Runway and Taxiway Markings (Chapter 2 AIM)

 Runway with no instrument approach (visual runways)

 Runway with a nonprecision instrument approach
 Runway with a precision instrument approach

Displaced threshold: Available for taxi and take off but never for landing except in an emergency.

Magnetic direction (+/- 5 Degrees)

Pavement Market: No operations allowed unlees an emergency.

 Requires air traffic control clearance, especial caution or is
prohibited This is a hold short sing for runway 15-33

Tells you where you are

Taxiway A is to the right

3´000 feet of runway remaining

Close runway

YOU CAN REQUEST PROGRESSIVE TAXI INSTRUCTIONS

Radios

Operates on VHF 118.00 - 136.975 MHz

Limited by line of sight

Safety equipment

 Transponder & ADS-B out

 Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT)

Transponder: receives an interrogating signal from the ground radar unit and replays back with a
squawk code.

Provide position and altitude and ground unit can determine track

ADS-B out: based on an onboard GNSS (GPS) to determine and broadcast aircraft position, altitude
& track direction, to a ground station that relayed to an ATC facility. It is required whenever a
transponder is required.

Codes:

0000: military intercept

1200: VFR

7500: Highjack

7600: Lost communications

7700: Emergency

ELT: Transmit your location in an emergency (usually located near the tail of the light airplanes)

Automatically: when a gravity switch (G switch) senses a hard collision

Manually: When activated by the pilot.

ELT old style: Limited by line of sight/ 121.5 VHF and 243 UHF (most airline flights and ATC facility
monitor 121.5

ELT new style: 121.5 VHF, 243 UHF & 406.028 (satellite monitored, include lat, long and aircraft
info) frequency.
Testing the new style ELT in the open will activate the search and rescue satellite (SARSAT)
system.

COMUNICATING BY RADIO

Tower (5 miles out)

App Dept control (5-30 miles out)

ARTCC “center”: (more than 30 miles out from airport) (flight following)

Typical initial communication to air traffic control involves five items:

ATC functions:

 Clearance delivery
 Ground control
 Control tower
 App/dept control

FSS (radio)

 Weather info to pilots

 Are referred as radio

7600: If you have a radio failure, you may want to land at an airport without a control tower so no
radios communications is required.
To enter and land at a non-tower airport:

 Overfly th airport 500 feet above the TP altitude

 Observe the direction and flow traffic
 Join the TP and land
 Transmit intentions

Landing in an airport with a control tower

 7600
 Above and outside class D airspace
 Observe the direction and flow traffic
 Join the TP and land
 Transmit intentions
 Look for light gun signals (green, red or withe) from tower then acknowledge: Day: rocking
the wings; night: flashing landing lights
 ATIS information includes Wind direction and speed, clouds and significant weather, runway
in use and airfield NOTAMS

MANU NON-TOWERD AIRPORTS HAVE A UNICOM: Radio usually operated by the airport
operator or fuel seller, provides airport advisory including wind direction and strength &
Runway in use

 Turn into the crosswind when you are 300 feet below the TP altitude.
 TP altitude is generally 1000 feet AGL
 Abeam (adjacent to) the runway numbers
 TO turn into base your altitude should be about 700-800 feet AGL
 Turns to the laft ar called standard turns/ right turns are called non-standards

CTAF frequency at an airports with a control tower followed by a small blue circle with a white “C”
inside it.

Use this frequency when the tower is closed or the airport has not control tower
At and airport without a control tower CTAF is usually the UNICOM frequency (say airport name
and the beginning and the end of the transmission

If there is no control tower or assigned UNICOM frequency the airport will use the generic
common traffic advisory frequency 122.9 also referred as MULTICOM (also shown on sectional
chart), the same self-announcement procedures should be use

AIRPORTS WITHOUT A TOWER

To maintain the same path over the ground as in a No-wind condition

You have to adjust your bank angle and rate of turn

The faster your ground speed is

 More rate of turn

 More angle of bank

The faster your ground speed is

 Less rate of turn.

 Less angle of bank
GROUND REFERENCE MANOUVERS

All GRM are

 Entered on the downwind

o Ground speed is greater
o Bank is steepest
 Performed at 600´ to 1.000´ feet AGL

BEFORE START SNY GRM YOU SHOULD

 Perform a pre maneuver check list

 Perform clearing turns
 Have an emergency landing site picked up.

Enter the maneuver 45 degrees to downwind

Exit the maneuver at the end of the downwind leg.

TURNS AROUND A POINT

You can use the same principles as in the rectangular course

STEEP TO PERFORM S-TURNS

TAKEOFF BRIEFINGS

CHORRD

 Conditions
 Hazards
 Operational changes
 Runway required vs Runway available
 Return procedures
 Departure plans

Lights/Camera/Action
Flaps up at a safe altitude (200 feet AGL) and at least 60knots

LANDINGS

Base leg 1.4 Vso (1.4 times of the stalling speed in a landing configuration) 75 knots

Final approach 1.3 Vso (1.3 times of the stalling speed in a landing configuration) 65 knots

A decent profile of 300 feet per NM is consider normal for final approach landing

Runway slope up = the airplane looks high

Runway slope down = the airplane looks low

Narrow Runway= the airplane looks high

Wide slope down = the airplane looks low

CROSSWIND LANDINGS
VASI (visual approach slope indicator)

Red over white = on glide path

Red over red = below the glide path

With over with = above glide path

PAPI (Precision approach glide indicator)

The pulsating VASI or PVASI

The tri-color VASI

Amber = too high

Green = on glide path

Red= below glide path

*May briefly appear amber when transitioning from green to red

DO, OBSERVE, ADJUST

THE STALLING SPEED IS A NOT FIXED VALUE FOR ALL FLIGHT SITUATIONS

Decreases as I add Flaps

Vs = 48

Vso = 40

30 degrees banck in TP

A stall is said to be:

Imminent: when buffeting is occurring with the stall horn sounding

Full: when the nose drops itself as the result of loss of lift
Power on stall simulate a stall after taking off (using no flaps)

Power off stall simulate a stall in the landing pattern (full flaps)

A SPIN IS A STALL IN WICH ONE WING IS MORE FULLY STALL THAN THE OTHER

P = power

A = Alerons

R = Rudder

E = Elevator

WEATHER

Every physical process of weather is the result of a HEAT EXCHAGE

Warmer air is less dense and rises

This cycle is what causes thunderstorm

The atmosphere:

78% nitrogen

21% oxygen

1% other gases
The atmosphere can be divided in two layers

Troposphere: (where weather occurs and most flying occurs)

Surface to 30.000 feet

 Higher near to equator = 50000-60000 feet

 Lower near the poles = 20000-30000 feet
 Higher in the summer than in the winter

Stratosphere: (where the temperature changes little with altitude)

 Atmosphere above troposphere

 Air remains stable

Tropopause:

 Boundary between these two layers

 Is where jet streams cores commonly occur (jet stream wind vary from 50 to 150 knots)

Lines of pressure: where the pressure is equal (ISOBARS)

WINDS ALOFT

Attempt to move from high pressure to low pressure

Flows parallel to the ISOBARS due to the Coriolis effect

 Caused by the rotation effect

 Causes the deflection of air currents to the right in the northern hemisphere
o High pressure areas= air rotates to the right
o Low pressure areas= Air rotates to the left
 Is absent at the equator
 Wind near the air are modified due to surface friction

MOISTURE

Can be added to the atmosphere by

 Evaporation
 Sublimation

Can also change its state by

 Condensation
 Deposition (desublimation)

The amount of moisture the air can hold depends on temperature

 Warmer air old more moisture

 Cooler air hold lees moisture

DEW POINT: Point at which the air is cooled to the temperature at which it can hold no more
moisture

Temp = Dew: air saturated and condensation will occur (fog and low clouds are likely to develop)

Temp = Dew:

 Above freezing clouds fog or dew will develop

 Below freezing Frost, snow or ice will develop

1000 Feet altitude increase the temperature decreases of:

 The standard (average) atmosphere is 2 DEGREES C.

 Unsaturated air is 3 DEGREES C.
 Dew point is 5 DEGREES C.

TO CALCULATE THE BASE (in thousands of feet) WHERE THE CLOUDS WILL FORM ABOVE AGL

TEMP-DEW/2.5 degrees C
Example: Surface temp: 35 C, Dew point 30 C, Airport elevation 500 feet.

35-30=5; 5/2.5=2 per 1000= 2000 feet AGL

500 + 2000= 2500 feet MSL

CLOUDS

The type of cloud that form is dependent on whether they are stable or unstable air.

Unstable air: tend to stay warmer, less dense and lighter and keep on rising

 Cumuliform clouds
 Showery precipitation
 Turbulence
 Good visibility

Stable air: cool to below the temp of the surrounding air, be more dense, stop rising.

 Stratus could
 Steady precipitation
 Smooth air or very little turbulence
 Reduced visibility
Nimbo or nimbus means rain cloud

Clouds are divided into four families

High (cirruform): 16.500-45.000feet in the middle altitudes; cirrus, cirrocumulus & cirrostratus

Middle (alto): 5.500-23.000 feet in the middle altitudes: altostratus, altocumulus

Low: from surface to about 6.500 feet; stratus, stratocumulus, & fair-weather cumulus

Clouds with extensive vertical development: may extend from 1.000 as high as 60.000 feet:
towering cumulus, cumulonimbus

Cumulonimbus = lifting force, unstable air, moist

THUNDERSTORM IS CREATED WHEN AIR

Is forced to rise

In unstable air

Sufficient water vapor

Stages:

 Cumulus stage: very strong updrafts

 Mature stage: Downdrafts within 2500 fpm, strong & gusty surface wind, temperature
drop, rapid rise in pressure, most hazards to aircraft, updrafts within 6000 fpm
 Dissipating stage: Downdraft, still dangerous, may form hail or severe turbulence

Thunderstorm Types:

Air mass thunderstorms:

 20 mins-1 ½ hrs. in duration (because cut the supply of water vapor, it is self-destructing
 Isolated
 Associated with convective lifting

Frontal thunderstorm: (associated with squall lines)

 Steady state thunderstorm

 Associated with fronts
 Last many hrs because precipitation falls outside the updraft area due to the storm leaning
as it moves
  The cells strengthen with the energy of the water vapor

THUNDERSTORM HAZARDS

 Squall line thunderstorms

o May contain tornadoes, large hail, very heavy rain, strong winds)
o Are the most hazardous because they: have long life cycles, more rapidly, huge
amount of energy
o Usually reach max intensity during the late afternoon and first few hrs. aft dark.
 Wind shear
o Occur when a rapidly change in the direction wind an velocity
o Happens usually in thunderstorms and can be violent
 Gust front (thunderstorm downdraft
o Hits the ground
o Fans out in front of a thunderstorm
o May change in direction and velocity
 Embedded thunderstorm
o Hidden in other clouds
o Particularly dangerous for IFR pilots
AIR MASSES (huge body of air)

Classified as to its origin by temp and water content

 Continental for dry

 Maritime for moist
 Polar for cold
 Tropical for warm

FRONT

Boundary of two air masses with different temperatures

 Cold front
o Advance cold air displaces warm air (equal to the speed of the wind component)
 Warm front
o Advance warm air displaces cold air (Half to the speed of the wind component)

 Stationary front: when the frontal movement is less than 5 knots

 Occluded cloud front

SQUALL LINES

Created by a pressure wave in advance of a fast-moving cold front that can create a line of
significant thunderstorm
FOG: that touch the surface composed of water droplets or ice crystal.

Types:

 Radiation Fog: Air near the ground cool with:

o A clear evening
o High humidity
o Light or no wind
o Sometimes with temp inversion form
o Heat is radiated by space and ground cools rapidly

 Advection Fog
o Required wind for development
o Deeper fog than radiation fog
o Warm air flows over a surface
o The cool surface cools the air to the dew point
o Form in winter (coastal areas)
 Upslope Fog
o Required wind for development
o Result of air raising
o Occurs when stable air is forced to rise up a mountain slope
 Precipitation-induced Fog
o Relative warm rain or drizzle falls through the cool air
o Found on rain or drizzle falls into the cool air
o Below an approaching warm front
 Steam Fog
o From the bodies of water
o Requires wind
o Cold air flows from the land over the warm water
o Contain ice conditions and low-level turbulence

MICROBURST

 Small-scale downdraft
 Produced by some thunderstorms
 Goes all directions
o Microburst wind shears
 Can affect all type of aircrafts
 Especially hazardous at low altitudes
 Particularly during take-off and landings
 Generally, less than 15 mins

On take-off: Add full power & pitch to a go around attitude

On landing: Increase power and go around

TERBULANCE

Coused by windshear

 Light turbulence
 Light chop
 Moderate turbulence
 Moderate chop
 Severe turbulence
 Extreme turbulence

Turbulence and chop ar reported as

 Occasional: occurring less than 1/3 of the time

 Intermittent: occurring less than 1/3 – 2/3 of the time
 Continuous: occurring more than 2/3 of the time

CONVECTIVER TURBULANCE (hot air turbulence)

TURBULANCE IN THE MOUNTAINS

A MOUNTAIN WAVE
CLEAR AIR TURBULANCE (CAT)

 Turbulence above 15.000 feet

 In clear air
 Not associated with convective activity
 Most often associated with jet stream
 Best determined from pilot reporting available by listening to other flight en-route/ calling
the FFS

IN YOU ENCOUNTER TURBULANCE SLOW TO MANEUVERING

SPEED ANS DEPARTURE THE TURBULANCE AREA

Types of icing:

Cold-weather hazards when flying include:

 Frost
 Ice
 Freezing rain
o FROST: when temp cools to the dew point and both the dew and the surrounding
air is colder than freezing/ when surface temp of the aircraft is colder than
freezing
 Can reduce total lift
 Can disrupt airflow
 Increase stall speed
 May prevent the airplane from becoming airborne at a normal take-off
o ICE: can form on an aircraft when the aircraft is in visible moisture & when the
temperature of the air is below freezing
 Clouds
 Rain
 Snow
FREEZING RAIN

 Temp inversion
 Is most likely to occur with a warm front/ cold air in front of the front
 Rain freezes as it falls forming ice pallets with reach the surface (if you see ice pallets on
the ground there is a freezing rain above, it is not a good day to fly)
 Can render the airplane unflyable in mins.
o On the wing shape (decrease lift, increase stall speed, increase drag)

NOT FLYING IN KNOWN ICING CONDITIONS

REMOVE ALL FROST AND ICE FORMS FROM THE AIRCRAFT BEFORE FLYING

ON THE AIR, FLY AWASY OF THESE AREAS (visible moisture)

WEATHER BREIFINGS

You can get your briefing from

 A specialist at a flight service station (FSS)

 Online via www.1800wxbrief.com
 By calling 800-WXBRIEF (800-992-7433)
o Type of briefing you require: Standard, Abbreviated, Outlook
o Type of flight (VFR, IFR)
o Aircraft ID (N number) or pilots name
o Type of aircraft
o Departure airport
o ETD
o Flight altitude
o Route of flight
o Destination
 o ETE

STANDARD BREIFING
Most detailed of all briefings

Obtain the following info in sequential order

Adverse conditions

 Thunderstorm
 Turbulence
 Icing
 Windshear
 Reduced visibility &
 Other important items such as airports closes

VFR flight not recommended

Synopsis: overview of the overall weather picture including fronts and major weather system

Current conditions including

 Current surface weather information

 PIREPS
 Satellite and radar data along the rout of flight
 Veiling and visibility
 Wind
 Temp

En Route Forecast

Destination forecast

Winds Aloft

NOTAMS

ATC delays

Other info

ABBREVIATED BREIFING

 Based on the info the pilot request

 Should be requested when departure has been delayed or specific info needed to update
previous briefing

OUTLOOK BREIFING

 Is requested for a planned departure more than 6 hrs away

  Can be use to determining route of flight, altitude, go or no go decision
 Should be followed by S. Briefing prior to departure

ONLINE WEAATHER RESOURCES

 www.1800wxbrief.com
 The weather briefing info is noted in chapter 7 of the AIM
 FLTPLAN.com
 Aviation weather center (AWC)

AIR DENSITY

At high altitude air is less dense

High density altitude: this means that the air is less dense, and the engine and wings have fewer
molecules to work with

Indicated altitude: read directly from the altimeter, using the local altimeter settings

Pressure altitude: indicated altitude corrected for non-standard pressure, what you altimeter
indicates when the altimeter window is set to 29.92 (standard pressure at sea level)

Density altitude: Pressure altitude corrected for non-standard temp (tell how well the airplane will
perform)
Density altitude will be increased and performance decrease with (Lower climb rates & longer
take-off and landing distances):

 High altitude
 High humidity
 High temperature
TOLD

PA = (29.92 – less current altimeter settings) * 1000 + field elevation

Example:

 Current altimeter settings is 29.98

 Field elevation is 423 MSL
o 29.92(standard setting) -29.98 = -.06
o -.06 * 1000 = -60
o -60 + 423 = 363 PA
DA = (120 * temperature deviation from standard) + PA

Example:

 Pressure altitude is 5000 feet

 Temperature is 27 Degrees Celsius
 Compute standard temperature at your altitude
o 5*2=10
o 15-10=5 C (standards temperature, or ISA at 5000 feet)
 Compute actual temperature deviation from ISA at your altitude
o 27 C – 5 C = 22 C warmer than standards (ISA+22)
 Compute the correction for a non-standard temp
o 120*22 = 2640 feet
 Add the correction to your pressure altitude
o 2640 + 5000 = 7640 DA

Taking off and landings should be avoided

 A 10 % GS on final approach
 Can result in a 20% increase in landing distance
TAKE OFF & LANDING COMPUTATIONS

Type of runway surface

hard, smooth & dry (optimum aircraft performance)

dirt, grass, gravel, sand, crushed rock, and pierced steel plank (will always require
longer take off roll)

 Runway gradient (slope)

 Increasing
o take off distance uphill
o Landing distance downhill
 Decreasing
o Take off distance downhill
o Landing distance uphill

In the chart supplement runway slope will only be listed when

o Runway has an instrument App procedure

o Slope 0.3 or greater

Vx (angle on a given distance) & Vy (rate on a given time)

 Proper speed to fly to get the computed performance

PERFORMANCE CHARTS

Short field take off Distance

TIME FUE AND DISTANCE TO CLIMB
CRUISE PERFEORMANCE COMPUTATIONS
SHORT-FIELD LANDING COMPUTATIONS
AIRPLANE WEIGHT AND BALANCE

 Empty wight
o Airframe
o Engine
o Installed equipment
o Unusable fuel
o Full engine oil
 Ramp weight
o Also called Max gross weight
o Max allowable weight and its contents
 Max Take-off Weight
o Max allowable weight at the start of the take-off roll
o Max Ramp weight less fuel used for taxi
 Useful load: difference between
o Empty weight, and the
o Max ramp weight
 Center of gravity (CG)
o A calculated point
o Where the entire weight of the aircraft may be concentrated

Arm: Location in reference to a reference datum

Moment = Weight * Arm

CG = Total of moments / total of weights

BALANCE

CG forward of the fore limit: making it difficult to rise the nose

CG Aft of the Aft limit: making the airplane unstable & difficult or impossible to recover from a
stall

Aviation gas (avgas) is 6 pounds per gallon

Oil is 7.5 pounds per gallon (empty weight already includes full oil.)

Charts, tables, and graphs used in weight and balance computations include
  A loading arrangement chart
 A weight and movements tabulation table
 An airplane center of gravity C.G. graph (center of gravity limits)
 A load movement/1000 graph (loading graph)
 A loaded airplane movement/1000 graph (center of gravity movement envelope)

LATITUD AND LONGITUD

AIRPORT SYMBOLS

Military airports (MCAS, NAS, AFB)

Joint-use can be use as any other public-use airport

Flight data center NOTAMS, FDC deal with changes
to instrument procedures and nav charts

ENGINE FAILURE PROCEDURES

ABC

Attitude for best glide speed

Best field selected

Cockpit checks performed

ENGINE FAILURE RE-START PROCEDURE

EMERGENCY APPROACH AND LANDING

ABC

ENGINE FAILURE DURING TAKEOFF ROLL

ENGINE FAILURE AFTER TAKEOFF

FIRES

ENGINE FIRE IN FLIGHT

Then complete the remaining items on the check list

ELECTRICAL FIRE IN FLIGHT

Then complete the remaining items on the check list

AIRSPACE
Class E

CLASS D AIRSPACE
CLASS C AIRSPACE

Class B AIRSPACE