ATSC 113 FLYING EXAM QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
what special clouds are associated with strong winds across mountains - Answer-
lenticular, rotor, banner
what special clouds are associated with unstable air loft - Answer-castellanus, billow (k-
h wave)
describe lenticular clouds characteristics - Answer-- type of special cloud associated
with strong winds across mountains
- look like UFOs or dinner plates stacked
- form in the crests of mountain waves if the air is humid
- pilots would experience updrafts and downdrafts in these types of clouds
- aka mountain wave cloud, lee-wave cloud
what is a cap cloud - Answer-a lenticular cloud that is the first one in the sequence
which is on top of the mountain and looks like a hat (cap)
describe rotor cloud characteristics - Answer-- type of special cloud associated with
strong winds across mountains
- violent turbulence which can damage/break aircraft
- ragged and usually under the crests of mountain waves
- they rotate
- usually under lenticular clouds (I think?)
if you do not see any lenticular or rotor clouds by a mountain, is it safe to fly? - Answer-
no, there can still be dangerous waves and rotors
describe banner cloud characteristics - Answer-- a type of special cloud associated with
strong winds across mountains
- form on the downside of mountain peaks
- indicate strong turbulence
what are clouds which are formed by extra heat, updrafts, or turbulence - Answer-
pyrocumulus, pileus, fractus/scud
pileus clouds - Answer-- special cloud
- form over fast growing cumulus clouds
- harmless and don't affect anything
describe pyrocumulus clouds - Answer-- type of special clouds that form because of
extra heat, updrafts, or turbulence
,- form over forest fires and volcanoes
- indicate a forest fire so strong that the heat and moisture released can make a
thunderstorm in the smoke
- occurs over a cumulus congestus (large convective/cumiliform CU cloud) so you can
anticipate strong updrafts, turbulence, and maybe a thunderstorm later
describe fractus/scud clouds - Answer-form in turbulent humid air near the ground;
indicate high humidity (such as due to drizzle falling from higher clouds) and strong
winds at low altitude
what clouds are made by humans - Answer-fumulus (cumulus homogenitus) and
contrails (cirrus homogenitus); these are types of special clouds
describe fumulus clouds - Answer-- aka cumulus homogenitus
- water-droplet clouds over cooling towers
contrails (cirrus homogenitus) - Answer-- aircraft condensation trail; indicate turbulent
wing-top vorticles behind aircraft
- small aircraft can be flipped upside down if they accidentaly fly into a wing-tip vortex
- military pilots hate these because it reveals aircraft to the enemy
What order do stratiform clouds appear in the sky (they all have different altitudes); the
layer of clouds you would see if a warm front approached - Answer-(highest to lowest)
cirrus, cirrostratus, cirrocumulus, altostratus, altocumulus, nimbostratus, stratus
what pilots must stay out of clouds - Answer-pilots flying VFR (visiual flight rules) but
even IFR pilots are concered if there is a low overcast (ceiling) for their destination
airport
sky cover/cloud cover/cloud amount - Answer-the fraction of the sky covered by cloud;
measured in oktas
METAR - Answer-Meteorological Aviation Reports
ceiling - Answer-the lowest broken or overcast clouds
what do you report as the ceiling if clouds are obscured - Answer-there might be clouds
but the observer cannot see them; in obscured situations, you report the vertical
visibility (VV) as a ceiling instead
what is true of photos of sky cover taken at oblique angles? - Answer-you see the
vertical sides of next clouds so the cloudiness looks greater than it is; so consider that
when giving sky cover estimates for photos during exams
what should you keep in mind of your cloud cover estimates if you are at a lower level or
flying above/below/at an oblique layer - Answer-clouds at lower level altitudes block
,view of higher altitude clouds that may or may not be there; you have to assume there
are; similarly, if you are flying above or below clouds, at your slant/oblique view, it will
look more overcast too
Define AGL - Answer-Above ground level; used to describe the height of a cloud (for
example, a cloud base of 1000 feet AGL)
weather observers never ____ cloud coverage but often ____ cloud coverage - Answer-
underestimate; overestimate
what is the type of visibility most relevant to safety when flying - Answer-horizontal
visibility (looking straight ahead); this is because vertical visibility (looking down) or
looking at a nearly vertical angle (slant visibility) might make the pilot be able to see the
airport, but once you descent and enter fog, it will make it hard to see.
if you hear the term visibility without any adjectives, what does it mean? - Answer-
horizontal visibility
describe horizontal visibility - Answer-- measured in canada as statute miles over land
and nautical miles over ocean
- us uses statue miles
- the world meteorological organization (WMO) uses km or metres
what affects visibility and makes it poor? - Answer-fog, haze, clouds, volcanic ash, dust,
sand, smoke/pulluted air
if visibility is poor, why does this affect pilots? - Answer-- can't see the ground for
landmarks for navigation
- other aircraft or obstacles
- the horizon, to help them fly the plane level
- the runway, for landing
why is poor visibility so dangerous? - Answer-even if a pilot sees poor visibility, the
speed at which the plane flies can make it a matter of seconds to move the aircrafy
VFR and IFR are related to what concept? - Answer-visibility
how is visibility measured? - Answer-- by human observers by trying to see a landmark
of known distances from the airport, like a tall tower, mountains, trees, etc.
- from automated instruments
what is a transmissometer? - Answer-- an automated instrument to measure visibility
which shines an incident light beam across a known path length and measures how
much dimmer the received (transmitted) light is compared to when the air is clean
, besides transmissometers, what other instruments can measure visibility? - Answer--
instruments that measure how much light is scattered (bounced off in all directions) from
tiny particles (dust, smoke, fog, etc) in the air
- some of these instruments measure forward-scattered light, others measure back-
scattered, and others measure side-scattered
what is RVR - Answer-- runway visual range
- at busy airports, automated visibility sensors are installed to measure how far in m or ft
ahead a pilot can see horizontally along the runway centerline; only reported when
visibilities are poor
what is reported to pilots in conditions where there is an indefinite ceiling because of
obscurations like dust, smoke, fog, etc? (i.e., there is no ceiling because the
atmosphere is obscured ground up) - Answer-instead of reporting the normal ceiling
height, vertical visibility (vv) is reported instead
what determines vertical visibility? - Answer-1. distance that an observer can see
vertically into an indefinite ceiling
2. the height corresponding to the top of a ceiling light projector beam
3. the height at which a ceiling balloon (bright red balloon filled with helium) completely
disappears during the presence of an indefinite ceiling
4. the height determined by the sensor algorithm at automated stations (based on
horizontal visibility)
what symbol is used on weather maps? - Answer-glyphs
what is used to represent weather in text based weather reports? - Answer-text
abbreviations
how does the METARs (Meteorological Aviation Reports) represent weather? - Answer-
text abbreviations
how is the intensity of precipitation indicated in glyphs? - Answer-multiple symbols
describe VFR - Answer-- visual flight rules
- means that you can fly by looking out the window
- need good visibility and to stay out of clouds
- you can navigate, avoid obstacles, control the aircraft, and find airports to land all by
looking out the window
- all pilots know VFR
Describe VMC/VFC - Answer-- Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) or Visual Flight
Conditions (VFC)
- the name given to weather that is good enough to fly VFR
- the specific regulations for visibility is set up your location (country)
AND ANSWERS
what special clouds are associated with strong winds across mountains - Answer-
lenticular, rotor, banner
what special clouds are associated with unstable air loft - Answer-castellanus, billow (k-
h wave)
describe lenticular clouds characteristics - Answer-- type of special cloud associated
with strong winds across mountains
- look like UFOs or dinner plates stacked
- form in the crests of mountain waves if the air is humid
- pilots would experience updrafts and downdrafts in these types of clouds
- aka mountain wave cloud, lee-wave cloud
what is a cap cloud - Answer-a lenticular cloud that is the first one in the sequence
which is on top of the mountain and looks like a hat (cap)
describe rotor cloud characteristics - Answer-- type of special cloud associated with
strong winds across mountains
- violent turbulence which can damage/break aircraft
- ragged and usually under the crests of mountain waves
- they rotate
- usually under lenticular clouds (I think?)
if you do not see any lenticular or rotor clouds by a mountain, is it safe to fly? - Answer-
no, there can still be dangerous waves and rotors
describe banner cloud characteristics - Answer-- a type of special cloud associated with
strong winds across mountains
- form on the downside of mountain peaks
- indicate strong turbulence
what are clouds which are formed by extra heat, updrafts, or turbulence - Answer-
pyrocumulus, pileus, fractus/scud
pileus clouds - Answer-- special cloud
- form over fast growing cumulus clouds
- harmless and don't affect anything
describe pyrocumulus clouds - Answer-- type of special clouds that form because of
extra heat, updrafts, or turbulence
,- form over forest fires and volcanoes
- indicate a forest fire so strong that the heat and moisture released can make a
thunderstorm in the smoke
- occurs over a cumulus congestus (large convective/cumiliform CU cloud) so you can
anticipate strong updrafts, turbulence, and maybe a thunderstorm later
describe fractus/scud clouds - Answer-form in turbulent humid air near the ground;
indicate high humidity (such as due to drizzle falling from higher clouds) and strong
winds at low altitude
what clouds are made by humans - Answer-fumulus (cumulus homogenitus) and
contrails (cirrus homogenitus); these are types of special clouds
describe fumulus clouds - Answer-- aka cumulus homogenitus
- water-droplet clouds over cooling towers
contrails (cirrus homogenitus) - Answer-- aircraft condensation trail; indicate turbulent
wing-top vorticles behind aircraft
- small aircraft can be flipped upside down if they accidentaly fly into a wing-tip vortex
- military pilots hate these because it reveals aircraft to the enemy
What order do stratiform clouds appear in the sky (they all have different altitudes); the
layer of clouds you would see if a warm front approached - Answer-(highest to lowest)
cirrus, cirrostratus, cirrocumulus, altostratus, altocumulus, nimbostratus, stratus
what pilots must stay out of clouds - Answer-pilots flying VFR (visiual flight rules) but
even IFR pilots are concered if there is a low overcast (ceiling) for their destination
airport
sky cover/cloud cover/cloud amount - Answer-the fraction of the sky covered by cloud;
measured in oktas
METAR - Answer-Meteorological Aviation Reports
ceiling - Answer-the lowest broken or overcast clouds
what do you report as the ceiling if clouds are obscured - Answer-there might be clouds
but the observer cannot see them; in obscured situations, you report the vertical
visibility (VV) as a ceiling instead
what is true of photos of sky cover taken at oblique angles? - Answer-you see the
vertical sides of next clouds so the cloudiness looks greater than it is; so consider that
when giving sky cover estimates for photos during exams
what should you keep in mind of your cloud cover estimates if you are at a lower level or
flying above/below/at an oblique layer - Answer-clouds at lower level altitudes block
,view of higher altitude clouds that may or may not be there; you have to assume there
are; similarly, if you are flying above or below clouds, at your slant/oblique view, it will
look more overcast too
Define AGL - Answer-Above ground level; used to describe the height of a cloud (for
example, a cloud base of 1000 feet AGL)
weather observers never ____ cloud coverage but often ____ cloud coverage - Answer-
underestimate; overestimate
what is the type of visibility most relevant to safety when flying - Answer-horizontal
visibility (looking straight ahead); this is because vertical visibility (looking down) or
looking at a nearly vertical angle (slant visibility) might make the pilot be able to see the
airport, but once you descent and enter fog, it will make it hard to see.
if you hear the term visibility without any adjectives, what does it mean? - Answer-
horizontal visibility
describe horizontal visibility - Answer-- measured in canada as statute miles over land
and nautical miles over ocean
- us uses statue miles
- the world meteorological organization (WMO) uses km or metres
what affects visibility and makes it poor? - Answer-fog, haze, clouds, volcanic ash, dust,
sand, smoke/pulluted air
if visibility is poor, why does this affect pilots? - Answer-- can't see the ground for
landmarks for navigation
- other aircraft or obstacles
- the horizon, to help them fly the plane level
- the runway, for landing
why is poor visibility so dangerous? - Answer-even if a pilot sees poor visibility, the
speed at which the plane flies can make it a matter of seconds to move the aircrafy
VFR and IFR are related to what concept? - Answer-visibility
how is visibility measured? - Answer-- by human observers by trying to see a landmark
of known distances from the airport, like a tall tower, mountains, trees, etc.
- from automated instruments
what is a transmissometer? - Answer-- an automated instrument to measure visibility
which shines an incident light beam across a known path length and measures how
much dimmer the received (transmitted) light is compared to when the air is clean
, besides transmissometers, what other instruments can measure visibility? - Answer--
instruments that measure how much light is scattered (bounced off in all directions) from
tiny particles (dust, smoke, fog, etc) in the air
- some of these instruments measure forward-scattered light, others measure back-
scattered, and others measure side-scattered
what is RVR - Answer-- runway visual range
- at busy airports, automated visibility sensors are installed to measure how far in m or ft
ahead a pilot can see horizontally along the runway centerline; only reported when
visibilities are poor
what is reported to pilots in conditions where there is an indefinite ceiling because of
obscurations like dust, smoke, fog, etc? (i.e., there is no ceiling because the
atmosphere is obscured ground up) - Answer-instead of reporting the normal ceiling
height, vertical visibility (vv) is reported instead
what determines vertical visibility? - Answer-1. distance that an observer can see
vertically into an indefinite ceiling
2. the height corresponding to the top of a ceiling light projector beam
3. the height at which a ceiling balloon (bright red balloon filled with helium) completely
disappears during the presence of an indefinite ceiling
4. the height determined by the sensor algorithm at automated stations (based on
horizontal visibility)
what symbol is used on weather maps? - Answer-glyphs
what is used to represent weather in text based weather reports? - Answer-text
abbreviations
how does the METARs (Meteorological Aviation Reports) represent weather? - Answer-
text abbreviations
how is the intensity of precipitation indicated in glyphs? - Answer-multiple symbols
describe VFR - Answer-- visual flight rules
- means that you can fly by looking out the window
- need good visibility and to stay out of clouds
- you can navigate, avoid obstacles, control the aircraft, and find airports to land all by
looking out the window
- all pilots know VFR
Describe VMC/VFC - Answer-- Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) or Visual Flight
Conditions (VFC)
- the name given to weather that is good enough to fly VFR
- the specific regulations for visibility is set up your location (country)
