February 24, 2005

Interactive Quiz #91:
Lots To See and Avoid

On a recent episode of the hit reality show, "This Old Control Tower," the host dodged weather, scanned for traffic, and wrestled a live TRSA. See how you'd handle reality on this 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. Imagine flying VFR East-to-West (Northern Hemisphere) in your C172. Flight Watch on 122.0 tells you that a warm front is approaching from the West, headed toward you. It's too wide to circumnavigate without aerial refueling, and you don't want to turn around because the serum that you're carrying to the orphanage on the other side of the warm front must get through. Pressing "NRST" on your GPS displays a nearby airport with a five-star lakefront hotel, cheap avgas, and -- what the heck -- casinos and other distractions of your choice. You land, marvel at how much information is in your GPS database, and wait for the front to pass. Long wait or short wait? Warm-front passage is generally:
a. Fast-moving with poor visibility.
b. Fast-moving with good visibility except in showers.
c. Slow-moving with poor visibility.
d. Slow-moving with good visibility in showers.

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2. Weather is never so simple as to offer cold and warm fronts marching like well-disciplined armies across the landscape. Often a meddling cold front follows a warm front. If the trailing cold front catches the warm front, this mongrel front with a mixture of cold- and warm-front traits is called:
a. Stationary
b. Occluded
c. Warm/Cold
d. Cold/Warm
e. Russian

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3. Refer to the sectional chart below and find Rochelle Koritz (RPJ) Airport located a couple of miles southwest of the town of Rochelle, marked by a magenta flag indicating that it has a golf course. Okay, no golf course. The flag really indicates a reporting point used when calling ATC -- in this case Rockford Approach Control. But Rochelle Koritz Airport does have AWOS-3. What does AWOS mean, and what does AWOS-3 have that AWOS-2 doesn't?

	Sectional Chart - Rockford/Rochelle Area -- click for larger view (140 Kb).

a. Anywhere Weather Observation Service, and AWOS-3 has cloud and ceiling data that AWOS-2 lacks.
b. Automated Weather Observing System, and AWOS-3 has prevailing visibility data that AWOS-2 lacks.
c. Automatic Weather Observing System, and AWOS-3 has prevailing visibility data that AWOS-2 lacks.
d. Automated Weather Observing System, and AWOS-3 has cloud and ceiling data that AWOS-2 lacks.

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4. Still referring to the chart from the previous question, find Greater Rockford Airport located about 20 miles north of Rochelle Koritz. Look for the large, blue-edged runways surrounded by two concentric, black circles forming an ominous tube of airspace with tops at 8000 feet MSL, and the base touching the surface (SFC) around the core. A dashed blue line also encircles the airport, indicating Class D airspace. What type of airspace is corralled within those black rings?
a. Class A
b. Class B
c. Class C
d. TRSA
e. ARSA
f. MENSA

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5. You're VFR inbound to the Greater Rockford Airport from the southwest, and Approach Control radar-vectors your Cessna 172 to Runway 1. A Boeing 727 is on final to Runway 7. The B727 is 500 feet below you (standard VFR vertical separation in this airspace). You see the three-holer Boeing at 12 o'clock and report it in sight. Approach Control says, "Cessna Eight Eight Tango, maintain visual separation from the Boeing 727 ... enter left base Runway 1, contact Tower 118.3." You switch frequencies and must remain at least 500 feet above the Boeing until the tower controller says, "Descend at your discretion, cleared to land."
a. True
b. False

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6. Let's slightly modify the previous scenario by asking the VFR Cessna 172 to follow the Boeing 727 to the same runway. The Cessna pilot sees the Boeing and is told to "Follow the Boeing 727 straight-in Runway 7, caution wake turbulence, contact Tower 118.3." The Cessna pilot calls the Tower on 118.3 and the Tower controller responds, "Cessna Eight Eight Tango, number two." The Tower controller knows who the Cessna is because Approach Control radar identified it and the Tower controller has a radarscope displaying that radar target. The Tower controller also knows that Approach told the Cessna to follow the Boeing, so is the Cessna cleared to land?
a. Yes, provided radar contact is maintained.
b. Yes, provided the Cessna maintains visual separation from the Boeing.
c. No. The Boeing must be clear of the runway.
d. No. A radar-assigned sequence is not a landing clearance.

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7. Use the same sectional chart from the previous four questions. Find Thrifty Acres, a private airstrip located about seven miles southwest of Greater Rockford Airport; departing Runway 25 you'd nearly fly over it. A VFR aircraft departing Thrifty Acres (ya gotta love that name; sounds like a discount cemetery on Long Island) southbound, must (shall) contact Rockford Approach Control prior to:
a. Climbing through 2000 feet MSL.
b. Climbing through 2000 feet AGL.
c. Climbing through 1999 feet MSL.
d. Climbing through 1999 feet AGL.
e. None of the above.

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8. A hot-air balloon, glider, and airship fly/drift into an airport traffic pattern (stop me if you've heard this one); all three have radios and are on CTAF (Common Traffic Advisory Frequency), and all are converging at the same time. It's a tie when, suddenly, a Piper Cherokee 180 enters the pattern, and the Cherokee pilot announces, somewhat distressingly, "Smoke in the cockpit." Who has the right of way? (Choose your best sequence.)
a. Balloon, glider, airship, Cherokee
b. Glider, airship, balloon, Cherokee
c. Cherokee, balloon, glider, airship
d. Balloon, Cherokee, glider, airship
e. Paper, scissors, rock

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9. Regardless of rights-of-way, it is every pilot's duty -- IFR or VFR -- to scan for traffic (91.113). ATC can't do it for you. The brain-teased IFR pilot in the photo has been told to follow another IFR aircraft on final. He intently stares at the aircraft ahead to maintain a proper interval and visual separation. Yet he's failed to scan the horizon for traffic not called -- or seen -- by ATC. According to the AIM 4-4-13, what is the best method for scanning for traffic? And no fair saying you have TCAS, TIS, or your F-18 scans for you. (Choose the best answer.)

a. Because the eye can focus on a broad viewing area, a continual wide sweep is suggested.
b. Because the eye can focus on a broad viewing area, short, regularly spaced eye movements work best.
c. Because the eye can focus only on a narrow viewing area, a continual wide sweep is suggested.
d. Because the eye can focus only on a narrow viewing area, a series of short, regularly spaced eye movements is suggested.

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10. Scanning for traffic gains high-tech help from TCAS and TIS. TCAS, which is usually found on airlines and other high-dollar airplanes, stands Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System. Depending on its variant, TCAS may offer resolutions to avoid collision. You won't find TCAS on your average Mooney, but you may find TIS, which stands for (_____) and provides (_____). Fill in the blanks.
a. Traffic Information Service and provides proximity warning to other transponder-equipped aircraft.
b. Traffic Intruder System and provides proximity warning to other transponder-equipped aircraft.
c. Traffic Information System and provides proximity warning to all aircraft.
d. Traffic Information Status and provides proximity warning to Mode-S transponder-equipped aircraft.

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