ATPL theory questions
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Bristol, England
Age: 65
Posts: 1,804
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Here is another example of a question not covered by the learning objectives from this last week's Comms exam:
Q. When would a METAR cause an immediate update to an ATIS?
(a) Upon receipt of a METAR SPECI (correct)
(b) Upon receipt of any official weather, regardless of content change or reported values
(c) Only when the ceiling and/or visibility changes by a reportable value
(d) Every 30 minutes if weather conditions are below those for VFR; otherwise hourly
The correct LO for this would be something like:
"State the circumstances when a METAR would cause an immediate update to an ATIS".
The closest actual LO is, in VFR Comms:
"List the contents of aerodrome weather reports and state units of measurement used for each item
- Wind direction and speed
- Variation of wind direction and speed
- Visibility
- Present weather
- Cloud amount and type (including the meaning of CAVOK)
- Air temperature and dewpoint
- Pressure values (QNH, QFE)
- Supplementary information (aerodrome warnings, landing runway, runway conditions, restrictions, obstructions, windshear warnings, etc)"
How could a candidate anticipate that question from the existing learning objective? This is the point we are trying to get across to the CAA. There is no way that we can prepare candidates for some of these new questions in advance of their issue. This also reinforces Paco's point about the review of technical content. We are told that these questions have been past two subject experts for validation. Really?
Out of interest, this point is not covered in the Met LOs either, the closest LO there is:
"Describe the meteorological content of broadcasts for aviation:
- VOLMET, ATIS
- HF-VOLMET"
Q. When would a METAR cause an immediate update to an ATIS?
(a) Upon receipt of a METAR SPECI (correct)
(b) Upon receipt of any official weather, regardless of content change or reported values
(c) Only when the ceiling and/or visibility changes by a reportable value
(d) Every 30 minutes if weather conditions are below those for VFR; otherwise hourly
The correct LO for this would be something like:
"State the circumstances when a METAR would cause an immediate update to an ATIS".
The closest actual LO is, in VFR Comms:
"List the contents of aerodrome weather reports and state units of measurement used for each item
- Wind direction and speed
- Variation of wind direction and speed
- Visibility
- Present weather
- Cloud amount and type (including the meaning of CAVOK)
- Air temperature and dewpoint
- Pressure values (QNH, QFE)
- Supplementary information (aerodrome warnings, landing runway, runway conditions, restrictions, obstructions, windshear warnings, etc)"
How could a candidate anticipate that question from the existing learning objective? This is the point we are trying to get across to the CAA. There is no way that we can prepare candidates for some of these new questions in advance of their issue. This also reinforces Paco's point about the review of technical content. We are told that these questions have been past two subject experts for validation. Really?
Out of interest, this point is not covered in the Met LOs either, the closest LO there is:
"Describe the meteorological content of broadcasts for aviation:
- VOLMET, ATIS
- HF-VOLMET"
Last edited by Alex Whittingham; 15th Mar 2016 at 11:10.
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: London
Posts: 63
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
MB Question
Datum, definition is chosen on longitudinal axis of a/c but not necessarily between nose and tail of a/c.
Where else would it be if not between the nose and tail?
In CAP696 MRJT1 it has the datum on the nose in the pic yet it says the datum is located 540inches fwd of the front spar? How is this?
Many thanks.
Where else would it be if not between the nose and tail?
In CAP696 MRJT1 it has the datum on the nose in the pic yet it says the datum is located 540inches fwd of the front spar? How is this?
Many thanks.
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Bristol, England
Age: 65
Posts: 1,804
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The datum could be anywhere. Often on fixed wing aircraft it is the front bulkhead but it could be a position in space in front of the aircraft, maybe relating to a position on the jig when the aircraft was built. Helicopters often use the rotor mast.
The advantage of a forward datum is that all moments are positive. If you chose the main spar, say, then masses forward of the spar would have a negative moment, masses aft would have a positive moment.
On the MRJT the datum is defined as 540" forward of the front spar. It's not exactly on the point of the nose, it may be co-incidentally at the front pressure bulkhead but I don't think so, the maintenance manuals seem to show that being at STN178, 26" back from the datum.
The advantage of a forward datum is that all moments are positive. If you chose the main spar, say, then masses forward of the spar would have a negative moment, masses aft would have a positive moment.
On the MRJT the datum is defined as 540" forward of the front spar. It's not exactly on the point of the nose, it may be co-incidentally at the front pressure bulkhead but I don't think so, the maintenance manuals seem to show that being at STN178, 26" back from the datum.
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Reading
Age: 38
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
7700 mode A or C
Sat my air law exam today for my ATPL ground exams i had two question which asked about the use of the transponder in an emergency and hijacking had the obvious correct for emergency of 7700 and 7500 for Unlawful interference but it wanted me to state whether it was on Mode A or C unfortunately i picked Charlie as i thought it gave more information which would be relevant for the emergency. the correct answer was mode A can anyone let me know why this would be the case?
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Spain
Posts: 165
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It depends on the type of interrogation received by the transponder. If it receives a Mode A interrogation, the squawk code will be transmitted. If it receives a mode C interrogation, the altitude is transmitted.
It is important to understand that squawk code and altitude are NEVER sent together by the transponder.
It is important to understand that squawk code and altitude are NEVER sent together by the transponder.
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: London
Posts: 63
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
TOM
Hi to calculate the allowable TOM, factors that need to be taken into account include? The sum of the Max Landing Mass and Trip Fuel, why is this, i dont follow why the MLM is relevant to TOM. THanks.
If the flight goes exactly as planned we will have burned only the planned trip fuel. So the landing mass will be the take-off mass minus the trip fuel. But we must not plan to land at a mass greater than the MLM, so working backwards if we take the MLM and add back the trip fuel, we will have the maximum TOM which will avoid exceeding the MLM.
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: London
Posts: 63
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks Keith, I dont follow this question if you can help:
A mass of 500Kg is loaded at a station which is located 10m behind present CG and 16m behind the datum, the moment for that mass in the loading manifest is:
Answer is 80000Nm
A mass of 500Kg is loaded at a station which is located 10m behind present CG and 16m behind the datum, the moment for that mass in the loading manifest is:
Answer is 80000Nm
The key here is to note that the load manifest records moment relative to the datum, an not relative to the initial CG.
Moment added equals mass added (500 kg) X moment arm from datum (16 m)
500 kg X 16 m equals 8000 kg m.
Using the approximation 1 kg equal 10 Newton's, 8000 kg m equals 80000 Nm.
Moment added equals mass added (500 kg) X moment arm from datum (16 m)
500 kg X 16 m equals 8000 kg m.
Using the approximation 1 kg equal 10 Newton's, 8000 kg m equals 80000 Nm.
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: London
Posts: 63
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
MB
Thanks Keith!
As well, this question allowed traffic load is the difference between allowed take off mass and operating mass? What does this mean?
Last one, what is a simple definition of MAC.
As well, this question allowed traffic load is the difference between allowed take off mass and operating mass? What does this mean?
Last one, what is a simple definition of MAC.
If you look at the first section of the CAP696 you will find a list of definitions.
Dry Operating Mass (DOM) is the mass of the aircraft with no usable fuel and no traffic load.
Operating Mass (OM) is DOM plus take-off fuel.
Take-off Mass (TOM) is OM plus traffic load.
So TOM is DOM plus take-off fuel plus traffic load.
There are various factors which can limit the alowable TOM, allowable take-off fuel, and allowable traffic load.
so we can say that maximlm allowable TOM equals DOM plus allowable take-off fuel plus allowable traffic load.
For CG purposes it is enough to know that,
MAC is the average chord length and it occurs at a specific point along the span of a swept wing.
The leading edge position of the MAC (leMAC) will be specified as a longitudinal position relative to the CG Datum.
The CG position expressed as a %MAC is ( (CG position - leMAC) /MAC Length ) X 100%.
Dry Operating Mass (DOM) is the mass of the aircraft with no usable fuel and no traffic load.
Operating Mass (OM) is DOM plus take-off fuel.
Take-off Mass (TOM) is OM plus traffic load.
So TOM is DOM plus take-off fuel plus traffic load.
There are various factors which can limit the alowable TOM, allowable take-off fuel, and allowable traffic load.
so we can say that maximlm allowable TOM equals DOM plus allowable take-off fuel plus allowable traffic load.
For CG purposes it is enough to know that,
MAC is the average chord length and it occurs at a specific point along the span of a swept wing.
The leading edge position of the MAC (leMAC) will be specified as a longitudinal position relative to the CG Datum.
The CG position expressed as a %MAC is ( (CG position - leMAC) /MAC Length ) X 100%.
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Bristol, England
Age: 65
Posts: 1,804
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
For interest, these are the national pass rates for the UK ATPL(A) exams in February, the low pass rate in 071 does not reflect the true fail rate in week 1 as it also includes exams later in Feb when we had some feedback in place and pass rates were coming back up.
010 Air Law 93%
021 AGK 88%
022 Instrumentation 84%
031 Mass & Balance 86%
032 Performance 77%
033 Flight Planning 91%
040 Human Performance 88%
050 Meteorology 70%
061 General Navigation 71%
062 Radio Navigation 87%
071 Op Procedures 56%
081 Principles of Flight 72%
091 VFR Comms 100%
092 IFR Comms 95%
010 Air Law 93%
021 AGK 88%
022 Instrumentation 84%
031 Mass & Balance 86%
032 Performance 77%
033 Flight Planning 91%
040 Human Performance 88%
050 Meteorology 70%
061 General Navigation 71%
062 Radio Navigation 87%
071 Op Procedures 56%
081 Principles of Flight 72%
091 VFR Comms 100%
092 IFR Comms 95%
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Middle East
Posts: 90
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Anyone know's if its the same all over Europe? I mean do they just print out the test's from an EASA main system or is it up to each country to change the questions whenever they feel like it?
There must be a bunch of old retired pilots at EASA who sit and come up with crazy s..t when sitting telling stories about their days as Spacecowboys.
The system is utter crap, I have tested JAA guys vs FAA guys about 8 years after the JAA guys finished their ATPL. They all took the same practice papers and they all got about the same scores. All pilots currently flying for airlines or corporate companies. NOT ONE passed any of the practice papers I gave them.
The amount of knowledge and information one must Study/learn and keep inside the heard is worse then even a doctor has to learn, and impossible to retain just even a few years.
Would be great-full if anyone got any knowledge about the question in the top, if its the same all around EUROPE or just the UK that are swapping out questions left and right?
There must be a bunch of old retired pilots at EASA who sit and come up with crazy s..t when sitting telling stories about their days as Spacecowboys.
The system is utter crap, I have tested JAA guys vs FAA guys about 8 years after the JAA guys finished their ATPL. They all took the same practice papers and they all got about the same scores. All pilots currently flying for airlines or corporate companies. NOT ONE passed any of the practice papers I gave them.
The amount of knowledge and information one must Study/learn and keep inside the heard is worse then even a doctor has to learn, and impossible to retain just even a few years.
Would be great-full if anyone got any knowledge about the question in the top, if its the same all around EUROPE or just the UK that are swapping out questions left and right?
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: somewhere hot and sticky
Age: 44
Posts: 283
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Air Law
Hi All,
I have heard from a couple of people recently that wrote Air Law, who said they barely recognised any questions on the paper from the database they subscribed to. How long do the database providers take to come up with updates to cover major changes like this?
I am sitting it next month... and starting to worry a little!
(not that I am only studying the qb, but Law in particular is a very wide subect and the qb helps narrow down what is important and what is not...)
I have heard from a couple of people recently that wrote Air Law, who said they barely recognised any questions on the paper from the database they subscribed to. How long do the database providers take to come up with updates to cover major changes like this?
I am sitting it next month... and starting to worry a little!
(not that I am only studying the qb, but Law in particular is a very wide subect and the qb helps narrow down what is important and what is not...)
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Bristol, England
Age: 65
Posts: 1,804
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The answer is that it is reactive, neither the database providers nor the schools can anticipate the direction the exams will take because (1) the syllabus we have been given is so badly written almost anything can be asked (2) the questions being created are in a large part not properly validated.
Once the questions appear we can modify our feedback. An example is Op Procedures where improved feedback was allowing passes on the new material within two weeks. In some subjects feedback is very difficult to get right because the questions themselves are wordy and complex (Air Law), in other subjects it is relatively easy to get right.
The situation is not helped by the poor english of the examiners, by inconsistent use of reference documents, by questions with answers that are just plain wrong and by the exam authorities bending over backwards to avoid crediting exams, which means defective questions are not removed.
All in all it is a shambles, and the JAA and EASA have been trying to get this right for 15 years. It is unfair on the candidates that have to sit these new exams. EASA and the CAA say that the new questions are an effort to stop people relying on question banks. The paradox is that the effect of their poor quality of work is exactly the opposite of their intentions.
Very few people complain because there is a feeling that the regulator will 'black spot' you if you do. There is no quality system that applies to the exams, no external regulation either. Even the schools are reluctant to complain and be seen as 'trouble causers'. To paraphrase Juvenal, who will regulate the regulator?
Once the questions appear we can modify our feedback. An example is Op Procedures where improved feedback was allowing passes on the new material within two weeks. In some subjects feedback is very difficult to get right because the questions themselves are wordy and complex (Air Law), in other subjects it is relatively easy to get right.
The situation is not helped by the poor english of the examiners, by inconsistent use of reference documents, by questions with answers that are just plain wrong and by the exam authorities bending over backwards to avoid crediting exams, which means defective questions are not removed.
All in all it is a shambles, and the JAA and EASA have been trying to get this right for 15 years. It is unfair on the candidates that have to sit these new exams. EASA and the CAA say that the new questions are an effort to stop people relying on question banks. The paradox is that the effect of their poor quality of work is exactly the opposite of their intentions.
Very few people complain because there is a feeling that the regulator will 'black spot' you if you do. There is no quality system that applies to the exams, no external regulation either. Even the schools are reluctant to complain and be seen as 'trouble causers'. To paraphrase Juvenal, who will regulate the regulator?
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Shoreham-By-Sea
Age: 31
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Equation thats driving me insane!
Evening all,
I have begun my studies for the ATPLs with BGS and am going through their maths & physics premodule before starting with the official subjects. So far, I've recapped factors (HCF, LCM), long division and multiplication and shape properties without issue, but one question on formula rearranging is really getting me down because I just can't understand it!
The question is transpose y=7-2x to make x the subject - should be straightforward enough right?
As I understand, the first figure to the right of the = sign will be a positive unless otherwise indicated, so my first step would be to get rid of this (7-7 = 0). Doing the same to the other side, the first issue appears, is it y-7 or 7-y and why?
Secondly, Now being left with -2x is also confusing me. To balance this back to x, are we dividing by -2, resulting in (y-7 or 7-y)/-2 = x? The answer doesn't think so and neither do I, but not sure why
It's only this one question that seems to be catching me out so far and its driving me insane! Rearranging the C=(5(F-32))/9 formula to make F the subject was straightforward compared to this easy question!!?
Hoping not to fall at this first hurdle and that someone can assist in making me feel not quite so stupid!
I have begun my studies for the ATPLs with BGS and am going through their maths & physics premodule before starting with the official subjects. So far, I've recapped factors (HCF, LCM), long division and multiplication and shape properties without issue, but one question on formula rearranging is really getting me down because I just can't understand it!
The question is transpose y=7-2x to make x the subject - should be straightforward enough right?
As I understand, the first figure to the right of the = sign will be a positive unless otherwise indicated, so my first step would be to get rid of this (7-7 = 0). Doing the same to the other side, the first issue appears, is it y-7 or 7-y and why?
Secondly, Now being left with -2x is also confusing me. To balance this back to x, are we dividing by -2, resulting in (y-7 or 7-y)/-2 = x? The answer doesn't think so and neither do I, but not sure why
It's only this one question that seems to be catching me out so far and its driving me insane! Rearranging the C=(5(F-32))/9 formula to make F the subject was straightforward compared to this easy question!!?
Hoping not to fall at this first hurdle and that someone can assist in making me feel not quite so stupid!
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: UK
Posts: 291
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It's always worth making the subject of the equation positive in the first instance, to avoid any silly errors by having to multiple by -1 at the end.
Correct.
You ultimately want to get the subject on it's on in as few a "moves" (for lack of a better word!) as possible
So with this in mind....
y = 7 - 2x
I'm going to add 2x to each side of the equation (as I want to get the subject positive), alternativly you could multiply everything by -1 but I favour the first method.
y + 2x = 7
Then subract y from each side
2x = 7 - y (there is 0 y on this side of the equation hence why is becomes "-y" -y is the same as -1y)
then finally divide each side by 2 (as there are 2 lots of x on the left side. If we know that 7-y gives us twice the value of x, then half on 7-y must give us x!)
x = (7-y)/2
As I understand, the first figure to the right of the = sign will be a positive unless otherwise indicated,
You ultimately want to get the subject on it's on in as few a "moves" (for lack of a better word!) as possible
So with this in mind....
y = 7 - 2x
I'm going to add 2x to each side of the equation (as I want to get the subject positive), alternativly you could multiply everything by -1 but I favour the first method.
y + 2x = 7
Then subract y from each side
2x = 7 - y (there is 0 y on this side of the equation hence why is becomes "-y" -y is the same as -1y)
then finally divide each side by 2 (as there are 2 lots of x on the left side. If we know that 7-y gives us twice the value of x, then half on 7-y must give us x!)
x = (7-y)/2