Hi All,

I am going to be sitting my air law exam this upcoming Monday 26th Sep (Final CPL exam)

I cam across this question which I am a bit clueless over and maybe will be able to get insight of what maybe the correct answer is!

Q: You are planning to transit a CTAF on a VFR flight just below a cloud base of 1000 feet AGL. Select a condition which applies to flight.

Answers:
A- Must request and obtain SVFR clearance
B- Flight Vis must be at least 8km
C- Must maintain 500 feet vertical clearance from cloud
D- Use VHF radio for communication on the CTAF.

Any feedback would be great!

I reckon the answer would be D

A- No because you don't need a clearance to operate in a CTAF
B- No because a VFR flight needs 5km visibility - 8km is for planning an alternate.
C- No because below 3000ft you don't need any vertical separation from cloud.
D- Yes because all aircraft must operate on the CTAF frequency while in the vicinity of a CTAF aerodrome.

We're do you go to get the bob tait practice exams now????

Go to Bob's webpage www.bobtait.com.au and then click on Place an Order - you will find all of the Exam Preps in this section. All order are processed Monday - Friday 8.30am - 4.15p.m.

Cheers

Lee

Just a quick one. Currently doing air law and going through some prac questions from Bob's book.
Q. What statement is true regarding transition altitude in Australia?
a) transition altitude is 10 000ft with altimeter set to QNH
b) transition altitude is 10 000ft with altimeter set to 1013
c) transition altitude is 11 000ft with altimeter set to QNH
d) transition altitude is 11 000ft with altimeter set to 1013

I put "B" as my answer but Bob gives "A" even though AIP1.7-2
"For all operations at or below Transition altitude the altimeter reference setting will be QNH.

Hi rl_referre,

Be sure not to mix up the Transition Altitude, the Transition Level and the Transition Layer.

The Transition Altitude is the altitude above sea level and occurs at 10,000ft on the QNH in Australia. As the pilot passes through 10,000ft altitude he/she must change the altimeter sub-scale from the QNH to 1013. From then on the aircraft is operating in Flight Levels and no longer in altitudes. A Flight Level by definition is a height above the 1013 hPa pressure datum whereas an altitude is the height measured above the sea level datum.

There are a few terms to be familiar with:

Transition Altitude: 10,000ft on the QNH

Transition Level: FL110 to FL125 depending on the QNH of the day and corresponds to the minimum available flight level of the day.

Transition Layer: the actual altitude difference between the Transition Altitude and the Transition Level. the Transition Layer may never be less than 1000ft thick (AIP ENR 1.7 2.4.1) which is why the transition level moves up as the QNH drops.

For example, on a day with a QNH of 1003 hPa, the Transition Altitude still occurs at 10,000ft but FL110 now occurs at an actual altitude of only 10,700ft. The depth of the transition layer would be less than 1000ft under these conditions. You would have less than 1000ft clearance between pilots cruising at 10,000ft (on the QNH) and those cruising at FL110. Therefore, you need to make sure no one cruises at FL110 on a day like that.

This is why the AIP has different minimum flight levels available for cruise at different QNH values below 1013 hPa. Take a look at the diagram on page AIP ENR 1.7-5 to see a better representation of the system.

As for the answer options:

(a) is correct
(b) is simply 10,000ft pressure height. You could say FL100 but you would not be allowed to cruise at FL100 since at 10000 ft you are still supposed to be using the QNH (see AIP ENR 1.7 2.1.2).
(c) irrelevent - it is just 11,000ft altitude and the only time you would be flying at 11000ft with the QNH set is if you have passed the transition level on descent.
(d) equates to FL110 which may be the transition level but even then it depends on the QNH.

Cheers,

Rich

Thanks Richard.