Aircraft General Knowledge Flashcards
7 cards from real CPL practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Aircraft General Knowledge flashcards as text
The primary cause of the lag experienced with a vertical speed indicator (VSI) is:
Answer: The time required for pressure changes to pass through the calibrated leak
VSI lag of 6–9 seconds results from the time required for pressure differences to equalize through the instrument's calibrated metering orifice.
When an altimeter is set to 29.92 in. Hg, the altitude displayed is:
Answer: Pressure altitude
Setting 29.92 in. Hg (standard sea-level pressure) into the altimeter causes it to read pressure altitude, the basis for flight level operations.
If the pitot tube becomes completely blocked (with static port open), the airspeed indicator will:
Answer: Act like an altimeter, increasing with climb and decreasing with descent
A blocked pitot tube traps ram pressure; as altitude changes, only static pressure varies, making the ASI behave like an altimeter.
The attitude indicator (artificial horizon) uses which gyroscopic principle to maintain its reference?
Answer: Rigidity in space
The attitude indicator's gyroscope relies on rigidity in space — a spinning gyro resists changes to its orientation, maintaining a fixed attitude reference.
A heading indicator must be periodically synchronized with the magnetic compass because:
Answer: Gyroscopic precession and bearing friction cause gradual drift
Gyroscopic precession and mechanical bearing friction cause the heading indicator to drift from its true heading, requiring resynchronization approximately every 15 minutes.
The turn coordinator differs from the older turn-and-slip indicator in that it detects:
Answer: Both rate of roll and rate of yaw
The turn coordinator's gyro is canted 30° from horizontal, making it sensitive to both roll rate and yaw rate inputs, providing an earlier turn indication.
With the static port completely blocked, what happens to the airspeed indicator as the aircraft climbs?
Answer: ASI reads higher than actual because frozen static is relatively high pressure
A frozen static port holds a relatively high pressure; as the aircraft climbs, ambient (and pitot) pressure drops but static stays high, so the ASI overreads.