Pop Quiz!
How would you score?
11. (Refer to figure 8.) What is the effect of a
temperature decrease and a pressure altitude
increase on the density altitude from 90°F and
1,250 feet pressure altitude to 55°F and 1,750
feet pressure altitude?
A) 1,300-foot decrease.
B) 1,700-foot decrease.
C) 1,700-foot increase.
IF THIS QUESTION MADE you nervous or
caused your eyes to glass over, you’re not
alone. We should start a support group.
All summer I’ve been slowly working
toward transitioning from a sport to private
pilot certificate. Part of that transition
involves taking another written test, and
I’ve been dreading it more this time than
the first. I aced the test a few years ago, so
why am I fretting? Simple. I’m a pilot now
and should know this stuff.
I’ve come up with a multitude of
excuses for not even studying this summer
because the simple act of studying would
reveal, even if only to me, how much I’ve
forgotten. I’m a good pilot, and there was a
slight chance this knowledge test might try
to prove otherwise.
In aviation, ignorance is not bliss, so I
decided to man up and take a practice test.
Before studying a single question, I wanted
to see how much I’ve retained from mere
experience the last two and a half years.
SINK OR SWIM FLY OR FLOP
Since misery loves company I invited four
of my co-workers who are certificated private pilots to also take this pop quiz as an
experiment. The rules were simple: no
studying and no cheating. Drum roll,
please…here are our test scores: 58, 65, 83,
88, and 92. I won’t say which is mine, but
sadly I can’t claim the A.
After taking the 60-question practice
test, we debriefed with each other. Our discussion was full of laughter, challenge, and
encouragement. Surprisingly, we were all
