eetrojan
Pattern Altitude
So, funny thing... I just took the knowledge test for the instrument rating. I haven't really tried to remember the answers because I really want to understand how to do it. Plus, I figured it might bite me. This morning, I inadvertently memorized one answer, and it bit me.
Since I hadn't done one for several weeks, I decided that I should work through one of the calculation problems. I did this just a couple of hours before I left. I wanted to have the concepts fresh in my mind, figuring then, I could work though whichever one I might get. So, I randomly chose this one and worked systematically through it:
To do it, you have to calculate the time enroute and related fuel burn in both directions, consider how much fuel you need for the extra 45 minutes required by the FARs, subtract the sum of those three numbers from 68 gallons to get a fuel surplus, and convert the fuel surplus to a maximum holding time at 15 GPH.
In doing the sample problem, the "Flight Logs" were the source of the TAS, like this:
Using the above TAS values of 174 and 175 knots, the given wind, and the magnetic variation, I determined that the answer was about "1 hour 33 minutes".
I did this just about 2 hours before I took the real test.
Lo and behold, the same freaking question comes up. I read it twice to make sure and, yup, same question. Awesome. What are the odds? So, I just click on "1 hour 33 minutes" and move on.
Nope. WRONG ANSWER. And, I really know how to do it. But, still, wrong answer.
As it turns out, the question has been slightly re-worded with the underlined weasel wording so that the TAS in the body of the question "trumps" the TAS in the figures, and so that the correct answer (I think) is now "1 hour 42 minutes"
:
I guess they're trying to trap folks that memorize the questions and answers. Sneaky boogers.
Anyway. Just FYI...
Since I hadn't done one for several weeks, I decided that I should work through one of the calculation problems. I did this just a couple of hours before I left. I wanted to have the concepts fresh in my mind, figuring then, I could work though whichever one I might get. So, I randomly chose this one and worked systematically through it:
To do it, you have to calculate the time enroute and related fuel burn in both directions, consider how much fuel you need for the extra 45 minutes required by the FARs, subtract the sum of those three numbers from 68 gallons to get a fuel surplus, and convert the fuel surplus to a maximum holding time at 15 GPH.
In doing the sample problem, the "Flight Logs" were the source of the TAS, like this:
Using the above TAS values of 174 and 175 knots, the given wind, and the magnetic variation, I determined that the answer was about "1 hour 33 minutes".
I did this just about 2 hours before I took the real test.
Lo and behold, the same freaking question comes up. I read it twice to make sure and, yup, same question. Awesome. What are the odds? So, I just click on "1 hour 33 minutes" and move on.
Nope. WRONG ANSWER. And, I really know how to do it. But, still, wrong answer.
As it turns out, the question has been slightly re-worded with the underlined weasel wording so that the TAS in the body of the question "trumps" the TAS in the figures, and so that the correct answer (I think) is now "1 hour 42 minutes"
:I guess they're trying to trap folks that memorize the questions and answers. Sneaky boogers.
Anyway. Just FYI...
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