Interview Preparation

Second Officer - Technical

Important notice: Information contained in this work has been obtained from
sources believed to be reliable. However, no one will guarantee the accuracy or
completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely
on this source when you do your preparation for the interview. Good luck!
 Personal Questions
Here is a list of questions where there is a big chance to be asked a couple of them
and you need to be well-prepared to answer them freely.

Talk about yourself.

Why do you want to become a pilot?

Give an example of when you were a leader.

Why should we hire you over others?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

What was the most difficult part of your flying training?

What do you know about Gulf Air and its fleet?

What do you know about Airbus A320?

How was the ground school?

As a pilot, how can you generate profit/reduce expenses for the company?

What is the most difficult decision you made in your life?

Important notice: Information contained in this work has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, no 2
one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
V.4 source when you do your preparation for the interview. Good luck!!
 About Gulf Air

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, commenced operations in
1950, becoming one of the first commercial airlines established in the Middle East.
The airline operates scheduled flights from its hub at Bahrain International Airport
to more than 55 destinations in cities in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Indian sub-
continent, and the Far East.

Gulf Air currently serves all its destinations with a combination of wide and
narrow body fleet of 33 aircraft of Boeing and Airbus aircraft.

Gulf Air’s fleet consists of:

These figures were taken from Wikipedia, please double-check.

Aircraft In service Orders Total

Airbus A320-200 11 — 11
Airbus A320neo 6 6 12
Airbus A321-200 4 — 4
Airbus A321LR 5 4 9
Airbus A321neo — 8 8
Total A320 Family 26 18 44
Boeing 787-9 7 3 10
Total 33 21 54

Vision
To be the regional airline of choice with a global footprint and best in class

Mission
• To connect the Kingdom of Bahrain to the world.
• To enhance the customer experience by providing safe, reliable and seamless
travel, combined with our culture and delivered with unique Arabian
hospitality.
• To be an employer of choice driving an innovative, commercially sustainable
business that supports the economy of the Kingdom of Bahrain and is built on
the highest levels of integrity and corporate social responsibility.

Our values are rooted in QUALITY and EXCELLENCE, by nurturing TRUST and
RESPECT, with our people at the heart of our business.

Please get more details about Gulf Air

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 About Airbus A320

Airbus is one of the world’s leading commercial aircraft manufacturers. Airbus

manufactures many types of aircraft, such A320, A330, A340, A380 and the new
generation of A350.

The Airbus A320 is a series narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engines jet

airliners. The family includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321.

Aircraft of A320 family such as A321 can accommodate up to 230 passengers and
some models has a range of up to 3,750 NM and a maximum takeoff weight
MTOW of up to 93,500 kg.

The A320 is usually equipped with twin engines of CFM56 which is considered a
high-bypass turbofan engine (bypass ratio up to 6:1). The CFM56 is a two-shaft (or
two-spool) engine, meaning that there are two rotating shafts, one high-pressure
and one low-pressure.

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
V.4 source when you do your preparation for the interview. Good luck!!
 Technical Questions
Aerodynamics

What are the forces acting on an aircraft in flight.

Drag, Thrust, Lift and Weight.

Lift: is a phenomenon generated by an aerofoil due to pressure difference above

and under the aerofoil.

CL: Coefficient of Lift; is the lifting ability of a particular wing. It depends on both
the wing shape (fixed) and the angle of attack (variable).

What are the high-lift devices?

1. Leading edge flaps and slats
2. Trailing edge flaps
3. Slots

Drag: is the resistance to motion of an aircraft through the air.

Total Drag= Induced Drag + Parasite Drag

Induced Drag: is the drag caused by creating lift with a high angle of attack and is
associated with wing-tip vortices.

Parasite Drag: is the drag caused by the movement of the aircraft through the air.
• Form Drag: is caused by the aircraft’s shape and the flow of air around it
• Skin-friction Drag: is the resistance due to the contact of moving air with the
surface of an aircraft
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 • Interference Drag: is caused by the intersection of aircraft parts. i.e., wing &
fuselage

VMD: Minimum Drag Speed; is the speed at which Parasite Drag is equal to
Induced Drag. It also represents the best lift-drag ratio that will provide the
maximum endurance.

Angle of Attack: is the angle between the relative airflow and the cord line of the
wing.

Chord line: is a straight line between the leading edge and the trailing edge of an
aerofoil.

Mean Chord line: is the wing area divided by the wingspan.

Mean Aerodynamic Chord: is the average chord length of a tapered or swept

wing.

The Camber line: is an imaginary line which lies halfway between the upper
surface and lower surface of the airfoil.

Aspect Ratio: is the ratio of the wingspan and the wing’s mean chord.

Stall: is loss of lift, when the airflow on

the upper side of a wing, which
produces lift, breaks away from the
surface when the critical angle of attack
is reached.

What is the biggest disadvantage of a T-tail aircraft?

Superstall (Deep Stall) is the biggest disadvantage of a T-tail aircraft. It is a stall
from which, an aircraft is unable to recover. This mainly happens because of the
pitch-up tendency at stall and the ineffective tailplane.

How do you recover from a stall?

By releasing back pressure (reducing the angle of attack) and increasing the thrust.

What are the main flight controls?

1. Elevator: Controls the motion around the lateral axis, known as pitch.
2. Ailerons: Controls the motions around the longitudinal axis, known as roll.
3. Rudder: Controls the motion around the vertical axis, known as yaw.

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 What are the different types of wings?
Rectangular, Elliptical, Tapered, Delta, Sweptback, High-wing, Low-wing, Anhedral and Dihedral.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of sweptback wings?

• Advantages:
o High Mach cruise speeds: the sweptback feature allows the aircraft to fly at
higher Mach speeds as it increases Mcrit.
o Stability in Turbulence: As the sweptback wing produces less lift, it is less
sensitive to updraughts and therefore, smoother, and more stable ride in
gusty conditions.
• Disadvantages:
o Poor lift qualities
o Higher stall speeds: a consequence of poor lift qualities.
o Speed instability: also, a consequence of poor lift qualities at lower speeds.
o A wing-tip stalling tendency

What are winglets?

Winglets are aerodynamically efficient surfaces
located at the wing tips, used to dispense the
spanwise airflow from the upper and lower
surfaces at different points, therefore,
preventing the intermixing of these airflows that
would create wingtip vortices.

Vortex generators: are located on the upper surface of a wing to create a slightly
disturbed and so, denser airflow perpendicular to the wing.

Fences: are used to prevent the spanwise airflow from reaching the wingtips.

What is the primary use of flaps on a jet aircraft?

The primary use of flaps, especially on a jet aircraft, is to increase lift by extending
the chord of the wing, which increases its camber and area.

What are the types of flaps?

• Trailing edge flaps
1. Plain
2. Fowler Split flap Fowler flap
3. Split
plain flap
4. Slotted
• Leading edge flaps Slotted flap
Slat & flap
1. Krueger
2. Slats

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 Effect of flaps and slots on maximum lift coefficient and stalling angle:

What are Fowler flaps?

Fowler flaps are trailing-edge flaps used to increase the wing area and camber,
which increases the CLmax.

What are Krueger flaps?

Krueger flaps are leading-edge flaps used the increase the wing camber and
therefore, increases the CLmax.

What are Slats?

Slats are leading-edge devices that are used to increase the critical angle of attack
when extended, by energizing the air flow.

Effect of slat/slot on airflow over an aerofoil at large angle of attack:

No slats/slots

slats/slots

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 What is the difference between Flap and Slat?
Both flaps and slats are used to generate more lift. However, the flaps will
increase the CLmax, while slats will increase the critical angle of attack.

What is a stabilizer?
A stabilizer is an all-moving horizontal tailplane, which provides longitudinal
balancing force to the aircraft. Thus, the elevator range is not compromised and
used solely to control the pitch of the aircraft.

What are the spoilers?

Spoilers consists of opening panels that extend from the upper surface of the wing
and have the effect of spoiling the airflow over the wing, thereby reducing lift.
Spoilers are used as air speed brakes, ground lift dumpers and to assist the
ailerons rolling the aircraft.

What is the center of pressure?

Center of pressure is a single point acting on the wing chord line at a right angle to
the relative airflow, through which, the wing’s lifting force is produced.

Directional Stability: is the tendency for an aircraft to regain its direction after the
aircraft has been directionally disturbed from its straight path.

Lateral Stability: is the tendency for an aircraft to return to a laterally level

position around the longitudinal axis on release of the aileron on a sideslip.

Longitudinal Stability: is the tendency for an aircraft to neutrally return to its

stable pitch around its lateral axis after a disturbance.

What is Dutch Roll and how to prevent it?

Dutch Roll is an oscillatory movement of an aircraft combines both rolling and
yawing motion that is associated with swept wing aircraft and high Mach speeds.
The Dutch Roll is induced by the yawing motion first, which lets the outer wing to
be more straight into the airflow, leading to an increase in its lift and therefore, to
be raised causing a rolling motion. The outer wing will rise till it stalls and the roll
will be opposed. This motion will keep repeating causing the oscillatory motion.
Dutch Roll is mainly prevented by the yaw dumper.

What is an Adverse Yaw and how is it prevented?

Adverse Yaw is the yawing motion to the opposite direction of the roll, caused by
the increased drag on the outer wing due to increased lift. It is prevented by
design, differential ailerons are designed to deflect each aileron at a different
angle to prevent adverse yawing.

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 What is coffin corner?
Coffin corner occurs at an aircraft’s
absolute ceiling, where the speeds at
which Mach number buffet and pre-stall
buffet occurs coincidently.

Mcrit: Critical Mach Number; is the Mach number at which the airflow over any
part of the aircraft reaches the speed of sound.

Mach Tuck: is the nose-down pitch tendency caused by the movement of the
center of pressure due to the rearward movement of the shockwave above Mcrit
speed.

Mach Trimmer: is a device that trims the aircraft automatically to prevent Mach
Tuck.

Trim Tab: is a small, hinged surface found on the trailing-edge of the primary
control surfaces that is used to provide trimming and control balance to reduce
the pilot’s effort.

Ground effect: is the effect of reduced drag close to the ground (around half
wingspan) due to the reduced wingtip vortices and reduced downwash.

Positive G-force: is the influence of the force of gravity on the environment under
it.

Negative G-force: is the influence of the force of gravity on the environment

above it.

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 Aircraft Systems & Instruments / Electrics

What aircraft systems are hydraulically powered?

1. Landing gear
2. Brakes and Anti-skid system
3. Nose-wheel steering
4. Flight controls
• Elevator
• Ailerons
• Rudder and yaw damper
• Spoilers
• Trailing edge flaps
• Leading edge flaps
5. Stairs
6. Doors

Why are control surfaces hydraulically powered on large aircraft?

On large, fast, modern jet aircraft, it is found that control forces required to move
a control surface are beyond the strength of a pilot and are also too great to be
controlled by a pure aerodynamic design.

Why does a powered control surface need an artificial feel system?

Artificial feel system is required because power-operated control surfaces do not
feed back to the pilot about how hard the control surface so that he don’t
overstress the control surface.

What are the pressure flight instruments?

1. Airspeed Indicator AI
2. Altimeter
3. Vertical Speed Indicator VSI

What are the gyro flight instruments?

1. Heading Indicator
2. Attitude Indicator/Artificial Horizon
3. Turn and Slip Coordinator

What is IDG?
Integrated Drive Generator; is an Electrical generator which provides Electricity for
the Aircraft systems. It consists of a generator and CSD.

CSD: Constant-speed drive unit; maintain the AC frequency output of an

alternator, normally to 400 Hz.
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 DC: Direct current; is an electrical power that flows in only one direction around a
circuit.

AC: Alternating current; is an electrical current that continuously reverses its

direction of flow in an electric circuit.

Name the converters.

• AC to DC: Rectifier
• DC to AC: Inverter

What is a bus bar?

A distribution point for electrical power.

What is a Hot Bus-bar "Direct bus-bar"?

Directly connected to the battery.

TCAS: Traffic Collision Avoidance System; provides traffic information and

maneuver advice between aircraft if their flight paths are conflicting with each
other.

TA: Traffic advisory; is a

warning generated for other
traffic that may become a
threat. No maneuver is advised
or should be taken.

RA: Resolution Advisory; is a

warning generated when
aircraft is on a collision course
and advice on a maneuver in
the pitching plane to avoid the
collision.

GPWS: Ground Proximity Warning System; generates advisory Alerts and

mandatory response Warnings to the flight crew in respect of their proximity to
terrain.

VDF: VHF Direction Finder.

ADF: Automatic Direction Finder.

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 HSI: Horizontal Situation Indicator; is a key instrument in an IFR flight. It combines
heading indicator and VOR-ILS display.

Define the below-mentioned speeds.

IAS: Indicated Airspeed; is a measure of dynamic pressure, translated to speed
and displayed on the airspeed indicator.
CAS: Calibrated Airspeed; is the IAS corrected for instrument and position errors.
EAS: Equivalent Airspeed; is the CAS corrected for compressibility.
TAS: True Airspeed; is the actual speed of an aircraft through the airmass in which
it is flying. And it is the EAS corrected for non-standard temperature variation.
Ground Speed: is the actual speed of an aircraft relative the ground. And it is the
TAS corrected for tailwind/headwind.

Mach Number: The True Airspeed (TAS) of an aircraft expressed as a percentage

relative to the local speed of sound.

Local Speed of Sound: is the speed at which sound travels around the aircraft.

Slip: Turn coordinator’s ball is inside the turn, high bank, little rudder

Skid: Turn coordinator’s ball is outside the turn, low bank, high rudder

What systems protects against a stall?

• Stall Warner: They are either an artificial audio warning and/or a stick
shaker, which usually are activated at or just before the onset of the pre-
stall buffet.

• Stick Pushers: They are normally used only on aircraft with super-stall
qualities and usually activate after the stall warning but before the stall,
giving an automatic nose-down command.

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 Engines

What is Bernoulli’s Principle?

Bernoulli's principle states that the total pressure equals the static pressure plus
the dynamic pressure.

Explain a venturi.
A venturi is a practical application of Bernoulli’s principle. A venturi tube has an
inlet that narrows to the throat, forming a converging duct and resulting in an
increase in velocity, a decrease in static pressure and a decrease in the static
temperature.

What are the stages of combustion?

4-stroke piston engine Jet engine
1. Induction 1. Induction
2. Compression 2. Compression
3. Power 3. Combustion
4. Exhaust 4. Turbine
5. Exhaust

What are the different types of aircraft engines?

• Piston engine
• Turbo Jet Engine
• Turbo Fan Engine

What is the theory of a Jet engine?

A jet engine produces thrust by propelling the aircraft forward as a result of
thrusting a large weight of air rearward. Thrust = Airmass x Velocity.

What is specific fuel consumption (SFC)?

SFC is the quantity/weight (lb) of fuel consumed per hour divided by the thrust of
an engine in pounds.

What is the difference between Turbo Jet and Turbo Fan engines?
A turbofan is a more advanced type of turbojet engine. A turbojet sucks in air and
compresses it, creating combustion of fuel. A turbofan has a large fan that sucks in
a lot of air, but only part of it is used to fuel the engine’s combustion, the rest
exiting as exhaust. This makes it less noisy, more powerful and having better fuel
efficiency.

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
V.4 source when you do your preparation for the interview. Good luck!!
 What is the principle of the bypass engine?
The principle of the bypass engine is that it replaces the need of a higher exhaust
velocity with a higher mass flow of exhaust air. This is done by increasing the
amount of intake air which passes through the bypass duct.

Typical Turbofan (bypass) engine design:

Bypass Ratio: is the ratio of airmass flow passed through the bypass duct to the
airmass flow passed through the engine core.

EPR: Engine Pressure Ratio; is the ratio of turbine’s outlet air pressure to
compressor’s inlet air pressure.

Explain Newton’s First Law.

A body will remain at rest or in uniform motion unless a force by an external
source was applied.

Explain Newton’s Second Law.

Force = Mass x Acceleration.

Explain Newton’s Third Law.

For every action in nature, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

When and where is a jet engine at its most efficient, and why?
At high altitudes and high RPM speeds, around 90% to 95% of the maximum
operating speed. This high RPM speed results in the engine’s optimum SFC and the
drag is lower at higher altitudes due to reduced air density, therefore, less fuel
consumption.
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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 Performance / Mass & Balance / Flight Planning

Draw a runway and explain ASDA, TORA, TODA and LDA on the drawn runway?

LDA: Landing Distance Available

TORA: Takeoff Run Available
ASDA: Accelerate-Stop Distance Available
TODA: Takeoff Distance Available

Explain a balanced field.

A balanced field exists when TODA = ASDA or, in other words, when the end of the
clearway is the end of the stopway, and the aircraft achieves the screen height
over the end of the runway in all cases.

VMCG: is the minimum speed on the ground for a multiengine aircraft to maintain
directional control after the failure of an engine.

VMCA: is the minimum speed in the air for a multiengine aircraft to maintain
directional control after the failure of an engine.

V1: is the takeoff decision speed at which an aircraft must abort the takeoff in
case of an engine failure before that speed.

VR: Rotation speed; is the speed at which the pilot initiates rotation during the
takeoff to achieve V2 at the screen height.

V2: is the target speed the aircraft should attain prior to or before reaching the
screen height. Which in the event of an engine failure, the aircraft can maintain
adequate directional control and climb performance properties.

VMBE: Maximum Braking Energy Speed

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 Vs: Stall speed; is the speed the which the airflow over the wings will stall.

Vs0: Stall speed at landing configuration

Vs1: Stall speed at a specific configuration

Screen Height: is the minimum heigh that should be achieved before the end of
the clearway, it also marks the end of the takeoff distance.

What is a wet V1 and how does screen height change with a wet V1?
Wet V1 is the takeoff decision speed when the runway is contaminated. The
screen height reduces with a wet V1.

What are the takeoff segments?

• First segment: starts at the screen height, 35 ft till the gear is fully-retracted
• Second segment: Starts when the gear is fully-retracted till the flap
retraction altitude, usually 400 ft AGL
• Third segment: Starts at the flaps retraction altitude and ends when the
flaps are fully-retracted and thrust is set to MCT
• Fourth segment: starts when the thrust is set to MCT and flaps are fully-
retracted, this segment ends when the aircraft is climbed to 1500 ft AGL

What are the approach segments?

1. Initial Approach Segment: IAF to IF
2. Intermediate Approach Segment: IF to FAF or FAP
3. Final Approach Segment FAF or FAP to MAP
4. Missed Approach Segment MAP to the designated point

A narrow or up-sloping runway will give the appearance of the runway being
longer, and the airplane on final being higher than normal.

A wide or down-sloping runway will give the appearance of the runway being
shorter, and the airplane on final being lower than normal.

Vx: is the speed for best angle-of-climb

Vy: is the speed for best rate-of-climb

VMO/MMO: is the maximum operating speed/Mach number

VNO: Normal operating speed permitted for all normal operations

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 VNE: Never Exceed speed

Absolute Ceiling: is the altitude at which the maximum rate of climb is zero. It
happens at the altitude where the pre-stall buffet and Mach buffet occurs
coincidently.

Service Ceiling: is the maximum operating altitude that provide a safety margin
below its absolute altitude.

Maximum Endurance: is the maximum time an aircraft can remain airborne with a
specific amount of fuel. This is achieved by flying at the maximum endurance
speed, which is the minimum drag speed (VMD).

Maximum Range: is the maximum distance an aircraft can cover with a specific
quantity of fuel. This is achieved by flying at the maximum range speed, which is
slightly higher than VMD.

Cost Index: is a performance management function that optimizes the aircraft’s

speed to the minimum cost. The ratio between the operating cost to fuel cost.
• CI 0 = Minimum fuel consumption (maximum range)
• CI 999 = Minimum time

Describe Center of Gravity (CG)

Center of Gravity is the point through which the total weight of an aircraft will act.

Describe the characteristics associated with forward and aft CG position.

Fwd CG Aft CG
Longitudinal stability High Low
Maneuverability Low High
Drag High Low
Stall speed High Low
Fuel consumption High Low
Range Low High
Stick force High Low

How does the stall speed vary with weight?

The heavier the aircraft, the higher is the stall speed.

Moment: is the turning force of a weight around the datum. It is the product of
the weight multiplied by the arm: Moment = Weight x Arm
Important notice: Information contained in this work has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, no 18
one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
V.4 source when you do your preparation for the interview. Good luck!!
 CG aft: less drag, less fuel, less stable, lower stall type
CG fwd: more drag, more fuel, more elevator force dom
Arm: is the distance from the datum to the point at which the weight of a with
component acts (CG).
inter
031-02 Loading
Aircraft Loading Explained.
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031-02-02 Mass Limits
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Maximum Floor Load: mass per area (e.g. kg/m )
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031-02-03 Mass Calculations

seats 1–5 6–9 10 – 19

basic
male 104 kg 96 kg 92 kg
Important notice: Information contained in this work has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, no 19
female 86 kg 78 kg 74 kg
one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
V.4 source when you do your preparation for the interview. Good luck!! 031
 Metrology
What is meteorology?
It is simply the scientific study of the atmosphere.

What is the atmosphere?

The atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the earth.

What are the gasses surrounding the atmosphere?

78% Nitrogen, 20.95% Oxygen, 0.03 carbon dioxide, 0.92 arrogant.

What are the layers of atmosphere?

• Troposphere
• Stratosphere
• Mesosphere
• Thermosphere

Troposphere: it is the lowest portion of Earth's atmosphere.

How is the weather in the stratosphere?

Temperature increases by 0.3C/1000ft with height (inversion).

What is tropopause?
It is a boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere.

What happens at the tropopause?

Temperature remains constant with height.

Why does the Temperature remain constant in the Tropopause?

Because the layers above and below are each dominated by different physical
phenomena and in the pause, both effects are relatively weak.

Ultraviolet radiation: Invisible rays that are part of the energy that comes from
the sun

What are the heights of the tropopause?

At the Equator: 55,000ft or 16 km; Temp: -75
At 50 Degree of Latitude: 35,000ft or 11 km; Temp: -55
At the Poles: 25,000ft or 8km; Temp: -45

What happens in the stratosphere and why?

Temperature increases with height by 0.3 C/1000ft, and the reason is due to the
ozone absorbing the UV Radiation from the sun.
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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 Formulas to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit and Kelvin?
T(°F) = (T(°C) × 1.8) + 32
T(°C) = (T(°F) - 32) / 1.8
T(K) = T(°C) + 273
T(°C) = T(K) - 273

What is ISA?
International standard atmosphere. It is a model of how temperature, pressure
and density changes over a wide range of altitudes or elevations.
ISA standards.
Pressure: 1013.25 mb and falls 1 hpa per 27ft
Temperature: 15C at MSL and decreases 2C/1000ft
Density: 1,225 gm/m3. Grams per cubic meters

Temperature Inversion: is when the air temperature increases with height.

Isotherm: is a layer where the air temperature remains the same with height.

What is adiabatic cooling? What are the adiabatic lapse rates? Explain each one
of them?
The adiabatic cooling is one in which heat is neither added nor removed from the
air, but the air cools down due to the expansion when the air is lifted.
1. Dry Adiabatic lapse rate (DALR): it is the adiabatic temperature change for
unsaturated air as it rises, 3C/1000ft
2. Environmental lapse rate (ELR): it is the rate of temperature change with
height of the general surrounding air, 2C/1000ft
3. Saturated lapse rate (SALR): it is the adiabatic temperature change of
saturated air as it rises, 1.5c/1000ft

Latent heat: is the heat energy, released, or absorbed, when water changes from
one state to another.

Specific volume: is the ratio of the substance's volume to its mass.

Specific Heat Capacity: is the ability of a material to hold heat energy.

Dewpoint: is the temperature to which a parcel of air must be cooled to reach

saturation.

Humidity: it is the amount of water vapor in the air.

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 Relative humidity: it is a measure of the amount of water vapor present in a
parcel of air compared to the amount it can support, usually expressed as a
percentage. Relative humidity is 100% when the air is saturated.

Water vapor: it is the Gaseous state of water.

What is a cloud?
It is visible moisture suspended in the air.

What are the most important factors needed for the clouds to be formed?
• Moisture present in the air
• Lifting action to cause a parcel of air rise.
o Convection, turbulence, frontal and orographic
• Adiabatic cooling of the rising air

Explain how does clouds formed?

If a parcel of air containing water vapor is lifted sufficiently, it will cool
adiabatically, and its capacity to hold water vapor will decrease. Therefore, it’s
relative humidity will increases till reaching the dewpoint temperature and
becoming saturated. Any further cooling will cause some of the water vapor to
condense out as water droplets and form clouds.

What are the four main groups of clouds?

1- Curriform
2- Cumuliform
3- Stratiform
4- Nimbus

Clouds Classification based on the height/altitude.

• No prefix, low-level cloud: cloud base < 6500ft
• Alto, medium-level cloud: cloud base > 6500ft
• Cirro, high-level cloud: cloud base > 16,500-23,000ft

How do you measure the amount of clouds?

• SKC: Sky clear
• FEW: Few 1 – 2 oktas
• SCT: Scattered 3 – 4 oktas
• BKN: Broken 5 – 7 oktas
• OVC: Overcast 8 oktas

What is oktas?

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 It is the unit of measurement used to describe the amount of cloud cover at a
given location, and it is measured by how many eights of the sky is covered by a
cloud.

What is Nimbostratus? What type of precipitation it brings with it?

Grey layer cloud associated with warm fronts. It can extend up to 20 000 ft and
has a large horizontal extent. Associated with the approach of a warm front. It can
bring heavy continuous precipitation.

What is a CB?
CB is cumulonimbus cloud, it is a very hazardous cloud that produces hazardous
weather conditions such as heavy rain, heavy icing, heavy turbulence, hail, and
thunderstorms.

Do a comparison between the CB and Nimbus?

Nimbostratus: are dark, grey layered clouds, thick enough to block out the sun.
They can extend up to 20000 ft and have a large horizontal extent associated with
the approach of a warm front. It can bring heavy continuous precipitation which
could last for hours or days. It is usually associated with a stable weather
condition.

Cumulonimbus: it is a dark dense vertical towering cloud that has a large vertical
extent. It is usually associated with cold fronts; it can extend up to the tropopause.
It is classified as a hazardous cloud because it is commonly associated with
thunderstorms and can deliver very hazardous weather condition such as, heavy
rain, severe icing, hail, severe turbulence, lightning, windshear, and microbursts. It
is associated with unstable weather conditions.

Why don’t pilots fly in CB's?

CB's and thunderstorms can produce hazardous weather conditions and
precipitation, including the following:
1. Severe wind shear, which can cause:
• Handling problems.
• Flight path deviations, especially vertically.
• Loss of airspeed.
• Possible structural damage.
2. thunderstorm, which can cause:
• Possible loss of control.
• Possible structural damage.
• Severe icing, especially clear ice formed from super-cooled water droplets.
• Airframe structural damage from hail.
• Reduced visibility.
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 • Lightning strikes, which can cause damage to the electrical system.
• Radio communication and navigation interference from static electricity
present in the thunderstorm.

Which Stage of CB delivers the most hazardous weather?

Mature stage: The mature phase of a cumulonimbus cloud is also the most
hazardous stage of its thunderstorms. In short, the dangers include:
• Rain
• Hail
• Severe turbulence
• Severe icing
• Wind shear and microbursts
• Lightning

What is Thunderstorm?
Thunderstorm is associated with CB cloud, It is a storm with Thunder and lightning
and it produces heavy rain or hail.

What are the types of thunderstorm cells?

• Single cell
• Multi Cell
• Super Cell
• Severe Cell

What are the 3 stages of thunderstorm?

1- Initial
2- Mature
3- Dissipating

What happens in each stage?

• initial stage: it is mainly updrafts the moves the air aloft, allowing it to
condense.
• Mature stage: raindrops start to fall through the cloud pulling air down with
them, the downdrafts are often in the middle of the cloud surrounded by
updrafts that keeps fueling the storm. Downdrafts can reach 3000 ft/min, and
updrafts can reach 6000 ft/min.
• Dissipating stage: this stage starts with the end of the cumulonimbus cloud,
and it consists of mainly downdrafts. It starts with the end of continuous rain and
the start of irregular showers.

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 What is a Microburst?
A Microburst is a severe downdraft, vertical wind, comes from the base
of a cumulonimbus cloud during a thunderstorm.
• Size is less than 4 km.
• Lifetime is less than 5 minutes.
• Microbursts downdrafts can reach up to 3000ft and have a wind speed of
approximately 100 knots.
Note: A microburst is a severe form of windshear.

In which stage of CB can we find microbursts?

Microburst are usually found underneath Mature Cumulonimbus Clouds and
associated with Thunderstorms.

What are the types of microburst?

• Dry microburst: it is when rain falls and mixed with dry air it evaporates and
cools and the cool air descends and accelerate as it approaches the ground
then it spreads out in all direction causing a dry microburst.
• Wet microburst: downbursts accompanied with precipitation at the surface
which are warmer than their environment and the acceleration relies on the
precipitation.

what is fog?
It is visibility of less than 1,000 m due to liquid particles or ice crystals suspended
in the atmosphere. It is called mist when the visibility is more than 1,000 m but
less than 5,000m.

What are the types of fog?

1. Radiation fog
2. Advection fog
3. Sea smoke fog / Steaming fog
4. Frontal fog
5. Hill fog (orographic fog)
6. Freezing fog

What is radiation fog? When is it formed?

Radiation Fog is most likely to occur in the following conditions:
• Clear skies with a slack pressure gradient
• Large amount of radiative cooling
• Moist air with a high relative humidity
• Light wind (1 – 5 knots)
Radiation for occurs inland, especially in valleys and low-laying areas.

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 Why do we need clear skies for Radiation Fog to form?
This allows the earth’s surface to lose heat by radiation. This causes its water
vapor to condense out in liquid form.

What is Advection Fog? When is it formed?

Advection is the heat transfer by the horizontal flow of air Advection fog occurs
when a warm moist airmass flows across a significantly colder surface which is
cooled from below, in light to moderate winds. And this type of fog can occur
suddenly, day or night, on land or sea.

What is frontal fog? When is it formed?

Usually forms in the cold air ahead of a warm occluded front. It forms due to the
interaction of two airmasses.

What is upslope (Hill) fog? When is it formed?

Forms when wind blows air up a slope (called orographic uplift). The air cools as it
rises, allowing moisture in it to condensate.

What is freezing fog? When is it formed?

Supercooled water droplets - which remain liquid even though the temperature is
below freezing-point.

What is a valley fog?

Forms where cold dense air settles into the lower parts of a valley condensing and
forming fog.

What is sea breeze?

Wind that blows from sea to land during the daytime, when the land heats up
quicker than the sea. The air above the land becomes warmer and rises. It occurs
with a slack pressure gradient and clear skies.

What is Land breeze?

Wind that blows from land to sea during the nighttime, when the land cools
quicker than the sea, causing the air above it to cool and subside.

What is pressure?
It is the force per unit area.

What is atmospheric pressure?

The weight of a column of air at any point in the atmosphere.

What is a pressure system?

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 A pressure system is a circulating airmass that is classified as either low or high. A
low pressure system consists of more than one airmasses with fronts in between,
while a high pressure system consists of only a single airmass.

What is Low-pressure system?

Low pressure system, which is also known as a cyclone and depression, has the
following characteristics:
• Pressure gradient: the barometric pressure drops as you move toward the
center.
• Airflow pattern:
A. Convergence (inflow) at the lower layers
B. Rising air at the center
C. Divergence (outflow) in the upper layers
• Wind direction: Counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere
• Airmass: A low-pressure system usually will be made up of at least two
different airmasses.
• Movement: Low-pressure systems generally are more intense than highs
because they are more concentrated in terms of area and have a stronger
pressure gradient. Therefore, lows move faster across the surface of the
earth and tend to have a shorter life span than highs.

What is High-pressure system?

High pressure system, which is also known as an anticyclone, has the following
characteristics:
• Pressure gradient: the barometric pressure rises as you move toward the
center.
• Airflow pattern:
D. Convergence (inflow) at the upper layers
E. subsiding air at the center
F. Divergence (outflow) in the lower layers
• Wind direction: Clockwise in the northern hemisphere
• Airmass: A high-pressure system usually will be made up of only one
airmass and therefore will have no defined fronts.
• Movement: High-pressure systems generally are greater in extent but with a
weaker pressure gradient. Therefore, are slower moving and last longer
compared with a low-pressure system.

What is slack pressure gradient?

Air flows down a pressure gradient, from high pressure to low pressure. The
pressure gradient is called “slack” when its intensity is low.

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 What is a trough and ridge?
Trough: it is a V-shaped extension to a low-pressure system that has
characteristics like the center of the low-pressure system (Air flows convergence
and rises, counter-clockwise in the northern).
Ridge: it is a U-shaped extension to a high-pressure system that has characteristics
like the center of the high-pressure system (Air subsides into a ridge, clockwise in
the northern).
Note: there is convergence and divergence in high pressure system that is like a
cycle.

Which cools faster, the land or the sea?

The land.

Why does the land cools faster than the sea (Water)?
Because water has a very high heat capacity, therefore it needs more energy per
unit area.

The wind flows from which pressure to which pressure?

From High Pressure to Low Pressure.

Why does the wind flows from high pressure to low pressure?
Because pressure is a force per unit area. In a high-pressure zone, particles
experience a high force, and in a low-pressure zone, they experience a lower
force. The high force "overpowers" the lower force, pushing the particles from the
high-pressure zone to the lower pressure zone.

What is density?
The density of a substance is the mass per unit volume. Usually expressed as g/m3.

What is Density Altitude?

Density altitude is pressure altitude corrected for nonstandard temperature. As
temperature and altitude increase, air density decreases.

Precipitation: is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that

falls under gravity.

Drizzle: is a light liquid precipitation consisting of liquid water drops smaller than
those of rain – generally smaller than 0.5 mm in diameter. Drizzle is normally
produced by low stratiform clouds and stratocumulus clouds.

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 Rain: is liquid water in the form of droplets that have condensed from
atmospheric water vapor and then precipitates when it becomes heavy enough to
fall under gravity.

Snow: is precipitation in the form of flakes of crystalline water ice that falls from
clouds.

Dew: is a water cover on the earth’s surface.

Frost: is a frozen water cover on the earth’s surface.

Hail: is a form of solid precipitation.

Tornado: A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both
the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud.

Cyclone: is a large-scale airmass that rotates around strong centers of low

pressure.

Gust: sudden increase in wind speed for less than 1 min.

Squall line: is a line of thunderstorms that can form along or ahead of a cold front.

Smog: it is a combination of smoke and fog.

Virga: It is the rain that falls from the base of a cloud but evaporates at a lower
level before it reaches the ground.

Mist: is a reduced visibility due to liquid particles, between 1,000 m and 5,000 m.

Haze: is a reduced visibility due to extremely small solid particle, sand, dust, or
smoke.

Which types of fog happens in Bahrain usually?

Advection fog, Radiation fog and sea fog.

What is windshear?
It is any change of wind speed and/or direction from place to place, including
updrafts and downdrafts.

What is wind?

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 Win is a horizontal movement of air in the atmosphere that is driven initially by
the pressure difference between two places.

What causes wind to blow?

The pressure gradient force, the wind usually blows from areas of high pressure to
areas of low pressure.

What is Coriolis force?

The Coriolis force is an apparent deflection of wind due to the rotation of the
earth. In the northern hemisphere, the airflow is deflected to the right.

How is windshear dangerous on an approach?

Because windshear causes deviation from the track or the path of the aircraft and
can cause handling problems, such as loss of speed and structural damage due to
the horizontal or vertical strong drafts.

Which layer do we fly in?

Troposphere, Tropopause, and the lower Stratosphere

Why do we fly in Stratosphere or Tropopause?

To avoid bad weather and for economic reasons. Furthermore, the Tropopause is
low at mid-latitudes and the poles.

What is the difference between Troposphere and Stratosphere?

In the troposphere there is weather phenomenon and convection, and
temperature reduces by 2C/1000ft, whereas at the Stratosphere, there is no
weather phenomenon and temperature increases by 0.3C/1000ft with height.
The Troposphere extends from 0 to 15km in height whereas the Stratosphere is
from around 15 km to 50km.

Why is the tropopause higher at the equator than the poles?

Because the air is warmer at the equator and colder at the poles and the earth has
an elliptical shape surrounded by an elliptical shape of layers that causes this
difference.

What is a Jetstream?
Jetstreams are relatively narrow bands of strong wind in the upper levels of the
atmosphere. Jetstreams are typically 1000nm long, 150nm wide and 5,000ft to
10,000ft deep with a speed of more than 60 knots.

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 What are the types of Jetstream?
1. Subtropical
2. Arctic
3. Polar, which is the strongest
4. Easterly
Note: they all are westerly winds except the easterly type flows from the east.

What is CAT?
Clear Air Turbulence is a turbulence that has no signs of visible moisture content
and therefore cannot be detected visually or by conventional weather radar.
Note: CAT is associated with temperature inversion, Jetstreams, fronts and wake
turbulence

How is CAT Dangerous?

Because it couldn’t be detected by weather radars or any other means.

How can we determine the speed of the Jetstream?

By Thermal gradient, the more the difference in temperature, the higher the
speed of the Jetstream.

How are Jetstreams formed?

Jetstream forms in the upper levels of the atmosphere between two airmasses of
very different temperature. The greater the temperature difference between the
airmasses, the faster the wind blows in the Jetstream. It is commonly formed in
winter due to the great temperature difference between the cold continental
airmasses and the warm oceanic airmasses.

What is Turbulence?
Irregular motion of air due to instability in the atmosphere.

What are the Types of turbulence?

• Mechanical turbulence: Disruption to the smooth horizontal flow of air
caused by physical obstructions such as mountains and buildings.
• Thermal Turbulence: it is caused by vertical currents of air in an unstable
atmosphere.

What Causes turbulence?

Turbulence is formed by different conditions including thunderstorms, Jetstreams,
mountain waves, warm or cold fronts, microbursts or atmospheric pressures.

What are the different types of fronts? Explain each one of them and the
different precipitation does each deliver.

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 • Warm front: it is warm, less dense airmass slides up and over a colder
airmass. It is usually slower than and has a shallower slope than a cold front.
It is commonly associated with stratiform clouds that has a long horizontal
coverage and produces steady light to moderate precipitation. Eventually,
stable conditions, low cloud bases, low visibility, and continuous
precipitation.
• Cold front: it is cold dense airmass slides under a warmer airmass. It is
usually faster and has a steeper slope than warm fronts. It is commonly
associated with cumulus clouds and CBs with thunderstorms. Severe
weather and may include heavy rain showers, lightning, and hail. Eventually
unstable conditions and good visibility between showers.
• Stationary front: in a stationary front, the forces of the two airmasses are
relatively equal; neither airmass is replacing the other, and the boundary
can remain stationary. The weather associated with a stationary front is
typically a mixture of weather from warm and cold fronts.
• Occluded front: forms when a warm airmass gets caught between two cold
airmasses, the warmer airmass rises as the cold airmasses push and meet in
the middle, it can deliver strong winds and heavy precipitation.

What are the MET reports?

TAF, METAR, SPECI, SIGMET, and TREND.

METAR: Aviation Routine Weather Report. Actual weather report issued for a
particular aerodrome every hour or half an hour.

TAF: Terminal Aerodrome Forecast. Weather forecast for an aerodrome within a

radius of 5 miles. Usually covers a period of 9 to 30 hours and issued 4 times a day.

SPECI: It is an Aviation Selected Special Weather Report for an aerodrome. It is

generated whenever a critical meteorological condition exists, e.g., wind shear,
microbursts, etc. It is similar in presentation to a METAR.

SIGMET: is a metrological report that advises of significant metrological conditions

that may affect the safety of flight operations.

AIRMET: is an advisory of a significant phenomenon for metrological conditions at

intensities lower than the required for issuance of SIGMET.

Area Forecast (FA): is a forecast of VMC, clouds, and general weather conditions
over an area the size of several states.

NOSIG: No significant change in the next 2 hours.

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 TREND: Added to METAR or SPECI if significant changes are expected to happen
within the next 2 hours.

CAVOK: Celling and visibility are OK.

• Visibility equal to or greater than 10km.
• No clouds below 5000ft or below the MSA, whichever is the greater, and no
CBs at any altitude.
• No significant weather: no precipitation, thunderstorms, shallow fog, or low
drifting snow.

What is smog, and how is it formed?

Smog is a combination of smoke and fog. Smog is usually found under an inversion
layer, which acts like a blanket, stopping vertical convective currents.

How does rain fall?

Rain falls from a cloud when it becomes saturated with water droplets and when
the water droplets become heavy enough to fall with gravity.

What clouds do you find in low, mid, high levels of altitude?

Low levels: St - Sc - Ns – Cu – CB
Mid-levels: As – Ac
High-levels: Cl - Cs – Cc

How is weather created?

It is created by the difference of atmospheric pressure, temperature, and moisture
content in the atmosphere between a place to another. The movement of
airmasses and fronts.

What can clouds deliver?

Turbulence, poor visibility, icing and precipitation.

Trade winds: winds that are close to the surface and blow easterly found in the
tropics and exceeds 15 kts.

Airmass: is a large volume of air defined by its uniform temperature and moisture.

Isobar: is a line represented on metrological weather chart joining areas of equal

atmospheric pressure.

What are the clouds that has a vertical extent?

Cumulus, Towering Cumulus and Cumulonimbus.

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 What weather conditions are in water liquid state?
Cloud, mist, fog, and rain.

Icing: change of water state to solid when the temperature is below 0 Celsius.

Sublimation: is the process of turning water vapor immediately into ice when the
dewpoint/actual temperature is less than 0 Celsius.

Supercooled water droplets: are water drops in a liquid form at temperatures

below 0 Celsius.

What are the types of icing? Explain each of them?

1. Clear ice: large, supercooled water droplets, that spreads out and freezes
gradually, forming a hard sheet of clear and glossy ice that is difficult to detect.
It is usually heavier in weight than the rime ice and has a big impact on the
aircraft’s performance.
2. Rime ice: small, supercooled water droplets freeze rapidly on contact with a
sub-zero surface before spreading out on the surface. It usually traps air inside
it giving it a white appearance which is easy to detect. It is usually lighter than
clear ice in weight which makes its impact on the aircraft’s performance less
and easy to remove.
3. Mixed ice: from the name, it has both the properties of clear and rime ice. It
forms when water drops vary in size or when water drops are mixed with ice or
snow particles that are embedded in between, building a very rough
accumulation on the leading edge.
4. Frost ice: a thin layer of ice crystals that forms near the surface by sublimation
when the temperature and dewpoint are below 0C. Aircraft parked outside on
clear cold nights are likely to be coated with frost by morning.

What conditions present an icing risk?

When there is a visible moisture in the air and the temperature is between +10C
and -45C.

Which type of cloud has the least icing conditions?

Cirrus clouds at high levels when the temperature is way below 0C.

What hazards to aviation does icing cause?

1. Aerodynamic effects:
• Reduces lift
• Reduces maximum lift capability
• Reduces stalling angle

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 • Increases stalling speed
• Increases aircraft’s weight
• Increases drag
• Increases fuel consumption
2. Engine and instrument effects:
• Reduced engine power due to ice buildup un the engine intake
• Instrument errors due to blockage of pitot and static ports
• Degraded navigation radio communication due to ice buildup on

QFE: is the barometric pressure at an aerodrome that sets the altimeter to read
zero when the aircraft is on the ARP.
QNH: local altimeter setting above mean sea level. It is the atmospheric pressure
(QFE) reduced to mean sea level assuming ISA conditions.
QFF: It is the atmospheric pressure (QFE) reduced to mean sea level assuming
actual conditions.
QNE: Barometric pressure used for standard altimeter (1013.25 hpa or 29.92 inch
of mercury).

Altitudes definitions:
1. Indicated Altitude: The reading on the altimeter when the altimeter setting is
set to the local barometric pressure QNH (uncorrected)
2. Pressure Altitude: The altitude reading when the altimeter is set to standard
pressure 1013 hpa
3. Density Altitude: Pressure altitude corrected for non-standard temperature
variation. In other words, the air density expressed as an altitude.
4. True Altitude: The true vertical distance of an aircraft above the mean sea
level
5. Absolute Altitude: The vertical distance of an aircraft above the terrain

Height: is the measured distance above the ground.

Altitude: is the measured distance above the mean sea level (MSL).

Flight Level: Pressure altitude expressed in hundreds of feet, which is used above
18,000 ft or above the transition altitude.

ISA: Stands for International Standard Atmosphere.

What are the ISA conditions at sea level?

Pressure: 1013 hpa
Density: 1225 g/m3
Temperature: +15 C
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 TEMPO: Forecast symbol that means temporary weather lasting for less than 1
hour. for wind, visibility, and clouds.

BECMG: A symbol in a TAF or METAR that means a change in the weather is going
to happen during a specified period.

PROB30: means 30% probability for a specific condition to happen.

Ceiling: is the lowest layer of cloud that covers at least 50% of the sky for clouds
below 20,000 ft.

EFAS: Enroute Flight Advisory Service.

HIWAS: Hazardous Inflight Weather Advisory Service.

ATIS: Automatic Terminal Information Service.

FA: Area Forecast.

SLP: Sea Level Pressure.

LLWAS: Low-Level Wind Shear Alert System

Types of weather briefings.

1. Standard Briefing
2. Outlook Briefing
3. Abbreviated Briefing
4. Inflight Briefing

What determines the runway visual range (RVR)?

Transmissometer.

What is lenticular cloud and where is it formed?

It is a lens-shaped cloud that normally develops on the downwind side of a
mountain or mountain range. It is usually associated with CAT.

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 Navigation

True Direction/Course: is the direction/course measured with reference to the

true north.

Magnetic Direction/course: is the direction/course measured with reference to

the magnetic north.

Magnetic variation: is the difference between the direction of magnetic north and
true north.

Compass Direction/Course: is the direction/course measured with reference to

compass north.

Compass Deviation: is the difference between the direction of magnetic north to

compass north.

Meridians of Longitude: are the lines that run from pole to pole and converging at
both poles.

Parallels of Latitude: are the lines that run east-west on the earth.

Great Circle Track: is a line of shortest distance between two points on the earth,
with a consequently changing direction of due to convergence.

Rhumb Line: is a line of a constant track direction between two points on the
earth, and therefore, it must be longer than great circle track.

Chart scale: is defined as the ratio of chart distance to earth distance.

NDB: A Nondirectional Beacon; is a medium-range ground-based Radio Nav Aid

that transmits signals at the same strength in all directions. The NDB transmits in
the 190 to 1650 kHz MF and LF bands. Typically, the maximum range of an NDB is
300 NM over land and 600 NM over sea.

ADF: Automatic Direction Finder; is an airborne instrument fitted in an aircraft,

continuously indicates the relative bearing to the selected Radio Nav station

What are the errors of the NDB?

• Interference from other NDB
• Static disturbance, because of thunderstorms, lightning... etc.
• Night effect
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 • Mountain effect
• Coastal effect

VOR: Very-High-Frequency Omni-Directional Radio Range; is a ground-based radio

navigation system operating in the VFH band. VOR transmits signals in all
directions identified as 360 radials to provide track navigation. The VOR operates
in range of 108 to 118 MHz VHF band.

VOR Errors and limitation:

• Line of sight error.
• Instrument error.
• Cone of confusion.

Advantages of VOR:
• Not affected by day and night.
• Greater accuracy and reliability than an NDB.
• Suffers less static interference than NDB.

DME: Distance-Measuring Equipment; provides

the slant range distance between the aircraft
and the ground station in NM. It operates in the
UHF band, between 960 and 1215 MHz.

GPS: Global Positioning System; it consists of 24 satellites, of which 21 are

operational at any one time. It requires at least 3 satellites to provide a 2D
position (Lat & Long) and 4 satellites to provide a 3D position (Lat, Long &
Altitude).

RBI: Relative Bearing Indicator; is a simple (ADF) instrument that is used to provide
the angular distance of the selected station relative to the aircraft (QDM).

Why is NDB range more than the VOR?

Because the NDB is a surface wave propagation path while the VOR is a line of
sight.

ILS: Instruments Landing System; is a short-range precision landing aid that is used
to provide accurate guidance signals in both azimuth and vertical (localizer and
glide slope) for an approaching aircraft. The localizer frequency operates in the
VHF band between 108 and 112 MHz, while the Glide Slope operates in the UHF
band between 329 and 335 MHz.
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 Errors of an ILS:
• Interference from other nearby navigational stations
• Glideslope limitation due to surrounding terrain
• False glide slope above the normal glide slope
• Back-course approach

What are the frequency ranges and their units?

LF & MF - KHz
HF, VHF & UHF - MHz
SHF - GHz

What is MLS? And how is it better than the ILS?

Microwave Landing System; provides precision navigation guidance for exact
alignment and descent of aircraft on approach to a runway. It could be a good
alternative for an ILS because of many reasons:
• It allows curved approaches
• Further range than ILS vertically and off-centerline
• Lower interference with other navigation stations in the vicinity
• MLS has the coverage of up to 30-degrees approach gradient, up to 20,000
ft and 20 NM
• MLS can operate across 200 channels while ILS only 20 channels.

INS: Inertial Navigation System; is a self-contained navigation that provides

accurate position by calculating the acceleration, provided that the initial position
is entered correctly.

IRS: Inertial Reference System; is a development of an INS.

RNAV: Area Navigation; is a method of navigation that permits aircraft operation

on any desired flight path without the need to fly over the ground-based station.

ILS marker Beacons: provides range information over specific points along an ILS
approach. Outer marker is blue, middle marker is amber and inner marker is
white.

QDM: Magnetic bearing to the station.

QDR: Magnetic bearing from the station.
QUJ: True bearing to the station.
QTE: True bearing from the station.

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 Air Law / Operations / IFR

ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organization

IATA: International Air Transport Association

EASA: European Aviation Safety Agency

Explain the procedure of communication failure.

• In VMC: Continue to fly in VMC, land at the nearest suitable airport and
report the arrival by the most expeditious way.
• In IMC: Continue the flight as per the current flight plan and try to land at
close as possible to the expected approach time or the estimated time of
arrival.

What are the light signals for communication failure procedure?

Color and type
Aircraft on ground Aircraft in flight
of signal
Steady Green Cleared for takeoff Cleared to land
Return for landing (steady
Flashing Green Cleared to Taxi
green to be received later)
Give way to other aircraft,
Steady Red Stop!!
continue circling
Taxi clear of landing area or
Flashing Red Airport unsafe, Do Not Land
runway in use
Return to starting point on
Flashing White Not applicable
airport

De-icing: A system used to remove ice that have already formed.

Anti-icing: A system used to prevent ice formation.

NOTAM: is a notice to airmen; time critical aeronautical information.

ETOPS: Extended Twin Operations; is a permission granted to operators to

operate a twin-engine aircraft on flight in which the aircraft is more than 60
minutes away from a suitable alternative aerodrome in case of an engine failure.

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
V.4 source when you do your preparation for the interview. Good luck!!
 Holding procedure
A holding procedure is a predetermined maneuver that keeps an aircraft within a
specified airspace while awaiting further clearance.

Explain holding entries.

Direct Entry
Fly direct to your holding fix, cross the fix,
and turn to your outbound course. From
there, join the holding pattern.

Parallel Entry
In this hold entry, fly to your holding fix
and then turn outbound to parallel the
course. Fly for 1 minute, then turn
toward the protected side to intercept
the inbound course (more than a 180-
degree turn).

Teardrop Entry
The teardrop entry starts by crossing your
holding fix, then turning 30 degrees from
the outbound leg (towards the protected
side). After flying outbound on the 30-
degree heading for 1 minute, turn toward
the inbound course and intercept the
inbound course (more than a 180-degree
turn).

What are the turns in a standard holding pattern? And what is the outbound
leg’s length?
Standard turns in a holding pattern are to the right. The outbound leg is flown for
one minute up to holding altitude of 14,000 ft. Above 14,000 ft altitude, the
outbound leg is being flown for one minute and a half.

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 Man-made obstacles lighting designators.
• Obstacles greater than 150 m: high-intensity flashing white lights
• Obstacles between 150 m and 90 m: medium-intensity flashing red light

What is a Rate-1 turn?

Rate-1 turn is a 3-degree per second or 180-degree per minute turn.

Aircraft’s Navigation Lights.

• Port (left): steady red light
• Starboard (right): steady
green light
• Tail: steady white light

Note: Navigation lights must be ON

during night.

Aircraft’s Anti-collision Lights.

• High-intensity flashing white strobe lights: positioned on each wing tips.
• Flashing red lights (beacons): located on top and bottom of the aircraft.
Note: White anti-collision lights must be switched ON whenever the aircraft is
airborne. Red anti-collision strobes must be switched ON whenever the
engines are running.

Describe airport lighting.

• Runway:
o Centerline: white lights, changes over the last 600 m to alternate red
and white lights. Then red lights at the last 300 m of the runway.
o Runway edge: similar to the centerline lights, white, alternate …. Red
at the end.
o Touchdown zone: rows of white lights on either side of the centerline
during the first 900 m.
o Threshold: green lights
• Taxiway:
1. One line of green taxiway centerline lights, or
2. Two lines of blue taxiway edge lights

PAPI: Precision Approach Path Indicator

VASI: Visual Approach Slope Indicator

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 What are the ICAO aircraft category weight definitions?
• Light (L): 7,000 kg or less
• Medium (M): 7,000 to 136,000 kg
• Heavy (H): more than 136,000 kg
Note: these weights refer to the maximum takeoff weight

What are the separation minima for a medium aircraft?

1. Final approach minima:
• Medium behind light – 3NM
• Medium behind medium – 3NM
• Medium behind heavy – 5NM & 2 minutes
2. Takeoff minima:
• Medium behind light – NA
• Medium behind medium – NA
• Medium behind heavy –2 minutes

SID: Standard Instrument Departure; is a specific initial route or track from a

particular airport’s runway.

STAR: Standard Instrument Arrivals; is a specific final route or track onto a

particular runway approach.

ILS Approach: Instrument Landing System; is a precision approach that is used to

provide guidance in azimuth and glide slope for an aircraft to land at any weather
conditions.

ILS Categories:
• CAT I: permits a DH of not lower than 200 ft and an RVR not less than 550 m.
• CAT II: permits a DH of not lower than 100 ft and an RVR not less than 300 m.
• CAT III a: permits a DH below 100 ft and an RVR not below 200 m.
• CAT III b: permits a DH below 50 ft and an RVR not less than 50 m.
• CAT III c: is a full auto-land with roll out guidance along the runway centerline and
no DH or RVR limitations apply.

What are the RVR minima for a low-visibility takeoff?

• With high-intensity runway center lights available, the RVR minimum for
takeoff is 150m RVR
• With no high-intensity runway center lights available, the RVR minimum for
takeoff is 200m RVR

What type of fuel is commonly used for jet aircrafts?

Jet A fuel.
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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 SRA: Surveillance Radar Approach; is a non-precision approach where a radar
controller can provide tracking guidance and desired height information down a
final approach.

PAR: Precision Approach Radar; is a precision approach similar to SRA except that
it provides returns in vertical navigation as well as horizontal navigation.

Procedure turn: is either 45 – 225 degrees or 80 – 280 degrees turn used when no
suitable fixes permit a direct entry onto an instrument approach procedure.

Tear-drop base turn: is used to reverse the direction by more than 180 degrees
onto an inbound final approach track.

What are the radiotelephony emergency frequencies? 121.50 and 243.00 VHF

What are the ICAO transponder special codes?

7500 – Unlawful interference (hijack)
7600 – Radio communication failure
7700 – Emergency including interception

What is Aquaplaning/Hydroplaning?
It is a condition that occurs when the runway is contaminated with standing
water, snow, or slush, where the wheel stops spinning and starts to skate over the
runway.

What type of medical assessment should a commercial pilot hold?

A current Class I Medical Assessment.

How often does recurrent training have to be carried out?

Every 12 months.

The recent experience conditions of a captain assigned to a flight on an aircraft

by an operator must not be less than: 3 take-offs and 3 landings as a pilot-in-
command at the flight controls on this type of aircraft during the last 90 days.

MEL: Minimum Equipment List; is a list which provides for the operation of
aircraft, with particular equipment inoperative.
Note: The MEL is prepared by an operator in conformity with, or more restrictive
than the MMEL (Master Minimum Equipment List) established for the aircraft
type.
A standard circuit altitude is: 1,500 ft AGL and left-hand turns.

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 Human Performance

Fatigue: State of reduced mental or physical performance capability resulting from

lack of sleep, overstress, and stress.

Hypoxia: occurs when the oxygen supply is less than the need of the body (Lack of
oxygen), mainly caused by altitude (less pressure). Exercise, illness, fatigue, drugs,
alcohol and smoking could decrease the tolerance to hypoxia.
Symptoms/indications of hypoxia includes:
• Impaired judgment
• Muscular pain
• Memory impairment
• Sensory loss
• Impairment of consciousness
• Hyperventilation
Hypoxia can be treated by increasing the individual’s oxygen supply.

How long do you have before you become unconscious from hypoxia?
• At 18,000 ft – 30 minutes
• At 25,000 ft – 2 to 3 minutes
• At 30,000 ft – 1 minute
• At 40,000 ft – 20 second
• At 45,000 ft – 12 second

Hyperventilation: is the condition of over-breathing that leads to an excess of

oxygen (less carbon dioxide). Hypoxia, anxiety, motion sickness, vibration, heat
and high g force could cause hyperventilation. Symptoms/indications of
hyperventilation includes:
• Dizziness
• Tingling sensation
• Visual disturbance
• Hot or cold feeling
• Impaired performance
• Loss of consciousness
Hyperventilation can be treated by regulating the rate of breathing, i.e. breathing
into a paper bag.

Carbon Monoxide (CO): is a highly toxic colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that
is very difficult to detect. It is dangerous because it could replace the oxygen in the
hemoglobin in the blood. CO is produced during the combustion of fuel in the
engine. The symptoms of CO poisoning may include:

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 • Headache
• A slower breathing rate
• Dizziness
• Impaired judgment
• Eventually loss of consciousness

How long can you not fly after diving, and why?
You are not allowed to fly for 24 hours after diving with compressed air for a
depth of 30 ft or more, to protect against decompression sickness which is caused
by the development of nitrogen bubbles in the blood and tissues as a result of a
reduction of atmospheric pressure.

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 Practical

Talk about Bahrain’s Airport.

The ICAO designator of Bahrain’s Airport is OBBI. There are two runways, 12L and
30R with a total length of 3964 m and an elevation of 6 ft MSL.

Manama, Bahrain
ICAO Designator OBBI
Runways 12L/30R
RW Length 3964 m
Elevation 6' ft MSL

Distance, Speed & Time questions calculations.

You should be familiar with the multiplication table and to expect a couple of
questions that requires mental multiplications (without calculators).

You will be given two parameters of the distance, speed and time, and will be
asked to calculate the third one.
Examples:

Q1 Q2 Q3
• Distance: ?? • Distance: 120 NM • Distance: 128 NM
• Speed: 360 Kts • Speed: 80 Kts • Speed: 80 Kts
• Time: 1 MIN • Time: ?? • Time: ??

Q4 Q5 Q6
• Distance: 225 NM • Distance: 80 NM • Distance: ??
• Speed: 75 Kts • Speed: 120 Kts • Speed: 360 Kts
• Time: ?? • Time: ?? • Time: 2 MIN

Interception:

You are departing on RWY 34 and immediately after departure you want to
intercept Radial 160 (given: wind is 350/10). Which direction you turn?
Since 160 is the reciprocal of 340, it doesn’t matter which direction you turn to
intercept it, however, it depends on the wind. Since the wind is coming from the
right (350), then, the turn should be to the right (into the wind).
Finally, the heading will be 205 to intercept radial 160 (45-degree interception
angle).

What is the recommended interception angle?

Inbound interception: 30 degrees
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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 Outbound interception: 45 degrees

Is it better to intercept a certain radial with a tailwind or headwind?

It is better to intercept a radial with a headwind because it will be easier for you to
capture the radial.

Provided: Runway 22, intercept Radial 010. What will be your heading? And the
turn is to the right or left?
The turn will be to the right, and the interception heading will be 040.

Draw Bahrain's runway and then intercept a radial from takeoff using Bahrain
VOR); some examples (Intercept 180, 170 or 140).

Rules of Thumb
For a 3° rate of descent:
Take half of your ground speed and add a zero.

Minutes to descent = Altitude to lose / rate of descent

NM to start descent = Minutes to descent x GS NM per minutes

Rate of decent for a 3° glide slope: ground speed X 5 = vs to maintain

Example: 120 KT X 5 = 600 fpm, or, Multiply the altitude to lose (in thousands) by 3
and add 10%.

How to calculate the top of descent? (3° glide) Altitude to lose x 3 (remove the
zeroes)
Example: 6000’ to lose, start descent 18 NM out. (6x3 = 18 NM)

Important notice: Information contained in this work has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, no 48
one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
V.4 source when you do your preparation for the interview. Good luck!!
 Important notice: Information contained in this work has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, no 49
one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
V.4 source when you do your preparation for the interview. Good luck!!
 Important notice: Information contained in this work has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, no 50
one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
V.4 source when you do your preparation for the interview. Good luck!!
 Important notice: Information contained in this work has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, no 51
one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
V.4 source when you do your preparation for the interview. Good luck!!
 TAF & METAR:

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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 Bahrain Airport Chart:

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 Bahrain ILS DME Rwy 12L Chart:

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 Bahrain ILS DME Rwy 30R Chart:

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 General advice and recommendations

• Psychometrics/aptitude test practice: it is recommended to keep studying

and practicing the various types of psychometric/aptitude tests. You may
refer to this website how2become.com (if you buy their book, they will
provide 30-days free access to the testing portal, don’t forget to cancel the
subscription)
• Read about the IFR charts and practice “how to readout a chart properly”
• Practice reading actual TAF and METAR, there might be question about
them and the questions might contain some mistakes and errors
• Read the METAR at the day of the interview, in case they asked you about
the weather at that day
• Practice the Rules-of-thumb such as units conversions, rate-of-decent
calculation, basic route calculation, headwind-tailwind-crosswind
calculations… etc., you may search online for “pilot’s rule of thumb”
• Practice the radials interceptions and holding entries. This website is
recommended. flightstat.ca
• For general knowledge, you may refer to that channel
www.youtube.com/@atplclass

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one will guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and you should not only rely on this
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