Worst flight test questions ever?
 

There are some really dumb flight test questions which continue to be asked at flight test after flight test. Ill get the ball rolling with the classic...

"whats the difference between an A and B notam?"

Does anyone know of any good reasons why we need to know the answer to this (other than the obvious need to pass the flight test!)?

I got asked this at a BFR for a PPL.
No knowlege is useless but I thought there were a few more relevant things to ask. Like anything about weather would be more useful.
I don't think anyone has died due to not knowing about a and b notams, but more than a few have died due to not knowing enough about met.

Actually what you have stated is not a question at all, just a statement... and as statements go, id say it was not a dumb one. Met is useful! Wow, whomever conducted your BFR is a real einstein! And ill tell you what dies everytime we have to learn more useless knowledge... precious minutes of our lives hunting through the vol 1 for more answers to time wasting questions!

Checking your CAO knowledge:

"Bloggs, what is the diameter of the small end of a windsock?"

or

"Bloggs, you reckon you're hot on maths, what is the volumetric capacity of a cone marker?".

:{

the volumetric capacity of a marker is from the top of the marker to the bottom of the marker.......... anything extra is overflow, so therefore beyond the markers capacity. Snappy answer will get you a smile or a harder question....... but is alway miles ahead of "D'oh......dunno that one". :}

How about "What is the tip speed of your a/c's propeller"?

Possibly the most useless piece of trivia I have ever encountered.

Not really, C210's get pretty noisy as the prop tips approach Mach1.

The volume of a cone marker is approximately 1/3 of the height multiplied by the area of the base (approx 3.14159 x radius squared ):8

Keep em coming guys I'm taking notes.

Gonna use them on my next lot of victims...we'll see who's a soft touch....

Dude........... why would you even retain that stuff in your memory??.......... those areas in ones head used to retain that sort of information are far more useful to apply the effects of too much bourbon.

How many blades on the fan of a CFM56?

Had a very well known FOI, (later ATO), for checks many years ago, and his forte was in asking for rule-of-thumb or guesstimates for such questions as:

1. what does each 5 kts of tailwind do to your landing or takeoff distance ?

2. what does flying at 45% power instead of 65% do for your endurance ?

3. what does each 1000 ft elevation add to your take-off distance ?

4. if your tyres are leaving obvious tracks in the surface - what % extra distance will be required for take-off ?

I reckon it's a sign of experience and common sense for a testing officer to ask this sort of stuff because the student is going to learn from it.

happy days,

Wiz
 

Been smoking the peace pipe with TQ............dude

Reminds me of an ex co-worker who claimed that remembering figures such as BEW's, MAUW's etc was dangerous because it uses up too much valuable memory. Maybe he just needed a RAM, or CPU upgrade.:confused:

hehe :D , No worry's Dude. I seem to remember something back in the hazy days of training about MAUW, MTOW and the like. :}
I think I have reached a level that is about saturation level. I have to forget something to be able to put new info in. :eek: as for all that maths stuff you retained.............do you use it often?, or is it something you can discard later for a space to put new useful stuff? (like where the best bourbon/cigars are at). :E

32, I think!:ok:

"Show me the forces acting on a glider in the climb..."

or

"What are the forces acting on a golf ball in flight?"

The day I start flying a :mad:ing golf ball will be the day I'll figure that out...

I'll go with 37 blades on the cfm56-3

Question from FOI. Do you mind if i smoke..........after he has lit up.

Q. If I decide to take my nav bag, how will that affect the CoG? As we're about to board a Shrike Commander...........with 2 up and full fuel.

Q.Exactly how many flashes are there on a Whelen Comet wing tip Strobe if installed in alternate flashing mode?

PA 39,

That wouldn't happen to be a certain DG from Western Australian fame would it?? Never forget the burn marks in the carpet of the 172 and the tobacco all over cockpit!