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Brainteasers
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March 25, 2004

Brainteasers
Interactive Quiz #79:
Let's Be Clear On This

The bedrock of air traffic control is the word "clear." Whether cleared for takeoff or cleared for an instrument approach, understanding the forces that this word unleashes clearly puts you in the accomplished pilot's seat.

INSTRUCTIONS: Answer the questions as best you can, then click on the "Score my quiz answers" button to see your score and read the explanations. If you don't like your score the first time around, you can change some of your answers and resubmit. To get the most out of this quiz, we suggest you keep trying until you get a perfect score.

NOTE: When more than one answer is true, only the most complete, correct answer will be scored as correct. The answers are assumed to apply within the United States unless otherwise noted.

1. Imagine you've just taken delivery of your new Cirrus SR20 (200-hp, single-engine airplane, under 12,500 pounds) and are taxiing for departure at Duluth [Minn.] International Airport. It's a clear day (VFR) in mid-June so the snow has finally begun to melt, but the runway and taxiways are amazingly dry. After completing your run-up without accidentally deploying the ballistic chute, you call Duluth tower: "Ready for takeoff." The tower ignores you and clears the much brawnier Cirrus SR22 (also a single-engine airplane, under 12,500 pounds, with 310-hp) ahead of you for takeoff. As the SR22 starts to roll, tower says to you, "Cirrus Five One Golf, runway 27, taxi into position and hold." Runway 27 is 10,152 feet long, all of it useable. You cannot be cleared for takeoff until tower assures that the preceding airplane (the SR22) is (choose the best answer):
a. Airborne and at least 3000 feet down the runway.
b. At least 3000 feet down the runway.
c. Airborne and at least 4500 feet down the runway.
d. At least 4500 feet down the runway.
2. As you near your destination, VFR, the approach controller tells you that the radar is out of service. She tells you to expect runway 33, which is 12,503 feet long, and then tells you to "... contact tower 118.4." The ATIS report shows wind 230 at 4, ceiling 6000 feet overcast, visibility 10. It also says that Land And Hold Short Operations (LAHSO) are in use. When you call the tower, the controller says, " ... cleared to land runway 33, hold short [of] runway 24, 6,500 feet available, traffic departing runway 24, braking action fair (reported) by a Boeing 727, wind calm." What makes the tower controller's LAHSO landing clearance unacceptable?
a. The wind must be greater than four knots for LAHSO.
b. The braking action must be good for LAHSO.
c. Only the approach controller, not tower, issues LAHSO instructions.
d. You have a tailwind component and cannot hold short of runway 24.
3. You're ready for departure at a Class C airport with an operating control tower. You're operating IFR (what's the point of buying a Cirrus if you only go VFR?) The ceiling is 1500 feet and visibility 3 miles in mist. Tower says, "Fly runway heading, runway 17, cleared for takeoff." The wind is from 140 degrees at 15 knots. Pointed down the runway with your nosewheel on the centerline, aileron into the wind, you notice that the magnetic compass reads 174 degrees. The Airport/Facility Directory (A/FD), which you really shouldn't be reading at the moment, says that runway 17's magnetic heading is 174 degrees. But the local magnetic variation is three degrees West (3W). While digesting all this information, you hear the tower yell, "Move it or lose it, pal, fly runway heading, cleared for takeoff!" It's a little early in the flight to panic, so what heading should you fly? (You may consult your E6B, A/FD, or AIM.)
a. 170 degrees
b. 174 degrees
c. 171 degrees
d. 177 degrees
4. On your IFR flight plan you near your destination, Winestain Muni in northern California, and you see that there's only one instrument approach procedure (IAP) published for the airport: the RNAV (GPS) Rwy 10. Winds are generally light and usually favor landing runway 28. This airport is inside Class G airspace -- no operating control tower -- but Oakland Center clears you to cross the initial approach fix (IAF) at or above 5000 feet and "cleared approach." The AWOS reports a broken layer at 2000 feet and 4 miles visibility. It's dusk. As you cross the IAF, Center says, "Radar service terminated, change to advisory frequency approved." You switch to CTAF (122.8) but no one answers; they must be out stomping grapes. Since you're on an IFR clearance and were cleared for approach by Center, you are also cleared to land but only on runway 10.
a. True
b. False
5. A VFR Mooney pilot (not you) calls the tower ready for takeoff. Tower replies, "Mooney Two Whiskey Whiskey, traffic on a five-mile final, runway 27, cleared for takeoff." The Mooney pilot acknowledges, reviews the pre-takeoff checklist on the Multifunction Display (MFD), checks the transponder, snugs his seatbelt, adjusts his Scheyden sunglasses ... but doesn't seem to move. So the tower controller says, "Mooney Two Whiskey Whiskey, traffic three-mile final, no delay, cleared for takeoff." The pilot reads back the clearance, reviews the departure procedure, and doesn't move, so the irritated tower controller growls, "... cleared for immediate takeoff!" Still, the Mooney doesn't budge from holding short of the runway. The tower controller sees that the departure slot is closing. The correct phraseology from tower to pilot to cancel the takeoff clearance is: "Mooney Two Whiskey Whiskey ...
a. Cancel takeoff clearance, hold short of the runway."
b. Cancel departure clearance, hold short of the runway."
c. Unable takeoff clearance at this time, hold short of the runway."
d. Unable departure clearance, hold short of the runway."
e. Do you have your ears on?"
6. The clearance limit is an important aspect of IFR operations. It's not the limit of ATC's patience in dealing with uncooperative pilots but, instead, when a controller says, "cleared to ..." the IFR pilot has been issued a clearance limit. Clearance limits include:
a. Airports
b. Navaids
c. Fixes
d. Waypoints
e. Any of the above
7. Imagine that you're on the ground at an uncontrolled airport (no control tower) inside Class G airspace. You've filed IFR and want to depart IFR. A VFR climb is not an option due to low clouds. Using your cellphone you call flight service. The AFSS briefer/agent calls Center and relays your IFR clearance to you. The clearance ends with, "... clearance void if not off by 1715 Zulu, time now 1700." This time restriction is called:
a. Hold For Release (HFR)
b. Void Time (VT)
c. Clearance Time Limit (CTL)
d. Expect Departure Clearance Time (EDCT)
8. Clear ice cannot be shed with an ATC clearance. But if ATC (tower, approach, or Center) receives a pilot report (PIREP) of severe ice (clear, rime, or mixed) the controller is not permitted to clear any IFR traffic into that area of known icing unless the aircraft is certified for "operations in known icing."
a. True
b. False
9. One fine day you taxi out and request touch-and-gos in the pattern. The tower controller clears you for takeoff, and when you're on left downwind, the tower controller says, "... cleared for the option." What are your options?
a. Touch and go or full-stop-taxi-back.
b. Touch-and-go, full-stop landing, stop-and-go, low approach, or missed approach.
c. Touch-and-go, full-stop landing, stop-and-go, balked approach, or missed approach.
d. Full-stop, overhead approach, or simulated flame-out (SFO).
10. Clearance delivery started your IFR journey by saying, "Cleared to" your destination airport. Tower launched you into the sky with, "Cleared for takeoff." The ATC radar saw your transponder code and automatically activated your IFR flight plan at about the time the departure controller said, "Radar contact." Hours later, at your destination, the approach controller turns your radar target onto the ILS and says, "Cleared approach." Once tower says, "Cleared to land," your IFR adventure is complete. Or is it? How does the IFR flight plan get closed at an airport with an operating control tower?
a. It closes when the pilot says, "Cancel my IFR," to the tower controller.
b. It closes when the pilot says, "Cancel my IFR," to the ground controller.
c. It closes when the pilot says, "Cancel my IFR," to the approach controller.
d. It closes automatically upon landing.
e. It closes automatically when the tower has the arrival in sight.