Share your useful hints and tips here.

[HardCorePawn]

The package arrived Monday I think... I just opened it and went "Yup, exam slip, practice paper... all good"... and did not look at it again until Wednesday afternoon...

The only reason I did, was that I was going to get a question out of the practice exam for the Trivia thread... and that is when I noticed the different date!!! So, in a roundabout way, browsing NZFF at work saved me!


ps. Had the exam this morning... no real drama's... just the usual one or two wanky questions that ASL like to throw at you, to test your english as opposed to subject matter... things like:

What is the correct initial action to take after climbing to your selected/cleared cruise altitude?

A. Report Position to ATC
B. Change Fuel Tanks
C. Check actual climb performance against planned climb performance to see if engine is operating correctly
D. Check that DGI is aligned to Magnetic Compass


Any takers?? with your reasoning...

[A185F]

I would prob pick A

[chopper_nut]

Heres one for any guys who are learning to fly helos. More for the robbie than the H300. Dont put too much pressure on the pedals. If you are adding left pedal then just rest your right foot lightly on the pedal. They dont require much force to move and with a lot of weight on the opposite pedal you tend to over correct. You can actually fly with your left foot only (dont try this unless you have an instructor) just by varying the pressure on the left pedal.

[spongebob206]

QUOTE (chopper_nut @ Dec 13 2008, 03:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Heres one for any guys who are learning to fly helos. More for the robbie than the H300. Dont put too much pressure on the pedals. If you are adding left pedal then just rest your right foot lightly on the pedal. They dont require much force to move and with a lot of weight on the opposite pedal you tend to over correct. You can actually fly with your left foot only (dont try this unless you have an instructor) just by varying the pressure on the left pedal.

Yep, totally agree. Have done this also.

Now memorise this:
Take My Pretty Fanny Firmly In Hand, Cough Twice

Remember this and you will never forget your pre take off checks.

Happy Flying

[pois0n]

QUOTE (spongebob206 @ Dec 13 2008, 04:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yep, totally agree. Have done this also.

Now memorise this:
Take My Pretty Fanny Firmly In Hand, Cough Twice

Remember this and you will never forget your pre take off checks.

Happy Flying

Haha that's a good one

I use: To Truly Make Crap Planes Fly Fast I Initiate Heaps of Checks and Reviews

Doesn't make the pieces of cr@p any faster though

[ZK-Brock]

I use: The Mad Pilot Fought Furiously In Heavy Combat

[HercFeend]

I use: Check lists - so I don't miss anything!

[HardCorePawn]

The Man Called Fred From I.H.C...

Trims
Mixture
Carb Heat
Fuel
Flaps
Instruments
Hatches/Harnesses
Controls

[WasFlightOps]

Pre Take-off DVA's:

Take
Me
Flying
Please
I
Hate
Cars

If you're on a long cross-country and have an ADF in the instrument panel you can find an AM broadcast station if you dial up numbers that add up to 9.

i.e
1017 Radio Hauraki CHCH 10 + 1 + 7 = 18, 1 + 8 = 9
891 The Breeze WN 8 + 9 + 1 = 18, 1 + 8 = 9

etc, etc

[towerguy]

with ref to the question above HCP

prob NOT A as when you are identified by ATC your altitude passing would have been used to verify your mode C and so no further reports of altitude passing/ reaching etc are required - big brother can see it all!

Prob not C as you should be monitoring the engines and performance during the climb anyway

prob not D as it is part of the CLEAR checks anyway every 10 mins or so ( compass, log, altimeter,engines,radios )

I would probably go for B, depending on the type, it can be normal ops to takeoff and climb on main or fullest tanks and then at top of climb and established in the cruise to start alternating tanks etc - as I say - depends on type.

thats my guesstimate and reasons anyway
cheers
TG

[A185F]

QUOTE (towerguy @ Dec 16 2008, 11:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

with ref to the question above HCP

prob NOT A as when you are identified by ATC your altitude passing would have been used to verify your mode C and so no further reports of altitude passing/ reaching etc are required - big brother can see it all!

Prob not C as you should be monitoring the engines and performance during the climb anyway

prob not D as it is part of the CLEAR checks anyway every 10 mins or so ( compass, log, altimeter,engines,radios )

I would probably go for B, depending on the type, it can be normal ops to takeoff and climb on main or fullest tanks and then at top of climb and established in the cruise to start alternating tanks etc - as I say - depends on type.

thats my guesstimate and reasons anyway
cheers
TG

B is also not a very good answer. Who has the right to define "CORRECT initial action" ?? correct to who ? of course unless it is a law....
It is up to the pilot /operator whether or not they want to change tanks at that stage. There can be lots of reasons to or not to change tanks (that is to say if you are unfortunate enought to be flying a piper or some other aircraft of some sorts which require altenating between tanks), but a very large chunk of aircraft would not require it... So with TG's other "prob nots" this has to be one of the crappiest exam questions. Perhaps not the crappiest cos there are plenty of em, but up there...

[HardCorePawn]

I figured B was unlikely, as plenty of aircraft (like Cessna 152's and 172's), you don't need to change tanks and C was the 'silly' answer they usually put in.

So, I was trying to choose between A & D...

The Wally Wagtendonk book said TOC actions are Report Position, SADIE check...

I decided against A because the question said selected/cleared... so read that as not necessarily in controlled airspace. If not in controlled airspace, why would I be talking to ATC?

So I figured D...

Talking to one of the instructors at the club on Sunday, he suggested C... as it was important to know whether or not you had achieved your climb as planned and if you needed to recalculate ETA's/Position etc...

Congrats to ASL... you've managed to elicit 4 different answers from 4 different people...

I'm sure this is one of the 3 questions I got wrong... I know I got the following one wrong (I managed to overthink it):

Approaching Napier (Chart says aerodrome elevation 6'), Aerodrome QNH is 1013, you set 1021 on subscale, temperature is 17C. What is the approximate reading on the altimeter when you land:

A. 6 ft
B. 120 ft
C. 240 ft
D. 480 ft

[ZK-Brock]

A wee while since I did the exam but..

1021-1013= 8 hpa

30ft per hectopascal so 30*8=240 so I would say C.

Edit: Is the temperature being 17 a red herring in this question?

[pilotgallagher01]

I got one, Very random. Blow into the Stall Vent on the wing while doing your pre flight check to see if it works lol
If it does , You should hear a "beeeeep"

LOL

[chopper_nut]

QUOTE (ZK-Brock @ Dec 21 2008, 10:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Edit: Is the temperature being 17 a red herring in this question?

Temperature is only useful if working out Density Altitude. Not sure about fixed wing but most heli 'p' charts use pressure altitude and then temperature as a seperate variable.

[HardCorePawn]

Yep the temp is a red herring... Unfortunately for me... I still had P of F and all the Density Altitude stuff still in my head... so just blindly worked through my process and adjusted for temp...

[chopper_nut]

Bugger!!

[vdm]

A couple I have learned recently up here outside NZ which have been very helpful:

-Always have an exit strategy
e.g. don't ever paint yourself in a corner, if you fly into a valley then have in your mind a way to get out of that valley.

The next one encompasses everything and simplifies it right down, many guys preach this as their only rule:
Don't F@&% Up

i.e. you ran off the end- you f'd up
you descended too late- you f'd up
you miscalculated takeoff distance- you f'd up

you get the picture.

[HercFeend]

The given WIND – Is it True or Magnetic?

All winds cited in METARs and TAFs are in degrees true however winds quoted by air traffic services are cited in degrees magnetic.

One way to remember this is: METAR & TAF both have the letter T in the abbreviation. The wind direction is True.

[pois0n]

QUOTE (HercFeend @ Jan 7 2009, 09:24 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The given WIND – Is it True or Magnetic?

All winds cited in METARs and TAFs are in degrees true however winds quoted by air traffic services are cited in degrees magnetic.

One way to remember this is: METAR & TAF both have the letter T in the abbreviation. The wind direction is True.

Some Ass Vibrates


SPAR ATIS VERBAL = Magnetic

The rest is in true