CPL Nav exam question

[wobblymammall]

Hey Guys,
Quick question regarding one of the questions i had in my (failed at 69%) nav exam today. One of the questions was a fuel calculation for private operation and it had all the standard info you would expect but it also had i needed to add reserve fuel as well but didn't mention how much so i just assumed the standard 45 minutes for some stupid reason without having the facts to back me up and now iv been through my nav book and ppl book looking what the actual law is regarding legal reserves needed for private operation, all my ppl book says is you would be stupid not to include reserve fuel but not what the actual law is, nav book didn't mention it at all.

[Draggertail]

https://www.casa.gov.au/sites/g/files/net351/f/_assets/main/download/caaps/ops/234_1.pdf


Page 7 table 2.

[WhiskeyKilo]

CAAP 234 says 45 mins. No variable.

Did it say fuel flow rate? Or was the answer in minutes?

[wobblymammall]

the question wanted an answer in how many litres were needed for the total flight so had the flight time and fuel flow rate and then tapped onto the end of the question was include x amount of taxi fuel and reserve fuel

[Sigem]

Strange to get a fuel flow question, I thought those were only in performance, also due to the fact its CPL, all of the questions I got in mine said charter, I never ran into one about private ops. (sat performance a month ago, haven't done NAV yet) you are right about only needing 45 mins for private, however they usually include something in the exam saying "company procedure is to include reserve fuel in accordance with CAAP 234-1" implying that you need to include a variable reserve also.

[outnabout]

Why was a question on private ops in a CPL exam? Just asking, that's all.

Are you sure this was the question that cost you the exam?

[jas24zzk]

Its been a little while since I did this exam, and I recall the question, probably because it was also in all the practice exams I did.

To answer outnabout. When I did the CPL 7 exam series, you often stumbled across PPL aimed questions. My take on it, was that they were designed to test your knowledge of the regulations.

As for Fuel flow, they give a figure if they want the answer in litres or gallons (and yes they do that to you...mix up the units in use)

Unless I have missed a rule change (and that is quite possible), the rule for Private ops, is 'Sufficient fuel for the planned flight' In the Exam, the CAAP is a trap for you to get the question wrong.
For the purpose of this question, 45 minutes reserve is not the figure you use. IIRC, using 10 minutes got you close enough to make the correct choice on the exam.....


Reading the CAAP, civil aviation ADVISORY publication, it doesn't take too many IQ points to realise that the whole document is suggestive. Simply reading the section headers is enough....the use of the word should in place of shall.

After that it comes down to quality of lawyer to argue prosecution and defence.

enjoy.

[TrimSet]

There are plenty of occasions where in your career a flight with a commercial operator can be considered a PVT category flight so an understanding of the legal fuel requirements does come into play. When I ferry aircraft between locations for a job it is PVT and so we can plan fuel requirements based on PVT ops.

[FGD135]

CAAP 234 says 45 mins. No variable.
The CAAPs are advisory only. They are not rules or regulations.

... all my ppl book says is you would be stupid not to include reserve fuel but not what the actual law is, nav book didn't mention it at all.
There are only two rules regarding fuel:

1. Thou shalt not run out of fuel. (CAR 234 (1988))

2. Thine Ops Manual shall contain directions as to how fuel load is to be calculated. (CAR 220 (1988)).

Being a simulated commercial operation, wobblymammall, the exam material must have included a simulated Ops Manual, or, at the least, an extract of its fuel policy.

Yours may have been a private operation, but the Ops Manual must still give directions for this case.

In real commercial operations, it is possible that an operator's Ops Manual may explicitly reference that CAAP. This is the only way that that CAAP could be legally binding.