Jun.12, 2008

Interactive Quiz #134:
Give Yourself WINGS

Time to blow off a little steam -- FAASTeam. That's shorthand for FAA Safety Team, a relatively new program promoting aviation safety. Test your knowledge of the program and some of its hotter topics.

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. Show of hands: Who understands the FAA's new WINGS program? OK, hand down and explain it to the rest of us, because there is widespread confusion about this revamped safety program. Not everything has changed from old WINGS to new. For instance, we do know that successful completion of a WINGS program (seminar, dual instruction and online courses) counts as a flight review as per FAR 61.56.
a. True
b. False

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2. Under the old program, in order to complete a WINGS level, a pilot attended a safety seminar and received three hours of dual instruction. Seminars and flight instruction are still part of the program. Additionally, a major task of the new WINGS program occurs online -- for free. (Meaning your tax dollars already paid for it). What is the Web address for WINGS training?
a. ffasafety.gov
b. faasafety.gov
c. faawings.gov
d. wings.gov.edu
e. ailerona.com

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3. Nothing says accomplishment quite like a lapel pin. In the old WINGS program, pilots earned such pins, indicating completion of Levels 1 through 10. The new WINGS program pilots train for proficiency and not jewelry. What are the new levels (or phases) of proficiency?
a. Basic, Advanced, Master
b. Primary, Accomplished, Master
c. Sport, Private, Commercial, ATP
d. VFR, IFR, VFR/IFR, SVFR
e. Rock, paper, scissors

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4. Everyone loves an acronym, and the Federal Acronym Association (FAA) loves ADM. Show your bureaucratic prowess by correctly decoding ADM:
a. Advanced Decision Making
b. Aeronautical Decision Making
c. Aeronautical Decision Maneuver
d. Aviation Decision Making

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5. Runway incursions are a hot WINGS topic. TIPH means Taxi Into Position and Hold. Or at least that's how controllers say it here in the U.S.. Elsewhere, ICAO (another acronym meaning International Civil Aviation Organization) uses the phrase:
a. Queue up and wait
b. Line up and wait
c. Line up and hold
d. Queue up and hold
e. Line up and pay

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6. The new WINGS program requires participants to train to proficiency using the PTS. Here's a training scenario: You're on the ILS (Instrument Landing System) approaching the FAF (Final Approach Fix). When passing over the OM, a light flashes on your marker-beacon receiver panel. Being a proficient -- not just current -- instrument pilot, choose what color light should flash and identify what OM means?
a. White, Outer Marker
b. Amber, Over Marker
c. Blue, Locator Outer Marker
d. Blue, Outer Marker

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7. Think you know your acronyms? Think the FAA knows them, too? Here's an easy one: Decode ATIS.
a. Automated Terminal Information System
b. Automatic Terminal Information Service
c. Both a and b
d. Automated Transcribed Information System

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8. Why not work an IPC into a WINGS award? (That's not the quiz question; it's merely rhetorical.) Fill in the blanks: Aircraft holding below 5000 feet between the OM and the airport may cause localizer signal variations for aircraft conducting the ILS approach. Accordingly, such holding is not authorized when the ceiling is less than (_____) feet, or the visibility is less than (_____) miles, or both.
a. 500, 1
b. 800, 2
c. 1000, 3
d. 1500, 5

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9. SPANS is one more acronym you'll encounter with the new WINGS program. SPANS is all about safety, and it's an email notification system. (FAA can no longer afford postage.) You must decide what or whom is being notified: Decode SPANS.
a. Safety Program Airmen Notification System
b. Safety Program Airpersons Notification System
c. Safety Program Aeronautical Notification System
d. Safety Program Aviation Notification System

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10. Refer to the photo below. Your mission: Fly this single-engine, amphibious airplane from Hoglot, Iowa, to St. Louis Lambert, Mo., a distance of 321 nm. Granted, getting a 210-hp Franklin engine to run that long may take some skill, but you're up to the task ... or are you? You hold a Private pilot certificate with airplane, single-engine-land category and class. Your medical certificate, logbook and life insurance are up-to-date. You have complex, high-performance and tailwheel endorsements as per FAR 61.31. You'll depart from a paved runway and land on a paved runway. The only over-water time you'll have en route is a few farm ponds and crossing the Mississippi River. So, are you legal to fly? (Assume all weather, currency requirements, aircraft inspections including transponder, and certifications are current.)

(Photo courtesy of the Antique Airplane Association)

a. Yes, provided you don't operate on water
b. No. Because it could serve as a seaplane, you must have a seaplane rating.
c. Yes, provided you do not carry passengers
d. No, you must hold a Commercial certificate with single-engine-sea.

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