Aviation basics flashcards

Quick basics that interview panels sometimes touch on. Flip each card and sort it: what you miss comes back later. Free, no account needed.

Aviation basics flashcards

66 cards

Basics interview panels sometimes touch on: phonetic alphabet, forces of flight, controls, instruments and radio words. Flip each card, then say whether you knew it.

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Phonetic alphabet

Say A to E in the phonetic alphabet.: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo.
Say F to J in the phonetic alphabet.: Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett.
Say K to O in the phonetic alphabet.: Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar.
Say P to T in the phonetic alphabet.: Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango.
Say U to Z in the phonetic alphabet.: Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.
Why do pilots use a phonetic alphabet?: Letters like B, D and P can sound alike on a noisy radio. A set word for each letter avoids confusion.
How is the number 9 usually said on aviation radio?: 'Niner'. It is harder to confuse with other words over a noisy radio.
Indian-registered aircraft start with the letters VT. How are they said on the radio?: Victor Tango.

Forces of flight

What are the four forces acting on an aircraft in flight?: Lift, weight, thrust and drag.
Which force opposes weight?: Lift. Weight pulls the aircraft down; lift, mainly from the wings, pushes it up.
Which force opposes thrust?: Drag. Thrust from the engines moves the aircraft forward; drag is the air resisting that movement.
In steady, straight and level flight, how do the forces compare?: They are balanced: lift equals weight, and thrust equals drag.
Through which point does weight act?: Through the centre of gravity, straight down towards the centre of the earth.

Flight controls

Name the three axes an aircraft moves around.: Longitudinal (nose to tail) for roll, lateral (wingtip to wingtip) for pitch, and vertical (normal) for yaw.
What does the elevator control?: Pitch: the nose moving up or down, around the lateral axis.
What do the ailerons control?: Roll, around the longitudinal axis. They move in opposite directions: one wing goes up as the other goes down.
What does the rudder control, and how does the pilot move it?: Yaw: the nose moving left or right around the vertical axis. The pilot uses the rudder pedals.
What happens when the pilot pulls the control column back?: The elevator moves up, the tail is pushed down and the nose pitches up.
What do flaps do?: They give the wing more lift at low speed, so the aircraft can fly more slowly for take-off and landing. They also add drag.
What is trim used for?: It removes the need to hold a steady force on the controls, so the aircraft stays in the chosen attitude.

Instruments

Name the six basic flight instruments.: Airspeed indicator, attitude indicator, altimeter, turn coordinator, heading indicator and vertical speed indicator.
What does the airspeed indicator show?: The aircraft's speed through the air (indicated airspeed), usually in knots.
What does the attitude indicator show?: The aircraft's pitch and bank compared with the horizon. It is also called the artificial horizon.
What does the altimeter show?: Altitude, measured from air pressure. It must be set to the correct pressure setting to read correctly.
What does the turn coordinator show?: The rate of turn, and, with its ball, whether the turn is balanced (not slipping or skidding).
What does the heading indicator show?: The direction the nose is pointing. In many light aircraft it is realigned with the magnetic compass from time to time because it drifts.
What does the vertical speed indicator show?: How fast the aircraft is climbing or descending, usually in feet per minute.
Which three of the six basic instruments use the pitot-static system?: The airspeed indicator, the altimeter and the vertical speed indicator.

Units

What is a knot?: A speed of one nautical mile per hour.
How long is a nautical mile?: 1,852 metres, a little longer than a normal (statute) mile. It is based on one minute of latitude.
In what unit is altitude usually given in aviation, including in India?: Feet.
What does 'flight level 350' mean?: About 35,000 feet, measured with the standard pressure setting of 1013.25 hPa on the altimeter.
In what unit is wind speed usually given to pilots?: Knots.

Aerodynamics

What is the chord line of a wing?: An imaginary straight line from the leading edge (front) to the trailing edge (back) of the wing.
What is angle of attack?: The angle between the wing's chord line and the oncoming air (the relative airflow).
What is a stall?: When the angle of attack goes past the critical angle, the airflow separates from the wing and lift drops sharply. It is not an engine problem.
Can a wing stall at any speed?: Yes. A stall depends on angle of attack, so it can happen at any speed and in any attitude.
Name four things that affect how much lift a wing makes.: Airspeed, air density, wing area and angle of attack (up to the critical angle).
What are the two main types of drag?: Parasite drag, which grows as speed increases, and induced drag, which comes from making lift and is greatest at low speed.
Is the angle of the nose above the horizon the same as angle of attack?: No. Angle of attack is measured against the oncoming air, not the horizon.

Weather

Why do pilots avoid cumulonimbus clouds?: They are thunderstorm clouds that can bring severe turbulence, icing, hail, lightning, heavy rain and sudden wind changes.
What is fog?: Tiny water droplets in the air near the ground that reduce visibility to less than 1,000 metres.
When does radiation fog usually form?: On clear, calm nights when the ground cools and chills the moist air just above it.
What is a crosswind?: Wind blowing across the runway rather than along it. Pilots must correct for it to stay on the centreline.
How does a headwind help on take-off?: The aircraft reaches flying speed through the air at a lower speed over the ground, so it needs a shorter take-off run and climbs more steeply over the ground.
What does a tailwind do to take-off and landing distances?: It makes them longer, because the aircraft must go faster over the ground to reach the same airspeed.
What is windshear?: A sudden change in wind speed or direction over a short distance. It is most dangerous close to the ground during take-off and landing.
Why do hot days and high airports reduce aircraft performance?: The air is thinner (less dense), so wings make less lift and engines make less power. Take-off runs get longer.

Radio and ATC

What does 'squawk' mean?: Set a given four-digit code on the transponder, so that air traffic control can identify the aircraft on radar.
What does squawk 7700 mean?: A general emergency.
What do squawk codes 7600 and 7500 mean?: 7600 means radio failure. 7500 means unlawful interference, such as a hijack.
What does 'roger' mean?: I have received all of your last message. It does not mean 'yes' or 'I will do it'.
What does 'wilco' mean?: I have understood your message and will comply with it.
What word is used on the radio for 'yes'?: 'Affirm'. 'Negative' is used for 'no'.
What does 'say again' mean?: Please repeat all or part of your last message.
What does 'standby' mean?: Wait, and I will call you back.
What does a 'mayday' call mean?: Distress: the aircraft is in grave and imminent danger and needs immediate help. It is said three times.
What does a 'pan-pan' call mean?: Urgency: there is a problem affecting safety, but immediate help is not needed. It is said three times.
Why do pilots read back clearances such as headings, altitudes and runways?: So the controller can check the message was heard correctly and catch any mistake early.

Runways

What does the number on a runway mean?: Its direction, usually magnetic, divided by ten and rounded. Runway 27 points about 270°, roughly west.
If one end of a runway is 09, what is the other end?: 27. The two ends always differ by 18, because they point in opposite directions (180° apart).
What do the letters L, C and R after a runway number mean?: Left, centre and right, for parallel runways pointing the same way, as seen by a pilot approaching.

Standard atmosphere

What is the sea-level temperature in the International Standard Atmosphere (ISA)?: 15°C.
What is the sea-level pressure in the ISA?: 1013.25 hPa (the same as 29.92 inches of mercury).
In the ISA, how does temperature change as you climb in the lower atmosphere?: It falls by about 2°C for every 1,000 feet.
What does an altimeter show when it is set to QNH?: Altitude above mean sea level.