Considerations beyond TCA currency test

Transport Canada’s currency review test published in the December COPA Flight asks some thought provoking questions – well, if the reactions of 53 pilots attending Victoria’s COPA monthly meeting are any indication. 

The flight held a very successful “Bienniel/Currency Review” at the Victoria Flying Club (VFC) on Jan. 16, with a panel of experts including Mitch Holmes of Royal Pacific Maintenance and VFC CFI, Graham Palmer.

All attendees were provided with the current currency exam and we all worked our way through the questions with the panel providing additional insights into the significance of the answers and providing explanations to further questions posed by the COPA and RAA attendees. (The Victoria Flight/Chapter is a group jointly comprised of members from the two organizations as most of the pilots are amateur builders).

 None of us left the building without learning some additional safety pointers. 

As chairman of the session my task was to moderate the forum and ask questions and therefore the references and answers were searched in advance. The following are my preparatory notes and those of the panel members that expand on the TCA test in areas we and the attendees felt were important. 

Numbers relate to current questions on the exam and readers should cross reference my comments with the exam which is valid until Oct. 31, 2006. In the case of missing numbers, these are the result of no comment for that question.

1. Aircraft accidents and reportable incidents should be reported to the TSB Regional office ASAP. For those of us in the Vancouver region the number is 604-666–5826. It should be noted that accidents that do not result in serious injuries or deaths will not likely be investigated by the TSB and the subsequent published data will largely be the pilot’s statement over the phone and via subsequent filling of forms. 

2. When a section of a runway, or a helicopter take-off and landing area is closed with the appropriate marking, pilots should be aware that in the case of an emergency, a pilot can land at his discretion by accepting the risk associated. Many of us have closed airports/runways in our general area and it is prudent to consider those airports as possible emergency landing areas and conduct air reconnaissance from time to time to determine the location of towers, ditches or wires for future reference.

3. Graham Palmer noted that the turnaround bays (runway turn pads) and hold short positions at certified aerodromes are situated 200 feet back from the edge of the runway.  Thus the average turnaround bay will not provide sufficient clearance for large landing aircraft.

6. Unless a runway is longer than 4,000 feet, the windsock will be placed in the center of the airfield. Longer runways will have a windsock near the threshold of each runway.

7. A dry Transport Canada standard wind direction indicator will only require a 15 knot wind to blow completely horizontally and a six knot wind will cause the sock to hang only 30 degrees below the horizon.  Since the average light aircraft has a cross wind of 12-15 knots understanding the indications can be very important to judging whether landing conditions are suitable at airstrips with no verbal wind reports. 

For that matter, it is possible to be landing at a controlled airport where the anemometer above or near the control tower does not agree with the windsock at the threshold of the runway you are using. As always, flyer beware.

8. When commencing their approach at an aerodrome with aircraft radio control of aerodrome lighting (ARCAL) it is prudent to reactivate the lighting sequence while completing pre-landing checks in the downwind to ensure the lights don’t end there 15 minute cycle and turn off on short final.

9. HF direction finding system (VDF) equipment located at many FSS facilities in Canada provide very useful homing information to pilots who might be “temporarily unsure of their position” and request the service.

Many pilots are not familiar with this system. It operates essentially like an ADF – that is located on the ground. The pilot will be asked to transmit with no voice for perhaps 5 seconds and the FSS operator will be able to get a bearing on your transmission. He must solve the 180 degree ambiguity by having you fly on a fixed heading for a short period of time and then note your new bearing on transmission. 

He/she can then give you the aircraft’s bearing from the airport and for that matter guide you on a safe heading to the airport.

In the 70’s a friend of mine got caught above cloud with a heavy load of ice on his Cessna Skyhawk and got “talked down” with a VHF DF that had not been flight tested at Kelowna. It saved the lives of he and his wife….

10. This question asks what a pilot should do if they suspect GPS interference or other problems with GPS?

I won’t give the answer here but this is a reminder as to why pilots should carry appropriate maps and publications for flights.

16. When one considers what classes of airspace require the use of a functioning transponder, it is significant to realize the requirement goes beyond Class A-C and that airspace requiring a transponder will be noted in the VFR flight supplement data. 

This is just another reason why it is wise to study all of the airport information before arriving overhead a strange airport.

18. When considering weather minimums for flight in uncontrolled and controlled airspace below 1,000 feet AGL, it’s reasonable to assume the minimum limits are significantly lower than most pilots would wish to venture into. 

If you do get into a bind and are trying to get back into a controlled airport, the tower will report the weather and ask for your intentions. This can be the trigger your request for special VFR to fly in weather with one mile visibility and clear of cloud – pretty abysmal weather actually. 

If you do not request special, it can’t be granted and the NavCan radio operator likely won’t be asking if you need special VFR

20. This question ponders the requirements for radio-equipped aircraft and what two radio transmissions are mandatory when departing from an uncontrolled aerodrome within an aerodrome traffic frequency (ATF) area. 

The given answer is really too simple. Departure intentions should include a transmission such as DUNCAN TRAFFIC CESSNA 182 GOLF ALPH BRAVO CHARLIE DEPARTING RUNWAY 30 LEFT TURN OUT FOR VICTORIA AT 2,000 FEET, DUNCAN TRAFFIC. 

Before moving onto take-off surface and on departing the aerodrome traffic circuit a transmission such as the following should be made:  DUNCAN TRAFFIC CESSNA 182 GOLF ALPHA BRAVO CHARLIE ENROUTE TO PORT ANGELES LEVEL 2,000 FEET FIVE SOUTH OF DUNCAN

21. Where possible, TCA requires pilots to report at least five minutes prior to entering a MF or ATF area. In fact, this is often insufficient and my practice is to call 10 minutes back and update this approaching the airport with my intentions.

Otherwise, high speed traffic approaching behind you or departing towards you may have congruent courses and neither will know of the other – until a meeting that includes the rending of aluminium structures into many random, fluttering parts.

23. To activate a dial-up remote communications outlet (DRCO) a pilot must make four transmission bursts that are no more than one second apart to activate the telephone link to Flight Service. 

Understanding how these systems are utilized can be of paramount importance during poor weather when line of sight transmissions are precluded by higher ground. For the details, read (RAC 1.1.4). Trust me, you don’t want to be crawling around in the mung, unable to reach FSS to get an update on the en route and destination weather.

27. An extension of this question is: Can you operate more than 25 miles from your airport without a serviceable ELT. 

Well, actually you can for a maximum of 30 days if your ELT has been removed for repairs/servicing and a cockpit placard indicates this fact.

 33. This question refers to the Cross Wind Limits for Canadian Runway Friction Index (CRFI) chart in TC AIM, AIR 1.6.6, Table 3, or in the Canada Flight Supplement (CFS) General section. 

The wind is 30 degrees off the runway at 20 knots. The question seeks to educate a pilot on the effects of a cross wind on a slippery runway. Incidentally, I get a slightly different answer than that given in the answer sheet… Pilots should realize that landing on a contaminated runway is a slipper situation in more than one way.

When the aircraft tries to weathercock into the wind it is likely the pilot will apply opposite brake and quite possibly lock it up on the ice or snow. The end result is an aircraft that quickly rounds up into the wind and slides sideways down the runway until meeting an obstacle that terminates its inertia.

In a nutshell, it doesn’t take much wind during times of low runway friction to lose control.

35. The use of small plastic fuel containers, which cannot be properly bonded or grounded, increases the chance of a potential difference existing electrically between the aircraft and the fuel and a spark could ruin your day and result in payment of your deductible on the plane.

When grounding an aircraft for refuelling, make sure the grounding wire is attached to an item that is electrically in contact with the fuel tank. That is clamping onto a tire or item that is isolated from the airframe by rubber mounts or insulators will result in said potential difference and perhaps a short duration free flight to a location several metres from your plane.

36. A significant percentage of all aircraft accidents involving light aircraft in Canada are attributed to pilot failure to compensate for crosswind conditions on landing. (AIR 2.2)  Many pilots find themselves needing to land in crosswinds that are beyond their capabilities – not the aircraft’s. 

The bottom line here is that we aviators need to practice this type of landing more often.  This is commonly difficult for many of us operating from controlled airports that utilize the into wind runway. Don’t be afraid to occasionally ask for a landing on an out of wind runway to keep your skill polished.

37. The presence of rain on the windscreen, in addition to causing poor visibility, introduces a visual anomaly (not the TCA answer). (AIR 2.5) 

To put this into perspective, if you are approaching a ridge or rising ground, the bending of the light rays will make higher ground a half mile distant seem 250 feet lower than reality. With a reasonably fast moving aircraft, heavily loaded, by the time the pilot realizes he is below the obstacle, the aircraft may not be able to out-climb same. 

Use discretion when approaching higher ground, especially during precipitation and follow the procedure of crossing ridges at a 45 degree angle to simplify turn away if necessary.

38. There are a number of symptoms indicating carbon monoxide poisoning that pilots need to be familiar with (AIR 3.2.3).  Hemoglobin has a 210 times greater affinity for carbon dioxide than oxygen, so beware. 

Smokers need to realize that their fuming habit can leave them hypoxic below 10,000 feet!

39. Smokers also need to realize that they can suffer considerable loss of vision and therefore judgment, especially at night when it is most needed.

40. TCA wants us to be aware that indiscriminately resetting popped circuit breakers could be hazardous in flight. (AIR 4.11) 

Furthermore, resetting a breaker more than once is inadvisable as components can be destroyed during voltage/amperage peaks and wires that have been carrying higher than normal current prior to popping the breaker could have a lot of residual heat within.  Resetting the breaker might push the temperature up to the ignition point and fires in the air are generally unwelcome. 

My advice is to leave a circuit breaker popped on equipment that is not mandatory for the remainder of the flight and wait till you have landed to engage an AME or avionic technician to have a look before possibly cooking something expensive.

Hopefully these extensions of information from the currency test will help you conduct safe flights.

Visit the COPA website for other informative articles and tips that will help reduce flying costs and hassles while increasing safety margins. The Transport Canada’s currency review test is also on the website: www.copanational.org

Ken is a former COPA director who lives in Victoria, BC. He provides services internationally in advanced training, expert witness, flight test and aircraft sales. He has logged 15,000 hours on 375 types of fixed wing and rotary aircraft. Soaring his Diamond Xtreme is what he does for pleasure.