to full stop, both adjusted for wind, slope, temperature and surface.

Headwind component = wind speed × cos(angle between wind and runway); crosswind component = wind speed × sin(angle).

Mass and balance: centre of gravity must lie within limits; forward CG increases stability and pitch-down tendency, aft CG reduces stability and increases cruise speed.

Fuel planning: trip fuel + taxi + contingency (typically 5%) + alternate + final reserve (30 min for VFR); verify the usable fuel exceeds the total required.

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

True airspeed increases about 2% per 1000 ft of altitude for a given indicated airspeed at constant temperature; use the navigation computer or density ratio.

Pressure altitude = indicated altitude with altimeter set to 1013.25 hPa; true altitude corrects for temperature and pressure deviation from ISA.

Hypoxia symptoms: euphoria, impaired judgement, tingling, cyanosis; time of useful consciousness at 25 000 ft is roughly 3–5 minutes without supplemental oxygen.

Hyperventilation produces dizziness and tingling from low CO2; treat by slowing breathing, and if hypoxia is suspected, use oxygen first.

Spatial disorientation: the somatogravic illusion makes acceleration feel like a climb; the leans occur after a sudden roll; trust instruments, not sensations.

Night vision relies on rods (peripheral, low acuity, slow adaptation); allow 20–30 minutes dark adaptation and avoid bright white light.

Carbon monoxide from cabin heat is odourless; symptoms include headache, drowsiness and cherry-red skin; shut off the heater and ventilate.

Fatigue degrades reaction time and vigilance; circadian low points are roughly 02:00–06:00 and 14:00–16:00 local time; rest before flight is a legal and practical requirement.

Alcohol: the standard rule is no alcohol within 8 hours of flight and blood alcohol below 0.04% (or national limit); effects persist after BAC returns to zero.

Decompression sickness from rapid altitude change: avoid flying within 24 hours of diving (or per national rules); symptoms include joint pain and confusion.

ISA: sea-level temperature 15 °C, pressure 1013.25 hPa, lapse rate 1.98 °C per 1000 ft (6.5 °C/km) up to the tropopause.

QNH is the altimeter setting that reads elevation on the ground; QFE reads height above the reference point; QNE (1013.25) gives flight levels.

A cold front brings a narrow band of heavy showers, thunderstorms and a sharp wind veer; a warm front brings widespread steady rain and a gradual veer.

Cumulonimbus clouds indicate severe turbulence, icing and hail; avoid cells by at least 10 nm and do not attempt to overfly.

Icing risk is greatest at 0 to −20 °C in visible moisture; structural icing increases weight and drag and reduces lift and can cause stall.

Wind shear and microbursts: a sudden headwind then tailwind change during approach; go around if airspeed or sink rate is abnormal.

Fog forms when temperature reaches the dewpoint; radiation fog forms on clear calm nights, advection fog when warm moist air moves over a cold surface.

Altimeter correction: when flying from high to low pressure, the true altitude is lower than indicated unless QNH is updated.

True bearing = magnetic bearing + variation (east variation subtracts from true to magnetic); magnetic heading = magnetic course − wind correction angle.

Wind triangle: heading and TAS combined with wind velocity give track and groundspeed; drift = track − heading.

1 in 60 rule: a 1 nm off-track error over 60 nm corresponds to 1° of heading correction.

Great-circle routes are the shortest path on a sphere; rhumb lines have constant track but are longer except on the equator or meridians.

Dead reckoning uses heading, TAS, wind and time; fix position with VOR radials, NDB bearings, GPS or visual ground references.

Magnetic variation changes with position and time; isogonals connect points of equal variation, and the agonic line has zero variation.

Standard closing angle for regaining track: track error in degrees × 60 ÷ distance flown gives the heading change needed.

Latitude 1 minute = 1 nautical mile; longitude 1 minute = 1 nm × cos(latitude).

Before take-off: check weather, NOTAMs, mass and balance, fuel, performance, and the emergency brief; confirm runway and departure clearance.

Wake turbulence: heavier aircraft generate stronger wake; stay above and upwind of the preceding aircraft and wait for the prescribed time/distance interval.

Stall recovery: reduce angle of attack, apply full power, keep wings level, and recover without abrupt control inputs.

Engine failure after take-off: maintain control, pitch for best glide, select a landing area within gliding distance, and only attempt restart if time permits.

Emergency descent: use maximum descent rate consistent with structural limits, turn away from controlled airspace if needed, squawk 7700 and transmit MAYDAY.

Runway incursion prevention: read back hold-short instructions, use sterile cockpit below 10 000 ft, and scan the runway before entering.

Altimeter setting changes below transition altitude use QNH; above transition level use standard 1013.25 and report flight level.

Fire in flight: shut off fuel and electrics to the affected engine, use the extinguisher, and land as soon as practicable.

Lift = ½ ρ V² S CL; induced drag falls with speed while parasite drag rises, so total drag is minimum at the speed for best glide ratio.

Angle of attack is the angle between the chord line and relative airflow; the stall occurs at a critical angle of attack regardless of speed or weight.

Load factor n = lift ÷ weight; stall speed increases with the square root of load factor (Vs × √n).

Bernoulli and Newton together explain lift: pressure difference plus downward momentum change of the airflow.

Stability: positive static stability means a disturbance produces a restoring moment; positive dynamic stability means the oscillation decays over time.

Adverse yaw in a turn results from aileron drag; coordinate with rudder to keep the slip ball centred.

Flaps increase lift and drag and lower stall speed; retracting flaps at low speed can cause an abrupt stall.

Mach effects: critical Mach number is where airflow first reaches Mach 1; shock waves cause drag rise and buffet.

Standard readback: clearance, runway, hold-short instruction, altimeter setting and frequency changes must be read back.

Phonetic alphabet: Alfa, 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.

Distress call: MAYDAY three times, callsign, nature of distress, position, altitude, intentions; urgency: PAN-PAN three times.

VFR position report: callsign, position, altitude, next reporting point and ETA, plus intentions.

Squawk codes: 7700 emergency, 7600 radio failure, 7500 unlawful interference; 7000 is the standard VFR conspicuity code in Europe.

IFR clearance readback includes route, altitude, departure and arrival procedures, and any speed or time restrictions.

Radio failure in VMC: continue VFR, land at nearest suitable aerodrome, and report arrival; in IMC follow the published lost-communication procedure.

Use standard phraseology: "roger", "wilco", "affirm", "negative", "standby", and "say again" for clarification.

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

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

DME measures slant range in nautical miles; ground distance = √(slant range² − altitude²), so DME reads high at close range.

ILS: localizer gives lateral guidance (108–112 MHz), glideslope gives vertical guidance (typically 3°); markers indicate distance to threshold.

GPS: at least 4 satellites for a 3-D fix, 5 for RAIM with baro-aiding; RAIM predicts whether integrity monitoring is available.

Transponder: Mode A gives identity, Mode C adds pressure altitude; Mode S adds aircraft address and data link.

Radar: primary radar uses skin return; secondary surveillance radar (SSR) uses transponder replies and is used for identification and separation.

GNSS approaches are classified as LPV, LNAV/VNAV or LNAV; only LPV and LNAV/VNAV provide vertical guidance to minima.

ICAO Annex 2 defines VFR minima: at and above 3050 m (10 000 ft) AMSL, 8 km flight visibility and 1500 m horizontal and 300 m (1000 ft) vertical distance from cloud.

Right-of-way order: balloon, glider, airship, then powered aircraft; an aircraft towing another has priority, and landing aircraft have priority over aircraft on the ground or in the circuit.

A controlled flight must request a clearance before entering controlled airspace; if communication is lost, squawk 7600, continue VFR and land at the nearest suitable aerodrome.

An aircraft must carry documents: certificate of registration, certificate of airworthiness, crew licences, journey log, and, where required, radio licence and third-party insurance.

ICAO Annex 1 PPL requires a Class 2 medical; validity is typically 60 months under age 40, 24 months to age 50, 12 months above 50 (verify national implementation).

VMC visibility and cloud-distance minima below 900 m AMSL in most EASA states: 5 km visibility, 1500 m horizontally and 300 m vertically clear of cloud, surface in sight.

Emergency frequency is 121.5 MHz; distress is MAYDAY (three times), urgency is PAN-PAN (three times), followed by callsign and nature of problem.

Aircraft must not fly over congested areas below 300 m (1000 ft) above the highest obstacle within 600 m, unless taking off or landing.