Ace the Pilot Technical Interview Errata

[FlyboyPhil]

How about multiplying the factors in the lift equation instead of summing them?

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

How about multiplying the factors in the lift equation instead of summing them?

Pg. 4 "What if the formula for lift?" 1/2R + V2 + S + CL

Yeah, those should be multiplied. I'll add it to the list. Thanks.

 

[Burt Reynolds]

What's the story on the author? Did HE get hired?

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

Okay, I've got a small list started. If anyone cares to take a list and see if they find the same issues, let me know.

p4 Lift equation (multiply, don't add)
p8 Drag penalty & speed gain (dunno what he's trying to say 2nd to last para)
p11 Vortex generators (reduce spanwise flow?)
p11 Winglets (whole para is goofy, but esp . . . "at different points"?)
p11 Fences (perpendicular to leading edge?)
p31 Dutch roll (upward moving wing stalls and loses all lift?)
p36 Adverse yaw (no mention of induced drag, just aileron drag)
p38 Aileron reversal (air loads cause lift? Not clear that the wing twists, etc)
p60 Crosswind & critical engine (what about weathervaning and keel effect?)
p175 Window heat (it's not used for ice? at all? ever?)
p187 Emergency Distance diagram (ED=TORA+Stopway, not clearway)
p193 Yawing moment (Nose arm?)
p195 Crosswind & critical engine (see above)
p211 Headwind = increased range (A/S = rate of dist coverered? should say "how is range maximized" maybe)

I don't claim to be any smarter than this guy, and he's a published author. That said, let me know if you guys find the same problems, or if you find others, or if you disagree with my findings. Some of it might come from British-American translation issues. Thanks.

 

[ackattacker]

p. 6 Direct Lift Control - his explanation is 100% wrong. Direct Lift Control was a system used on Lockheed L-1011's which used the spoilers to directly control rate of descent when the final flap setting was made. It was used to provide a stable pitch attitude for CAT III landings and to improve passenger comfort on final.

p. 67 Wide Chord Fan Blade - chord is the width, not length of the blade ("The chord is the length of the fan's blade from its center mounting to its tip."

p. 69, 70, 71 - Discussion of engine SFC vs. altitude neglects to mention the effect of low temperature on the SFC of turbine engines, which is the primary effect, not RPM.

pg 74 - Should mention too early starter cutout as a cause of a hung start

pg 82 - Critical engine - claims turbine engines have opposing rotations, which is incorrect.

pg 94 - GPS satellites - in fact a minimum 24 are operational at all time with at least 27 in orbit. (not 21 out of 24)

pg 117 - It is not necessary to know the actual height of a pressure altitude in order to calculate performance capabilities of an aircraft.

pg 122 the Local Speed of Sound on a standard day at sea level is 661.5 knots, not 660 "knots per hour".

pg 123 formula for LSS is incorrect. He has it correct on pg 122

pg 131 QNE - his definition of QNE is a correct definition but not the commonly accepted usage (QNE normally refers to setting 29.92 on the altimeter, i.e. standard setting).

pg 149 "HUGS allows Cat III instrument landing system (ILS) landings only on runways certified for Cat I landings."

pg 179 Rotary inverters do not produce AC wild. They produce constant frequency the same as a static inverter.

pg 188 "Airbus calls a balanced field a quick reference table" --- seems wrong, like saying Airbus calls an electrical circuit an Aircraft Operating Handbook. I know the french are weird but...

pg 222 and others, he consistently says "insulation" when he means "insolation".

pg 232 he says Virga is a sign of a temperature inversion, which is not true. It is a sign of possible windshear, but this is due to the possibility of a microburst.

pg 297 "You have captured the localizer between +/- 5 degrees Celcius"?

pg 298 "Cat IIIb DH less than 50 ft (down to 50 ft)"

 

[ShyFlyGuy]

Why are you guys trying to help out this tool bag who obviously knows jack about flying? He sounds absolutely retarded! I'm going to write a book and have everyone who reads it help me make it correct. Sounds like a print version of Wikipedia... Wikiinterviewbook. DON'T BUY THAT PIECE OF POOP! It's an abuse of trust to publish a book by that title and have so many errors. Obviously, the guy is a 200 hour pilot and is publishing mis-information in the hopes that you don't get hired and he gets a few more seniority numbers on you. Wow.

Shy

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

Nice list. I'll add them to the letter.

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

pg 149 "HUGS allows Cat III instrument landing system (ILS) landings only on runways certified for Cat I landings."

HGS gives Cat II mins on Cat I, correct?

 

[ackattacker]

HGS gives Cat II mins on Cat I, correct?

Correct with some Caveats. The following is quoted from an easyjet flyer: http://www.aatl.net/publications/easyJet-HUGS.htm

6.2 Operational Benefits

Day-to-day operational benefits include the following:
6.2.1 Improved CAT I minima

Lower Cat I Minima can be achieved for aircraft equipped with HGS, irrespective of the nature of the facilities at the airport. In all cases, HGS gives direct and quantifiable operating benefits:
Type of Facility RVR without HGS RVR with HGS Full 550m 450m Intermediate 700m 500m Basic 800m 600m None 1000m 700m Table 1: Improvements in RVR achievable with HGS
6.2.2 Cat II operations on Cat I runways

Head Up Guidance enables Cat II operations to take place on CAT I runways, providing the following improvements are also carried out at the airport:
A review of the Airport ILS installation, requiring:
- a solid state transmitter
- tighter monitoring tolerances
- a 2nd IRVR Transmissometer in the rollout zone
- Beam protection zones enforced
- Type II obstacle clearance requirements are met. This necessarily implies that approval to operate in these conditions must be given on an airport-by-airport basis.
6.2.3 Improved Cat III Operations

HGS is certified for Manual Cat IIIa Approach and Landing Capability with a decision height of 50ft. and 200M RVR. It is also certified for low-visibility take-off, allowing operations down to 75M RVR. This means those early morning flights on foggy days will get off on time, allowing the company to maintains its schedule throughout the day. There is also the potential for Cat IIIb operations via the 'Hybrid' or 'Super Fail Passive' method. In this approach, the pilot utilizes the fail-passive Cat IIIa autoland and the HGS to monitor the performance of the autoland for approaches down to 150M RVR.

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

Pg. 18 G forces. Totally incomplete with respect to aviation.

 

[snozberry]

That book is full of errors. The author and publisher should be beat. "Handling the Big Jets" is much better and that IS the book Cathay gets their questions from. If you just want a book with questions though, I would suggest "Questions, Questions" from Air Inc.

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

That book is full of errors. The author and publisher should be beat. "Handling the Big Jets" is much better and that IS the book Cathay gets their questions from. If you just want a book with questions though, I would suggest "Questions, Questions" from Air Inc.

Handling the Big Jets is a great book. It's just too bad they haven't updated it since the 70's ( . . . the upcoming SSTs . . .).

I don't suppose you'd like to add to the list? I'm almost done compiling the list I've got so far.

 

[CaptainChris77]

Handling the Big Jets is a great book. It's just too bad they haven't updated it since the 70's ( . . . the upcoming SSTs . . .).

I don't suppose you'd like to add to the list? I'm almost done compiling the list I've got so far.

Why don't you send your list of errors to your friends at Cathay and maybe they will hire you based on that?

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

Correction corrections?

Okay, here is a list so far that I'm working with. If anyone has any useful input, lemme know.

Pg.4 What if (sic) the formula for lift?

The variables should be multiplied.

Pg. 6 What is direct lift control?

DLC allows for a constant pitch attitude on approach while varying lift with spoilers.


Pg. 8 Describe the drag curve on a jet. . . . where an increase in thrust has a greater drag penalty for speed gained, thus with a net result of losing speed for a given increase in thrust.
It is unclear what is intended, but drag decreases with an increase in speed when below VIMD. Also, increased thrust does not cause a loss of speed and thrust does not incur a “drag penalty.”

Pg. 9 Figure 1.6 Total drag curve

It appears the jet stalls at about 1.2Vs.

Pg. 11 How do you prevent span-wise airflow on a wing, especially on a swept wing?

Vortex generators do not serve this purpose. Wing fences are not perpendicular to the leading edge.


Pg. 11 What are winglets and how do they work?

The whole paragraph is puzzling, especially “at different points.”

Pg. 13 What are the reasons/effects of keeping a CG inside its limits?

The horizontal tail provides pitching moment, not turning moment.

Pg. 17 What causes center of gravity movement?

High speed does not shift mass.

Pg. 18 What is positive/negative G force(s)?

The definitions are inadequate in regards to aviation.

Pg. 31 What is Dutch roll?
Wing stall is not a cause or a factor in Dutch Roll.

Pg. 36 What is adverse yaw?

A mention of induced drag as the cause of aileron drag might aid in this explanation.

Pg. 38 What is aileron reversal?

High air loads/forces sentence is redundant. In the explanation, it is not entirely clear that the wingtip itself twists. The note “which a down-going aileron can do” is unnecessary.

Pg. 39 How is spoiler blow-back prevented?

“Spoilers are designed not to. . .” might be insufficient.


Pg. 60 How does crosswind affect the critical engine?

With the exception of some aircraft with considerable keel in front of the landing gear (e.g. MD-80), the upwind, outboard engine would be the critical engine. Mr. Barstow seems confused on weathervaning tendencies.

Pg. 67 What are the advantages of a wide-chord fan engine?

The chord of the blade is the width, not the length of the blade. The rest of the explanation seems predicated on this false premise.

Pgs. 69-71 References to SFC fail to mention low temperature’s impact on SFC.

Pg. 74 Describe a hung start and its causes. . .

There are numerous causes, but early starter cut-out is a common cause.

Pg. 82 Is there a critical engine on a jet/gas turbine aircraft?

Turbine engines do not have “opposing revolution.” Turboprop aircraft have gas turbine engines and they do have a critical engine. Engine governors have no place in this topic.

Pg. 94 Describe GPS.

There are currently 30 GPS satellites in orbit, 24 of which are the minimum constellation.

Pg. 117 Why do you need to calculate the actual height of a pressure altitude?

Density altitude is generally used in performance calculations, not actual altitude.

Pg. 122 Describe LSS.

LSS is 661.5 knots (not knots per hour).

Pg. 123 What is the main influence on Mach number?

The given formula is incorrect, see page 122.

Pg. 131 Give the definitions of the following altimeter subscale settings? (sic)

While Mr. Barstow is technically correct, in common usage QNE is the ISA standard 1013.2 hPa/29.92in Hg.

Pg. 149 What does HUGS stand for?

HUGS allows for Cat II approaches to CAT I runways with several limitations.

Pg. 175 What is the purpose of cockpit window heating?

While some windows are certified for bird-strike protection only with the window heat on, it is wrong to state that the only purpose is bird-strike protection – obviously anti-ice is an important function, as well.

Pg. 179 What are an aircraft’s typical sources of ac power?

Rotary inverters do not produce wild-frequency ac.

Pg. 187 Figure 7.2 Emergency Distance

ED=TORA + Stopway, not clearway.

Pg. 188 Explain balanced/unbalanced field.

The accuracy of the note about Airbus and quick reference tables is doubtful.

Pg. 193 How would you teach a student about VMCG/A?

Yawing moment is dependant on the arm of the engine, not the nose.

Pg. 195 If you had an engine failure between V1 and VR . . .

The failure of an upwind engine would compound the weathervaning.

Pg. 211 How is range increased when flying into a headwind?

A headwind does not increase an aircraft’s range over a no-wind or tailwind situation. The range may be maximized by flying a higher indicated airspeed over the max-range airspeed for a no-wind situation.

Pg. 216 How does aircraft weight affect landing performance?


Kinetic energy = ½ m V2

Pg. 222 et alibi, Mr. Barstow confuses insulation for insolation .

Pg. 232 What is virga?

Virga is not an indication of a temperature inversion.

Pg. 297 On an instrument landing system (ILS) approach, when can you descend on the glide path? You have captured the localizer between +/- 5 degrees Celsius?

Delete “Celsius.”


Pg. 298 What are the Cat I, II, and III ILS ICAO approach limits?
Cat IIIb DH less than 50 ft (down to 50 ft)

The “down to 50 ft” is incorrect.