Dec. 27, 2007

Interactive Quiz #128:
Go Global

Some things old, some things new and a few things out of the blue make up the way we navigate. Answer the following questions correctly and you're cleared direct-to anywhere in the world, with your GPS.

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. It's bound to happen: Your child walks up to you as you pre-flight the family Skywagon and asks, "Mommy, what's an ADF?" Daddies, of course, are embarrassed by these questions and will hide. In the 21st century sat-nav world, it's amazing that ADF question still appear on FAA exams, even as ADFs disappear from modern aircraft. For old time's sake -- and to prove to younger fliers that there is a need to believe in non-directional beacons, E6B computers and Santa Claus -- please complete this arcane thought: On a fixed-card ADF, the relative bearing to the station ("Mommy, what's a station?") is determined by:
a. Magnetic heading (MH) minus magnetic bearing (MB)
b. Magnetic bearing (MB) minus magnetic heading (MH)
c. The head of the needle
d. The tail of the needle
e. Auguring chicken innards during a full moon

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2. ADF? Fuggetaboutit. Even most antique airplanes have a GPS tucked away beneath the faux 1930s instrument panel. (See photo below and note the GPS antenna stuck to the author's windscreen.) The author is a cheapskate but likes to shoot open-cockpit instrument approaches. A portable, VFR GPS can be used for which portion of IFR flight?

(Photo by Curtis Kelly, used with permission)

a. Primary instrument flight reference
b. Instrument approaches (LNAV only)
c. En route only IFR navigation
d. Aid to situational awareness

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3. How many GPS satellites does it take to change a light bulb? Better yet, how many satellites are necessary to establish an accurate, three-dimensional position?
a. 3
b. 4
c. 6
d. 8

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4. A group of geese is called a gaggle. A mess of grapes is called a bunch. A cluster of air traffic controllers working overtime is called NATCA, and the GPS satellites are collectively known as a:
a. Satellite constellation
b. Satellite consolidation
c. Sat-nav cluster
d. Geo-stationary constellation
e. Star Fleet

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5. Refer to your correct answer in the previous question: How many satellites compose that group of GPS satellites?
a. 21
b. 24
c. 33
d. 78

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6. GNSS is an integral part of GPS.
a. True
b. False

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7. While navigating IFR using GPS through the rain in Spain, you receive a RAIM alert. It warns of a loss of integrity ... not the pilot's, but the GPS. RAIM means:
a. Receiver Autonomous Integrated Monitoring
b. RNAV Automatic Integrity Monitoring
c. Receiver Autonomous Integrity Master
d. Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring

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8. Imagine that you have an IFR GPS and are flying IFR along a published victor airway at 17,000 feet MSL. The IFR en route chart shows the DME slant range distance in nautical miles between fixes. Your GPS, however, shows ATD, which may not always match. What is ATD?
a. Along-track distance
b. Along-track DME
c. Above-track distance
d. Above-track DME

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9. You're flying a Piper Cherokee Warrior VFR. The aircraft is equipped with a VOR, transponder and Mode C altitude encoding. A VFR GPS receiver is clamped to the yoke with an antenna wire leading to a Garfield suction-cup doll holding the antenna against the windshield. When you file a VFR flight plan, your equipment suffix should be:
a. /X
b. /G
c. /T
d. /U

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10. Published VFR GPS waypoints contain how many letters and begin with what two letters?
a. 5, VP
b. 3, VR
c. 5, VR
d. 3, VP

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