Commercial Aircraft Operations

Question 1

schedule regulation

Answer 1

generally regulated by the country of registration and the sovereignty in which the operation in conducted

Question 2

flight deck crew

Answer 2

detailed procedures, operating manuals + checklists, captain has emergency authority

Question 3

cabin crew

Answer 3

responsible for passenger safety

trained for aircraft emergencies, evaluation procedures, medical assistance, care of special needs passengers, flight regulations, meal servicing

annual recurrent training

Question 4

crew resources management (CRM)

Answer 4

addresses the effective use by the flight crews of all resources available to them

people, flight deck instrumentation, personal skills

situational awareness, use of automation, team building, task delegation, information transfer, problem solving

Question 5

flight crew scheduling

Answer 5

roster: crew members flight activity for some period, sequences of flight duty and says off, range from 65 to 100 hours spread over 10 to 18 duty days

duty day can be one to four flight legs

spontaneous filling of open seat

Question 6

flight crew sign in

Answer 6

sign in at the airport flight operations office 1 hr prior to departure, flight planning tasks, first officer may proceed to aircraft earlier than captain to begin pre-flight duties while captain completes necessary paperwork

Question 7

operations/planning

Answer 7

airline operations control center (AOCC) staffed by certified flight dispatchers, flight planning includes best routing, fuel burn, generate flight plan.

Question 8

flight plan

Answer 8

general info (aircraft type, engine type, routing info, time constraints), flight plan route, detailed routing, alternate airport information, fuel information

Question 9

fuel

Answer 9

reach destination airport, reserve fuel, weather, cruise speed and altitude, ferrying fuel (tankering), takeoff and landing performance, payload

Question 10

takeoff planning

Answer 10

load is determined and available runways considered, max runway, climb limited weights, calculated by dispatcher and load manager, adjustment made with weather or other factors

Question 11

runway limited weight

Answer 11

most restrictive performance based on runway length, slope, obstacle clearance, brake energy, and tire speed

Question 12

climb limited weight

Answer 12

based on ability of the aircraft to climb at minimum angles with and without all engines operating normally

Question 13

Vmcg

Answer 13

minimum control speed on ground, aircraft must be able to continue a straight path down the runway with a failed engine, without relying on nose gear reactions

Question 14

V1 decision speed

Answer 14

short time after critical engine failure speed, above this speed, aerodynamic controls alone must be adequate to proceed safely with takeoff

Question 15

Vmc minimum control speed

Answer 15

minimum airspeed at which when critical engine is made inoperative, it is still possible to recover control of the airplane and maintain straight flight

Question 16

Vr rotation speed

Answer 16

must be greater than v1 and greater than 1.05 Vmc

Question 17

Vmu minimum unstick speed

Answer 17

minimum airspeed at which airplane can safely lift off ground and continue take off

Question 18

Vlo liftoff speed

Answer 18

must be greater than 1.1Vmu with all engines or 1.05 Vmu with engine out

Question 19

V2 takeoff climb speed

Answer 19

demonstrated airspeed at the 35 ft height. must be greater than 1.1 Vmc and 1.2 Vs (stall speed in takeoff config)

Question 20

cabin crew briefing

Answer 20

en route flight time and destination weather, taxi time, security issues and alerts, ride conditions, inoperative cabin components, crew meal services, adherence to sterile cockpit periods, safety relevant/operational issues

Question 21

pre flight

Answer 21

airworthiness of aircraft, exterior walk around examination, interior cockpit setup, systems checks, lots of checklists.

Question 22

autoflight programming

Answer 22

autoflight initialization and FMS programming (manual control, tactical modes, strategic lateral and vertical navigation modes)

use of autopilot is often discretionary, takeoff manually by pilot, landings also mostly manually controlled

Question 23

fuel slip and other documents

Answer 23

confirm the fuel quantity and distribution

other docs include water and lavatory servicing verification, security inspection confirmation, documents accompanying restricted cargo, armed passenger, customs declaration, jumpseat rider identification confirmation

Question 24

pre departure

Answer 24

20 mins before: finalize FMS and autoflight programming, update weather and airport info, obtain route clearance from ATC

5-10 before pushback: turn on fasten seat belt, takeoff briefing, close aircraft doors, connect pushback tug

prior pushback: load closeout, final takeoff performance data calculated, weather changes

Question 25

gate departure

Answer 25

move jetbridge, de ice aircraft, remove wheel chocks, call ATC recieve pushback clearance, start engines

Question 26

taxi out

Answer 26

taxi to departure runway, checklists, captain ensure cabin is ready for takeoff

Question 27

takeoff

Answer 27

can be cleared for takeoff or hold short of the runway or taxi on the runway and hold short there, roles pilot flying pilot monitoring, accelerate the aircraft, aircraft centerline tracking and engine parameters, pilot monitoring calls out v-speeds

once airborne: cleaned up (gear up, slats/flaps up), traffic situation outside

Question 28

terminal area departure

Answer 28

aircraft accelerated to maximum low altitude climb speed, engage autoflight mode, standard instrument departure, complies with radar vectoring commands, commence in flight service, above FL100 accelerated to optimal climb speed

Question 29

climb + cruise

Answer 29

compare optimal and max cruise altitudes with desired cruise mach number, coordinate cruise altitude and speed with ATC, monitor weather and turbulence, request route shortcuts with ATC, passenger related activities

Question 30

en route control centre

Answer 30

traffic above and between terminal airspace

area control centers (ACC) manage air traffic in lower flight information regions

upper area control centers (UACC)) manage air traffic in upper FIRS (above FL245)

international airspace coordinated by ICAO

Question 31

surveillance

Answer 31

position reporting: radio comms to ATC when no other surveillance system is available

radar systems: fundamental aircraft surveillance system

primary radar: measures distance between radar station and aircraft

secondary radar: requires aircraft equipped with transponder

Question 32

en route navigation systems

Answer 32

ground based transmitters, aircraft navigate on radials to and from VOR stations, distance measuring equipment (DME), VOR systems limited to line of sight

other systems: NDB (non directional beacon), GPS (global positioning system), INS (inertial navigation system)

Question 33

en route trajectories

Answer 33

normally cannot take shortest track, there are ‘airways’, connections between waypoints, pilots still request shortcuts

Question 34

descent

Answer 34

top of descent (TOD) 20-30 mins remaining, requests initiate descend with ATC, descent profile determined by ATC restrictions, weather and operational situation, prepare cabin and galleys for landing

Question 35

terminal arrival

Answer 35

approach controllers below 18000 ft, standard arrival (STAR) followed until initial approach fix (IAF), radar vectoring, runway used for landing and possible delays, finalize approach preparations

Question 36

final approach

Answer 36

IAF to FAF, then runway, ILS (instrument landing system) during IMC, pilots may use visual approach during VMC, cleared for approach crew starts procedure, carefully examine weather and wind

Question 37

landing and rollout

Answer 37

combo of reverse thrust and ground spoilers and wheel braking to decelerate, minimize runway occupancy time, use high speed taxiways, assume the taxi and comms tasks, reports any adverse wind or braking conditions, request taxi-in instructions

Question 38

taxi in

Answer 38

ground controller advises which taxiway, clearance by tower required for crossing active runway, diligence by crew for airports which are unfamiliar or undergoing construction taxi to ramp area, marshaller or automated parking guidance system

Question 39

parking

Answer 39

setting the parking brake and opening a cabin door trigger IN event (used to determine various metrics such as flight duration), doors disarmed, start passenger disembarkation, secures cockpit and cabin before departing aircraft

Question 40

post flight

Answer 40

debriefs/reports are required by cockpit crew in instances of non standard operations or issues, crew begins preparations for next flight leg, discuss aircraft discrepancies or operational issues