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Congratulations. After earning your commercial pilot's license, you have been hired by Chapman Airlines, a charter airline based at the Oakland International Airport. Chapman Airlines flies Cessna Citation X jets. Your first assignment is to fly four business executives from the Oakland Airport to O'Hare Airport in Chicago. The following pages will walk you through your pre-flight check, takeoff, and flight and end with your safe arrival at O'Hare Airport. Fuel Your Cessna Citation X is out of fuel. Before departure you need to have 9,200 pounds of fuel in the aircraft. Each gallon of fuel weighs 6.7 pounds. Note: As all pilots know, the weight of an aircraft is very important to its performance. Each aircraft has a weight limit. An aircraft's weight is carefully monitored before takeoff, during the flight, and before landing. Therefore, pilots usually talk about the number of pounds of fuel they have on board rather than the number of gallons. One time that a pilot needs to know the number of gallons of fuel is when filling the fuel tanks.
| Question | Resources | Answer |
| How many gallons are in 9,200 pounds of fuel? | Use the calculator on your computer. Access the calculator by clicking Start,then Programs, then Accessories. | 1373 gallons |
- Approximate empty weight of airplane
- Crew and furnishings
- Passengers
- Luggage
- Fuel
| Questions/Information | Resources | Answers |
| What is the approximate empty weight of the airplane and the crew and furnishings? |
Cessna.com http://www.cessna.com |
22,100 lbs |
| There are four passengers with an average weight of 135 pounds. What is the total weight for the four passengers? | Your computer calculator. | 540 lbs |
| The passengers are carrying 160 pounds of luggage. The fuel weighs 9,200 pounds. What is the weight of the fully loaded aircraft? | Your computer calculator. | 32,000 lbs |
Takeoff Performance -- Takeoff Distance
| Questions/Information | Resources | Answers |
| The elevation of Oakland Airport is sea level and the temperature is 59 F. How many feet of runway will your aircraft need to lift off? |
Cessna.com http://www.cessna.com |
4,160 ft |
| What is the relationship between aircraft weight and takeoff distance? (direct or inverse) |
Cessna.com http://www.cessna.com |
Direct |
| What is the relationship between airport elevation and takeoff distance? (direct or inverse) |
Cessna.com http://www.cessna.com |
Direct |
| What is the relationship between airport temperature and takeoff distance? (direct or inverse) |
Cessna.com http://www.cessna.com |
Direct |
Climb Performance
| Questions/Information | Resources | Answers |
| How many minutes will it take to climb to 41,000 feet? |
Cessna.com http://www.cessna.com |
20 minutes |
| What distance will your aircraft travel during this climb to altitude? |
Cessna.com http://www.cessna.com |
133 nautical miles |
| How much fuel will you use during the climb? |
Cessna.com http://www.cessna.com |
1,095 lbs |
| Note: In marine and air transportation, nautical miles are used to measure distance. A nautical mile is 6,076.12 feet compared with 5,280 feet for a statute mile. The statute mile is used for automobile travel. | ||
Cruise Performance
| Questions/Information | Resources | Answers |
| At 41,000 feet, what is your airspeed in knots? (KTAS means knots true airspeed) |
Cessna.com http://www.cessna.com |
509 knots |
| How many pounds of fuel will you use each hour? |
Cessna.com http://www.cessna.com |
2,228 lbs |
|
Note: Knots vs. Miles Per Hour People measure aircraft and boat speed in knots. For both miles per hour and knots, speed relates to the number of units of distance covered for a certain amount of time. 1 knot = 1 nautical mile per hour = 6,076 feet 1 mph = 1 statute mile per hour = 5,280 feet |
||
Distance En Route
| Questions/Information | Resources | Answers |
| What is the distance, in nautical miles, between Oakland Airport and Chicago O'Hare (ORD)? |
Airport Calculator http://www.coolmath4kids.com |
1,590 nautical miles |
Arrival Delays
| Questions/Information | Resources | Answers |
| Are there any General Arrival Delays at Chicago O'Hare Airport? |
Airport Status Information Airport Status Information |
Varies |
| If so, how many minutes is the delay? | -- | Varies |
Weather
| Questions/Information | Resources | Answers |
| What are the current winds aloft? Determine a rough estimate for the average winds aloft between Oakland and Chicago. |
Weather.com http://www.weather.com/activities/aviation/ From the dropdown box under the map, select US 34,000 feet winds aloft. Choose Click to Enlarge. |
Varies |
| Is this a tailwind or a headwind? |
Weather.com http://www.weather.com/activities/aviation/ |
Varies |
| How will this affect your airspeed? |
Weather.com http://www.weather.com/activities/aviation/ |
Varies |
| Note: The colors on the map represent different wind speed ranges in knots (nautical miles per hour). The lighter colors (yellow) represent lower wind speeds, and the darker colors (red) represent higher wind speeds. The white lines depict the path of the wind, and the arrows on the lines indicate the direction the wind is blowing. | ||
Arrival
| Activity | Resources |
| Listen to Chicago Approach to check on other aircraft in the area. |
CyberAir Airpark http://www.cyberair.com Click RealAudioarea, then Chicago Approach, and Listen to live transmissions. |
| After clicking Listen to live transmissions, proceed to the next section while waiting to hear from Chicago Approach. | -- |
Flight Time To find the flight time from Oakland to Chicago O'Hare, consider the following information.
- Nautical miles from Oakland to Chicago O'Hare
- General Arrival Delays at Chicago O'Hare
- Climb performance -- time to climb to 41,000 feet
- Climb performance -- nautical miles traveled during climb
- Cruise performance -- knots true airspeed
- Winds aloft -- speed and direction
| Question | Resources | Answer |
| What is your flight time from Oakland Airport to Chicago O'Hare Airport? | See below for a sample calculation. | 3 hours and 5 minutes (This will vary depending on winds & flight delays) |
Sample Calculation
| Question/Calculation | Distance | Airspeed | Time | |
| A | What is the distance, in nautical miles, from Oakland to O'Hare? | 1590 | ||
| B | How many nautical miles did you travel during the climb to 41,000 feet? | 133 | ||
| C | Subtract B from A | 1457 | ||
| D | Cruising airspeed (knots true airspeed) | 509 | ||
| E | Winds aloft (+/-) | +20 | ||
| F | Airspeed | 529 | ||
| G | Divide C by F | 2.75 hrs | ||
| H | Convert to minutes (G multiplied by 60). Round to nearest minute. | 165 minutes | ||
| I | How many minutes was the General Arrival Delay at Chicago O'Hare? | 0 | ||
| J | How many minutes did it take to climb to 41,000 feet? | 20 | ||
| K | Total minutes | 185 minutes | ||
| L | Convert to hours and minutes | 3 hours, 5 minutes |
Items in red will vary.
Calculation Worksheet
| Question/Calculation | Distance | Airspeed | Time | |
| A | What is the distance, in nautical miles, from Oakland to O'Hare? | |||
| B | How many nautical miles did you travel during the climb to 41,000 feet? | |||
| C | Subtract B from A | |||
| D | Cruising airspeed (knots true airspeed) | |||
| E | Winds aloft (+/-) | |||
| F | Airspeed | |||
| G | Divide C by F | |||
| H | Convert to minutes (G multiplied by 60). Round to nearest minute. | |||
| I | How many minutes was the General Arrival Delay at Chicago O'Hare? | |||
| J | How many minutes did it take to climb to 41,000 feet? | |||
| K | Total minutes | |||
| L | Convert to hours and minutes |
Post-Flight Activities The Citation X jet floats gently onto the runway; another smooth landing. Your passengers disembark with your words trailing after them: "Thank you for flying Chapman Airlines. Enjoy your stay in Chicago." Your first commercial flight is a success! Upon your return from Chicago, begin the following activity at home.
Paper Airplanes At home or at the library, print a paper airplane diagram from the Internet. Decorate the airplane at home and bring it to class. You will fold the airplane in class so that the airplane isn't crushed in your backpack. After test flying the airplanes, we will chart our airplanes' performance using statistical measurements: mean, median, and mode. The following Web sites offer paper airplane diagrams. Just Plane Fun
http://www.sonywonder.com/wonderland/sandbox/justplane/index.html Flights of Fancy
http://www.cbc4kids.ca/general/the-lab/flights-of-fancy/current/default.html
Career Exploration Answer the following questions. Write at least one paragraph. What are three duties of a pilot that require mathematical skills? Would you be interested in becoming a commercial pilot? Why or why not?