Sport / Private Ground School Lesson 4 Airport and Flight Environment
FAA Safety Campaign
Posi?ve Exchange of Controls Instructor: You have the flight controls Student: I have the flight controls Instructor: You have the flight controls Always know who is flying the airplane! 3
Collision Avoidance Most air- to- air collisions happen within 5 miles of airports during daylight hours, in VFR condi?on Be aware of blind spots Use landing light within 10 miles of airports Use an?- collision light (strobes) whenever engine is running Clearing turns prior to star?ng any maneuver 4
Visual Scanning Series of short (1 second), regularly spaced (10 ) eye movements If there is no apparent rela?ve mo?on between you and another airplane, then you are possibly on a collision course Haze makes traffic and terrain features appear to be farther away than they actually are Empty field myopia when looking at a featureless sky, your eyes tend to focus 10 to 30 feet away. May miss detec?ng distant aircra_ 5
Visual Scanning 6
Where is the wind? Maintain situa?onal awareness on the ground and in flight Approaching airport overfly traffic pacern by 500 to 1,000 to check wind Wind sock big end into the wind Wind tee big end into the wind Tetrahedron (landing direc?on indicator) licle end into the wind Segmented circle legs show traffic pacern 7
Wind Direc?on Indicators Windsock Tetrahedron Wind Tee 8
Where is the wind? 9
Wind Direc?on Wind is expressed in magne?c north Unless on text weather Wind expressed in direc?on wind is blowing from Rounded to the nearest 10 degrees 10
Taxiing in Wind 11
Taxiing in Wind Turn into a quartering headwind Dive away from a quartering tailwind Most cri)cal taxiing a high- wing, tricycle gear aircra_ in a quartering tailwind Tailwheel keep the tail on the ground (headwind pull back on the s?ck; tailwind push forward) Posi?on aileron and elevator so that: Wind pushes down on top of control surface Do not want wind to li_ from the bocom Minimize risk for wind to flip airplane 12
Wind Direc?on Take off on a runway most aligned in wind Reduces ground speed Less runway required Greater angle of climb on takeoff Steeper angles of descent in landing Windsock most common instrument Listen to ASOS, AWOS, or ATIS Ask Other Pilots Observe where the wind is coming from 13
Runway Designators Referenced in magne?c north Every 10 degrees RUNWAY 10 = 100 o Referenced to nearest 10 degrees 14
Airport Traffic Pacern Ensures an orderly flow of traffic to a runway Helps spot other traffic Know where other traffic may be Helps avoid midair collisions What to expect from other airplanes 15
Airport Traffic Pacern Upwind (Departure) Leg Crosswind Leg Downwind Base Final 16
Traffic Pacern Enter Traffic Pacern 45 degrees to the downwind 17
Airport Traffic Pacern Upwind (Departure) Leg Straight course aligned with and leading from takeoff runway Crosswind Leg Turn crosswind beyond the departure end of the runway, and when within 300 feet of pacern al?tude Level wings and check for traffic before turning downwind Stay within ¼ to ½ mile from the airport 18
Airport Traffic Pacern Downwind Use wing or wing strut to maintain a consistent distance from the runway Traffic pacern al?tude (TPA) is normally 800 _. to 1,000 _. AGL (per the AIM) Look for traffic prior to turning base Turn base when aircra_ is at a 45 degree angle from runway landing point 19
Airport Traffic Pacern Base Key Posi?on middle of base turn should be roughly 500 _. AGL Level wings and look for traffic Final Slow to final approach speed Complete turn to final at least ¼ mile from runway landing point 20
Airport Traffic Pacern Rules No more than 30 degrees bank in turns Standard Traffic Pacern is le_ turns Or as published by FAA Depar?ng the Traffic Pacern Straight Out from Runway 45 degree turn in the direc?on of the traffic pacern 21
Traffic Pacern Guidelines Over- fly the traffic pacern 500 _. above the traffic pacern Observe traffic pacern flow Observe wind condi?ons Observe runway condi?ons Level off during climb to check for traffic Check in direc?on of turns before turning Announce clear le_ / center / right 22
Traffic Pacern Right of Way Rules Aircra_ on final approach to landing Landing aircra_ has right of way over depar?ng aircra_ When two or more aircra_ are approaching the airport for landing, the lower aircra_ has the right- of- way May not be taken advantage of to cut in front or overtake another aircra_ 23
Airport Markings Airport Surfaces White for runways Yellow for taxiways and no- runway surfaces Runway Markings Precision Non- Precision Visual 24
Runway Markings Visual Non- Precision Precision 25
Airport Markings Runway Hold Posi?on Markings Taxi Center Line single yellow line Enhanced Centerline Markings: 150 _. long 26
Taxiway Markings Taxiway Centerline Markings: Yellow solid Taxiway Edge Markings: Double Yellow Lines or dashes 27
Other Runway Markings Displaced Threshold Can Takeoff and Taxi Cannot Land Blast Pad Cannot Land Cannot Takeoff or Taxi 28
Is the Runway Open? Check NOTAMS Visual X on runway 29
Mandatory Signs Red background / White Lecers Must Comply with all Instruc?ons Runway Hold Signs ILS Cri?cal Signs Runway Intersec?ons 30
Loca?on Signs Black background / Yellow Lecers Loca?on of a runway or taxiway currently on 31
Direc?on Signs Yellow background / Black Lecers Loca?on of a runway or taxiway with arrow 32
Des?na?on Signs Yellow background / Black Lecers Certain loca?ons on airfield MIL / FBO 33
Informa?on Signs Ground Base Naviga?on Blind Spots Noise Abatement Obstruc?ons Where to find data: Airport Facility Directory Signs Bulle?n Boards 34
Runway Distance Remaining Signs Black background / White Lecers Distance remaining on runway in 1,000s of feet 35
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Airport Signs and Markings
Wake Turbulence Wing Tip Vor?ces: Occur any?me li_ is generated Sink behind aircra_ Dri_ with wind Most hazardous with light quartering tailwind Vor?ces are strongest when: Slow speed Heavy weight Clean configura?on 38
Wake Turbulence 39
Runway Incursion Any occurrence at an airport involving an aircra_, vehicle, person, or object on the ground that creates a collision hazard or results in loss of separa?on with an aircra_ taking off or intending to take off, landing or intending to land 40
Runway Incursion Avoidance )ps Familiarize yourself with airport during pre- flight planning Complete checklists before taxiing or while holding short Read back all hold- short instruc?ons Focus on taxiing don t get distracted If unsure of your posi?on ask (request progressive taxi if necessary) While wai?ng for clearance, posi?on aircra_ to see landings Monitor appropriate frequencies and maintain situa?onal awareness A_er landing, stay w/tower un?l told to switch Use lights at night or during reduced visibility Report confusing signs to airport authority Understand LAHSO 41
Land And Hold Short Opera?ons (LAHSO) Land and hold short of intersec?ng runway Can only accept LAHSO clearance if you have received training Student pilots can never par?cipate in LAHSO 43
Ramp Hand Signals Line Service Personnel Help to guide pilot to parking spot Guide pilot out of parking spot Acknowledge Line Service Flash Landing Light Nod Head 44
Ramp Hand Signals 45
Airport Beacons Alterna?ng Green- White = Civilian Green- White- White = Military Yellow- White = Seaport Green- Yellow- White = Heliport Beacon during the day normally indicates weather is below VFR mins 46
VASI Ver?cal Approach Slope Indicator At a controlled airport, you must stay on or above glideslope White over white fly all night Red over red you re dead Red over white you re all right 3 bar VASI has capability for 2 different glideslopes - use the lower 2 bars 47
PAPI Precision Approach Path Indicator All white Above glide path 3 white/1 red slightly high 2 white/2 red on path 1 white/3 red slightly low All red Below glide path 48
Tri- Color VASI Amber too high Green on path Red too low 49
PLASI Pulsa?ng Approach Slope Indicator 50
Airspace Controlled Airspace Class A Class B Class C Class D Class E Uncontrolled Airspace Class G ATC service is provided to IFR and VFR flights within controlled airspace 51
Class A 18,000 to 60,000 (FL180 to FL600) Must be instrument rated and on an IFR Flight Plan to operate in Class A Al?meter set to 29.92 52
Class B Na?on s busiest airports Must have clearance prior to entry Aircra_ must have 2- way comm. capability and Mode C transponder Private pilot cer?ficate at minimum Floor and ceiling of each layer of Class B airspace are denoted in MSL on charts ATC provides mandatory radar services to all VFR and IFR traffic Depicted on chart as a solid blue line 53
Class C Towered airports, serviced by radar approach control, have a certain number of IFR and Passenger enplanements Must establish 2- way comms prior to entry and Mode C transponder When opera?ng from satellite airport within Class C airspace, contact primary airport s ctrl tower as soon as prac?cable a_er t/o Depicted on chart as a solid magenta line 54
Class D Airports with opera?ng control tower, but no radar service Sfc to approx 2,500 AGL (actual al?tude designated in MSL) Must establish 2- way comms prior to entering Airspace at an airport with a part?me control tower is classified as Class D only when the associated tower is in opera?on Lateral dimensions of Class D airspace are based on the instrument procedures for which the controlled airspace is established Depicted on a chart by a blue segmented circle 55
Class E No communica?on requirements, but ATC services can be provided on request Allows IFR traffic to remain in controlled airspace Starts at 1,200 AGL unless otherwise depicted May start at 700 AGL Victor airways: 8 nm wide (4 nm each side), 1,200 AGL to 18,000 MSL Airport areas: Begins at surface, depicted as a segmented magenta circle 56
Airspace Class G Typically from surface (SFC) to 700 or 1,200 AGL May go from surface to 14,500 (or higher if 14,500 isn t at least 1,500 AGL Above Ground Level) ATC exercises no control Sport Pilot regula?ons raise weather minimums to: 3 sm visibility below 10,000 _. 5 sm visibility above 10,000 _. and greater than 1,200 AGL 57
Transponder Requirements Mode C transponder is required in all Class A, B, and C airspace Also required Within 30 nm of a Class B airport from the surface to 10,000 MSL Above 10,000 MSL, except when at or below 2,500 AGL
Class B Class C 59
Class D Class E
Weather Minimums 61
Airspace 62
Other Considera?ons Special VFR Special VFR allows appropriately rated pilots to fly under certain condi?ons below normal VFR minimums ATC Clearance Clear of Clouds At least 1sm visibility Sport Pilots cannot operate under Special VFR Airspeed Limita?ons 200kt within 4 nm of Class C or Class D airspace 200kt under Class B or in a VFR corridor through class B airspace 250kt below 10,000 MSL or within Class B airspace 63
TEST TIME! 64