Hi Andrew,

Would you mind answering a couple of the HPL exam questions which were not in any of the study material while I can still remember them.
1. Are there any restrictions (waiting time before a flight) associated with taking vitamins?
2. What are the rules with taking drugs from a bottle that is already open?
3. This a a TEM question. You are behind schedule and rushing to pick up time, you take off knowing that the METAR for your destination will have expired on arrival. Conditions have change you almost stall the aircraft from which you recover control. Where did the the first UAS occur?

Many Thanks

Gordon

Hi Gordon,

As far as I am aware there are no restrictions and after checking our the FAA advice, they do not impose limitations on normal dietary vitamin supplements as long as they are taken at the recommended dose and are not part of some weight-loss/fad-diet package which often include other compounds with the vitamin supplements.

I am also not aware of any "rules" ie "regulations" regarding medications in an opened bottle, but common sense would have to prevail here: don't take medication from an opened bottle unless (a) you opened it, (b) the bottle has been under your control since then (to minimise the risk of spiking), (c) the medication is being taken in accordance with the doctor's prescription and (d) the drugs are still in date and you are using them before the "Use-by after opening" date.

The UAS question is a bit tricky without seeing the exact wording of the question but also the answer options. First off, a METAR has no expiry since it is a report of current conditions so it "expires" immediately. I assume therefore you mean the TAF for the destination. Giving it a shot, I would say, if we assume the new conditions at the destination were worse than expected and this caused the pilot to nearly lose control of the aircraft, then the first UAS would be when he unnecessarily penetrated bad weather (Undesired Aircraft Handling State) with another occurring when he nearly stalled.

Taking off without a TAF valid for up to 60 minutes after the intended ETA is a procedural error which has led to a UAS (i.e. penetrating bad weather). The external/environmental threat of the poor conditions caused a handling error and an undesired aircraft handling state (i.e. approaching the stall).
How does that tally up with how you approached the question in the exam?

Cheers,

Rich

Andrew,

Thanks for answering my questions.
I choose approaching stall as UAS, but got it wrong.

Regards

Gordon