Basic Aviation Knowledge Quiz

Basic Aviation Knowledge

• Track: The point on the magnetic compass where your aircraft nose is pointed.
• Heading: The path taken over the ground by the aircraft. Measured clockwise from magnetic North.
• True Heading: Measured with a reference to True North.
• Magnetic Heading: True heading minus magnetic variation. East is least variation, West is greatest.
• Magnetic Variation: The difference between true and magnetic north.
• Wind Velocity: Direction and speed of the wind. Always the direction from which the wind is blowing. Ex. 27010kt
• UTC: Coordinated Universal Time. Add 10 hours for QLD, 11 hours for East Coast during daylight saving to calculate local times.
• Height: Vertical distance above ground level (AGL).
• Elevation: Vertical distance of a point on the Earth's surface above mean sea level (AMSL)
• Altitude: Vertical distance of an object measured above mean sea level (AMSL). 1 Nautical Mile = 1.852 Kilometres = 1 minute of latitude
• OKTAS: A measurement of sky cloud cover as reported in METAR and TAF reports. (Ex: 0 OKTAS=SKC; 5-6 OKTAS=BKN).
• Lift: Force acting perpendicular to airflow over wings/propellers. Difference in high and low pressure causes air to move from high to low pressure areas .
• Drag: Force opposing motion through an air mass.
• Parasite Drag: Drag caused by the shape (form) of the aircraft and skin friction.

Aeronautical Regs, Resources & Documents

• Form 101-09: Used by ReOC holders to apply for flight authorisations.
• AIP: Aeronautical Information Publication. A package of documents containing operational information. Updated every three months.
• CAO: Civil Aviation Orders that give further detail on application of aviation regulations to RPAs.
• CAAP: Provides advice and guidance to help industry to comply with the regulations.
• AIRAC Cycle: Updated every 28 days, encyclopaedia of airports
• ERSA: World Aeronautical Chart with a scale of 1:1 million
• WAC: Visual Terminal Chart with scale 1:250,000 (Transverse Mercator Projection)
• VTC: Visual Navigation Chart. Scale 1:500,000. (Lamberts Conformal Conic Projection)
• VNC: Visual Navigation Chart, Used by plane pilots

Meteorology

• Air Mass: Large body of air with similar temperature and moisture content.
• Warm Air Mass: Less stable with higher cloud base and lower dew point, has greater capacity for holding water vapour.
• Cold Air Mass: More stable, moving from cold to warm region
• Clouds: Formation of water droplets or ice crystals in the atmosphere. Types include: Stratocumulus, Stratus, Cumulus, Cumulonimbus.
• Turbulence: Irregular fluctuations in wind speed and direction.
• Wind Shear: Sudden change in wind speed or direction, often at low levels.
• Convection: Rising warm air, cooling and forming clouds.
• Fronts: Boundary between masses of warm and cold air. (Cold/Warm front types)
• Precipitation: Static electrical charge on the surface of an aircraft from flying through liquids or solids.
• Isobars: Lines of equal atmospheric pressure.
• High Pressure: Stable and clear weather
• Low Pressure: Unstable and stormy weather.
• Trough: Area of low atmospheric pressure.

Aerodrome & Airspace Knowledge

• CTAF: Common Traffic Advisory Frequency used to monitor traffic (airports).
• TAF: Terminal Aerodrome Forecast, weather information.
• Controlled Airspace: Actively managed by air traffic controllers.
• Uncontrolled Airspace: No separation service provided by air traffic controllers.
• Control Zone: Airspace directly above an airport, used for separation.
• Control Area: Area of controlled airspace above other airspace.
• Prohibited Airspace: No-go zone.

RPA Knowledge

• PITCH: Rotation of the LATERAL axis (Z).
• ROLL: Rotation of the LONGITUDINAL axis (X).
• YAW: Rotation of the VERTICAL axis (Y).
• Mode 2: Most common RPA controller configuration (left stick = throttle and yaw, right stick = pitch and roll).
• Geo-fencing: Software to define boundaries for drone flight.
• Telemetry: Flight data (battery status, video).
• Batteries: NEVER allow battery to deplete below 20%.
• ESC: Electronic Speed Controller. Convert direct current to alternating current.
• Gyroscope: Measures angular velocity
• Accelerometer: Measures acceleration in Pitch, Roll and Yaw
• Barometer/Altimeter: Measures ambient pressure for height.

Radio Knowledge

• CTAF: Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (used for monitoring traffic in an area for aerodrome).
• VHF: Line-of-sight radio, with frequency 30 to 300 MHz.
• HF: Radio waves using the ionosphere to bounce waves back from earth to earth 3 to 30 MHz.
• AROC: Mandatory when operating in managed airspace.
• Radio Frequency: Most RPAs use 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz.
• Aerial: Transmits and receives radio waves.
• Antenna: Receives radio waves.
• Radio Waves: Affected by sunspots, interferences from electrical equipment, thunderstorms, and powerlines.

Basic Electrical

• Volts: Electrical pressure
• Amps: Measure the flow of electricity.
• Watts: Measure power (force).
• Ohms: Measure resistance (Friction)
• Hertz: Measure the rate something vibrates or oscillates
• Fuse: Protects circuits by breaking the circuit if the current exceeds a safe level.
• Circuit Breaker: Alternative to a fuse, can be reset.
• Actuator/Servomechanism: Converts energy into motion and stabilizes the RPAs position.
• Brushless Motors: Generates more reliable and durable power.
• KV: Refers to the constant velocity of a motor. Represents the number of revolutions per minute, measured using one volt and no load.
• LiPo Voltage: Nominal 3.7V. Must not exceed 3.0V
• LiPo Batteries (Pros/Cons): Pros: lightweight, higher capacities, and high discharge rate. Cons: short lifespan, sensitive chemistry and need special care for charging, storing, and discharging.
• LiPo Charging: Special care needed; allowing battery to cool before charging and to charge to full. Discharge safety; use equipment that's specified by the manufacturer (to discharge to 45%-65%).
• Battery Balancing: Ensures uniform charging of each cell in the battery set.
• Miliamp hours (mAh): Capacity of battery measures the amount of discharge; measures the rate at which a battery can discharge fully.

Human Factors

• Airmanship Mantra: Aviate, Navigate, Communicate
• Tony Kern's Model: Emphasizes the principles of discipline, skills, proficiency, and outcomes of situational awareness, judgement.
• Wickens Model (Perceive, Transform, Decision, Action): Shows model of human information processing
• Human Information Processing: Model of how humans process information.
• BAC: "Bottles to throttles".

Flight Operations

• Rod and Cone cells: Types of cells in the eyes; Rod are for black and white vision and good in low light. Cone are sensitive to details and color in bright light
• Myopia: Short-sightedness; when objects at a distance are blurred.
• Hyperopia: Far-sightedness; when objects that are close to the eye are blurred.
• Astigmatism: Image of an object is distorted because of an irregularly shaped cornea, resulting in blurry vision.
• Presbyopia: Age-related eye condition where close objects appear blurry
• Stress: Stages of stress to include: alarm, resistance, collapse.
• Threat and Error Management: Assuming people will make mistakes; planning for mistakes.
• Threat: Situations or events occurring outside a person's operating influence.
• Error: Actions or inactions resulting in deviation from the planned action.
• CRM: Used in the Cognitive and Interpersonal processes in order to manage resources within a system.
• Latent Threat: Unacknowledged threats.
• Tactical Risk: Identified before or as the task unfurls.
• Strategic Risk: Identified before the task