January 27, 2005

Interactive Quiz #90:
Decode VIP, AP, LOM

From the edge of outer space to the low-life missed approach environment, all pilots should be able to spit out obscure aviation terminology and know how to apply the info for safer flight.

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.

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1. After wintering in southern California, you dig your Twin Comanche from the mud and head home to Iowa in time for an early thunderstorm season. While being vectored for an ILS approach, the radar approach controller says, "Twin Comanche Two Papa Papa, level two through four weather echoes between 10 o'clock and two o'clock, one zero miles. Weather area is two zero miles in diameter." The "levels" referred to by the controller are:
a. Cloud height (tops)
b. Lightning (sferic) intensity
c. Precipitation intensity
d. Hail
e. Thunder intensity

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2. Having issued the weather warning in the previous question, the radar air traffic controller is now required to vector you around thunderstorms.
a. True
b. False

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3. Turbulence is reported in PIREPs as Light, Moderate, Severe, or Extreme. When a radar air traffic controller sees severe or extreme turbulence on the radarscope, the correct phraseology to relay this radar-depicted turbulence information to the pilot is: (Choose the best answer.)
a. "Area of turbulence (location) and (intensity) ..."
b. "Area of expected turbulence (location) and (intensity) ..."
c. "Radar indicates area of turbulence (location) and (intensity) ..."
d. There is no correct phraseology for this.

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4. While being vectored quite early one VMC morning in calm skies with no threatening clouds in view, your radar controller says, "Caravan Three Papa Bravo, numerous primary targets 10 through two o'clock, beginning in two miles; could be birds but might be AP." What is AP?
a. Anomalous propagation
b. Anomalous perpetuation
c. Anonymous propagation
d. Analogous propagation
e. A copyrighted weather statement from Associated Press

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5. You're a CFI and while spending a holiday weekend in an international airline terminal, waiting for a flight across the Atlantic Ocean, you watch an airline pilot doing her preflight walk-around inspection of a large -- real large, possibly Heavy (over 255,000 pounds) -- twin-engine passenger jet. As she peers into a wheel well, no doubt looking for the billions of dollars the airlines seem to lose each year, you notice the term "ETOPS" on a gear door (see photo below). To impress the TSA screener who's digging through the underwear in your luggage, you explain that ETOPS means:
a. Extended Tower (VFR) On-Top Operations
b. Extended Range Operations With Two Engine Airplanes
c. En Route Operations With Two Engine Airplanes
d. Extended Range Operations With Twin Engine Aircraft
e. Evil Ork leader from "Lord of the Rings (Volume 7), Return of the Oscars."

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6. So well did you impress your fellow inmates ... err ... passengers with ETOPS, that you launch into a dissertation on DRVSM, which means _____ , and reduces (there's a hint) vertical separation (yet another hint) between aircraft operating between FL (Flight Level) 290 and FL410 from a minimum (wow, a third hint) of 2000 feet vertically to 1000 feet. Sorry, no more hints. Please fill in the blank.
a. Domestic Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum
b. Defense Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum
c. Direct Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum
d. Daytime Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum

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7. To really impress the crowd in the previous two questions, consider what vertical separation is required between DRVSM IFR aircraft and DRVSM VFR-On-Top (OTP) aircraft. (Remember: OTP is an IFR clearance -- AIM 4-4-7.) Minimum separation between IFR DVRSM and VFR-On-Top (OTP) is:
a. 500 feet
b. 1500 feet
c. 2000 feet
d. None of the above

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8. Let's descend to thicker air for clearer thinking and imagine yourself headed to Grand Forks, N.D. (Don't imagine why.) The wind is calm but the ceiling and visibility dictate an instrument approach. By the rosy glow of your map light you study the two instrument approach planviews shown below. (Click each graphic for a larger version.) Each has a localizer, but one localizer's feathering is shaded on the left side while the other is shaded on the right. What gives? Why didn't the FAA TERPSter who drew these plates put the shading on the same side?
a. Shading is optional and has no meaning.
b. Right-side shading indicates a glideslope.
c. Left-side shading indicates a Back Course.
d. Right-side shading indicates DME on the localizer.
e. Left-side shading indicates DME on the localizer.

	Two approach types -- click graphics for larger versions (59 Kb and 44 Kb).

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9. You're still inbound to Grand Forks, N.D., from the previous question, and you notice that the second plan view above (and the profile view below) shows DME or radar can be used to identify MANZA FAF plus the missed approach point at 0.4 DME I-GFK. The Grand Forks (GFK) VOR/DME is located on the field (where this author feels all navaids should be located). You could hit it with a snowball from the intersection of runways 8-26 and 17R-35L, it's so close. In order to receive the DME to identify MANZA I-GFK 4.9 DME on this approach, you must tune and identify the Grand Forks VOR/DME on frequency 114.3. (Channel 90 is paired so don't sweat that).
a. True
b. False

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10. Okay, all you IFR pilots, give your VFR-only neighbors a chance to tackle this next question before shouting out the answer: When a pilot shoots the second approach shown above in Question 8 and can't see the runway environment well enough to land safely, a missed approach procedure usually leads to a missed approach holding pattern, which on this approach is over LOM HISER (see graphic detail below). What does LOM mean?
a. Localizer Outer Marker
b. Localizer Over Marker
c. Locater Outer Marker
d. Locater Over Marker
e. Lost Over Marker

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11. Bonus essay question:

Tell us, in 100 words or less, your favorite North Dakota flying experience that didn't involve ice in June, phlegmatic Norwegians, or explaining to your passengers that you thought North and South Dakota were the same place. Send your northerly exposed experience to us here and next month we'll post the best Peace Garden salutes to the Brainteaser's second favorite state.

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