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ATSC 231 Block 3 Exam Questions and
Answers 100% Pass
What are the three hazards resulting from turbulence - ✔✔• Loss of Control
• Airframe Damage
• Passenger Comfort/Safety
What is the type of aircraft operation in which turbulence produces the greatest frequency of accidents -
✔✔part 121
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what percent of accidents overall are from turbulence (annual trend)? -
✔✔38%
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what is the most common time of year? - ✔✔July (during the summer
with the most convection)
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what is the most common altitude? - ✔✔30,000-35,000 feet
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what is the most common phase of flight? - ✔✔En-route descent and
cruise
What is the difference between Flight (or Limit) Load Factor and Design (or Ultimate) Load Factor? -
✔✔Flight (limit) load factor: category aircraft falls in
Normal is 3.8 Gs to -1.52
Utility is 4.4 to -1.76
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Acrobatic is 6.0 to -3.00
Design (ultimate) load factor: 1.5 greater than Flight Load Factor
(point at which plane breaks)
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what is the worst place within the airplane? - ✔✔Back of the airplane
(aft)
· Be able to identify the average annual number of injuries from turbulence - ✔✔60 per year
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what are is the most common type of person (passengers or flight
attendants) - ✔✔Flight attendants
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what type of turblucence causes the most accidents?
Clear air turbulence
mountain wave turbulence
wake turbulence
unknown turbulence
convective turbulence - ✔✔Convective turbulence
What factors determine the transition from laminar to turbulent flow - ✔✔- Wind speed
- Surface Roughness
- Air Density
- Stability
Emily Charlene © 2025, All Rights Reserved.
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- Viscosity
- Other factors
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what is the most common place of injury on the body? - ✔✔Lower
extremity
What is the FAA definition of turbulence? - ✔✔Irregular fluctuations occurring in fluid motions
What are two types of turbulent flow - ✔✔- Wave
- Eddies or Vortices
What is the aviation definition of turbulence? - ✔✔Irregular motion of an aircraft in flight, especially
when characterized by rapid up-and-down motion, caused by a rapid variations of atmospheric wind
velocities.
Which scale represents turbulent motions for aircraft - ✔✔• Turbulence that affects aircraft occurs on the
microscale
What are the factors that determine lift? - ✔✔- Coefficient of Lift (CL )
- Air Density (r)
- Air Speed (V)
- Wing Area (S)
How does the coefficient of lift change with angle of attack? - ✔✔CL increases with AoA, until you stall at
which point Cl decreases
Define load factor - ✔✔- Ratio of the total air load acting on an aircraft to the gross weight of the aircraft
What 3 factors affect load factor in turbulence - ✔✔- Strength of gusts
Emily Charlene © 2025, All Rights Reserved.
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- Airspeed
- Wing Loading
What are some characteristics of waves and eddies? - ✔✔Wave - Regular oscillation of wind
Eddies - Vortices embedded in the mean wind flow
How does airspeed affect load factor - ✔✔- Determines additional lift force generated by gust
- Slower is better (goal is to stall before exceeding design characteristics)
The higher the airspeed the less the AOA changes with a vertical gust
How do vertical gusts affect load factor - ✔✔- Results in
• Change of relative wind
• Change in AOA
The stronger the gust compared to airspeed the more the AoA changes
Define wing loading - ✔✔- Ratio of weight of aircraft to wing surface area
How does wing loading affect load factor - ✔✔- Gust Load Factor is Inversely Proportional to Wing
Loading
A piper archer is much more affected by turbulence than a 747 because the archer has much less wing
loading
Emily Charlene © 2025, All Rights Reserved.
ATSC 231 Block 3 Exam Questions and
Answers 100% Pass
What are the three hazards resulting from turbulence - ✔✔• Loss of Control
• Airframe Damage
• Passenger Comfort/Safety
What is the type of aircraft operation in which turbulence produces the greatest frequency of accidents -
✔✔part 121
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what percent of accidents overall are from turbulence (annual trend)? -
✔✔38%
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what is the most common time of year? - ✔✔July (during the summer
with the most convection)
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what is the most common altitude? - ✔✔30,000-35,000 feet
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what is the most common phase of flight? - ✔✔En-route descent and
cruise
What is the difference between Flight (or Limit) Load Factor and Design (or Ultimate) Load Factor? -
✔✔Flight (limit) load factor: category aircraft falls in
Normal is 3.8 Gs to -1.52
Utility is 4.4 to -1.76
Emily Charlene © 2025, All Rights Reserved.
,2|Page
Acrobatic is 6.0 to -3.00
Design (ultimate) load factor: 1.5 greater than Flight Load Factor
(point at which plane breaks)
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what is the worst place within the airplane? - ✔✔Back of the airplane
(aft)
· Be able to identify the average annual number of injuries from turbulence - ✔✔60 per year
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what are is the most common type of person (passengers or flight
attendants) - ✔✔Flight attendants
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what type of turblucence causes the most accidents?
Clear air turbulence
mountain wave turbulence
wake turbulence
unknown turbulence
convective turbulence - ✔✔Convective turbulence
What factors determine the transition from laminar to turbulent flow - ✔✔- Wind speed
- Surface Roughness
- Air Density
- Stability
Emily Charlene © 2025, All Rights Reserved.
,3|Page
- Viscosity
- Other factors
For part 121 turbulence accidents, what is the most common place of injury on the body? - ✔✔Lower
extremity
What is the FAA definition of turbulence? - ✔✔Irregular fluctuations occurring in fluid motions
What are two types of turbulent flow - ✔✔- Wave
- Eddies or Vortices
What is the aviation definition of turbulence? - ✔✔Irregular motion of an aircraft in flight, especially
when characterized by rapid up-and-down motion, caused by a rapid variations of atmospheric wind
velocities.
Which scale represents turbulent motions for aircraft - ✔✔• Turbulence that affects aircraft occurs on the
microscale
What are the factors that determine lift? - ✔✔- Coefficient of Lift (CL )
- Air Density (r)
- Air Speed (V)
- Wing Area (S)
How does the coefficient of lift change with angle of attack? - ✔✔CL increases with AoA, until you stall at
which point Cl decreases
Define load factor - ✔✔- Ratio of the total air load acting on an aircraft to the gross weight of the aircraft
What 3 factors affect load factor in turbulence - ✔✔- Strength of gusts
Emily Charlene © 2025, All Rights Reserved.
, 4|Page
- Airspeed
- Wing Loading
What are some characteristics of waves and eddies? - ✔✔Wave - Regular oscillation of wind
Eddies - Vortices embedded in the mean wind flow
How does airspeed affect load factor - ✔✔- Determines additional lift force generated by gust
- Slower is better (goal is to stall before exceeding design characteristics)
The higher the airspeed the less the AOA changes with a vertical gust
How do vertical gusts affect load factor - ✔✔- Results in
• Change of relative wind
• Change in AOA
The stronger the gust compared to airspeed the more the AoA changes
Define wing loading - ✔✔- Ratio of weight of aircraft to wing surface area
How does wing loading affect load factor - ✔✔- Gust Load Factor is Inversely Proportional to Wing
Loading
A piper archer is much more affected by turbulence than a 747 because the archer has much less wing
loading
Emily Charlene © 2025, All Rights Reserved.
