CAA NZ ATPL Instruments & Navaids study guide
CAA NZ ATPL Instruments & Navaids · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Instruments & Navaids paper is one of the technical knowledge subjects a candidate must clear on the way to a New Zealand ATPL, and it sits at the point where physics, avionics and procedure meet. It is aimed at pilots who already hold a commercial licence and are moving to airline-level responsibilities, so questions assume fluency with basic instrument flying and build toward system-level reasoning: why a static port blockage produces the indications it does, how a multi-sensor navigation solution degrades, what a crew should do when a warning system disagrees with the other evidence. The CAA NZ ATPL Instruments & Navaids study guide has 10 sections and about 3,361 words.
01Flight Instruments and Pressure Systems
This domain is examined as both instrument theory and practical fault diagnosis: what each pressure instrument measures, how it fails, and what the crew actually sees. Pitot pressure is total pressure (static plus dynamic); static pressure is ambient pressure.
393 words, about 2 min02Gyroscopic Instruments and Inertial Systems
A gyroscope with a spinning rotor resists change to its spin axis (rigidity in space) and, when a torque is applied, precesses at 90° to the applied force in the direction of rotation. Precession rate rises with torque and falls as rotor angular momentum increases.
342 words, about 2 min03Magnetic Compasses and Magnetism
Variation is the angle between true north and magnetic north, shown by isogonals on the chart; deviation is the error caused by the aircraft's own magnetic fields and is recorded on the deviation card after a compass swing. The memory aid is 'variation east, magnetic least; deviation east, compass least'.
330 words, about 2 min04Air Data Computers and Pitot-Static Systems
The air data computer combines pitot pressure, static pressure, total air temperature and angle-of-attack inputs, applies position and instrument corrections held in the air data module, and outputs barometric altitude, computed airspeed, Mach, TAS, static air temperature, vertical speed, over-speed warnings and the encoded altitude sent to the transponder. Modern aircraft carry two or three ADCs with cross-comparison and automatic fault flagging.
330 words, about 2 min05Radio Navigation Aids (VOR, DME, NDB/ADF, ILS)
VOR transmits on 108.0–117.95 MHz and gives a magnetic radial from the station. The CDI and OBS select the radial; TO/FROM shows which side of the station the aircraft is on; the cone of confusion gives unstable indications overhead.
333 words, about 2 min06Area Navigation
Area navigation lets an aircraft fly a defined path between waypoints rather than directly between ground stations. Waypoints are defined by latitude/longitude or by rho-theta, and the FMS builds a leg from each pair.
313 words, about 2 min07GNSS and Performance-Based Navigation
GNSS receivers use pseudo-range measurements to at least four satellites to solve latitude, longitude, altitude and time. GPS satellites orbit at about 20,200 km in six planes inclined 55°, with a 12-hour period; the civilian L1 signal is at 1575.42 MHz, and L2/L5 add ionospheric correction and integrity.
313 words, about 2 min08Surveillance and Warning Systems (Radar, TCAS/ACAS, TAWS/GPWS, Weather Radar)
Primary surveillance radar detects skin returns and gives range and azimuth; secondary surveillance radar interrogates the transponder, receiving Mode A identity, Mode C pressure altitude, Mode S addresses and ADS-B data. Controllers assign squawks; special codes 7500, 7600 and 7700 retain their standard meanings.
353 words, about 2 min09Automatic Flight Control, Flight Management and Electronic Displays
Lateral modes include heading/track, VOR/LOC, approach and LNAV; vertical modes include altitude hold, vertical speed, flight-level change (IAS/Mach), VNAV path, glide slope and take-off/go-around. Modes arm before they engage: selecting APPROACH arms LOC and GS, which engage when the beams are captured.
314 words, about 2 min10Navigation Charting, Plotting and Flight Planning Instruments
The Mercator projection shows rhumb lines as straight lines and great circles as curves; scale expands with latitude, so it is unsuitable for polar navigation. Lambert conformal conic charts are standard for mid-latitude enroute and approach charts: the cone touches or cuts the standard parallels, great circles plot almost straight, and scale is nearly constant.
340 words, about 2 min