Hi everyone,
Sorry if this has been asked before but I have a question surrounding runway slope problems for CPL Performance. Before we were told to ignore any slopes less than 1% percent when calculating TODR/LDR but since the legislation was changed, we've been told to count all slopes. This is what's confusing - all the practice exams I've been doing have not considered less than 1% percent of slopes. I sit CPL performance on the 16th so I'd appreciate any clarification before I go in, considering how accurate you have to be with takeoff/landing charts.
Thanks!
The now superseded rule dated back many years to developmental air services and general paddock operations with ancient aeroplanes. (You haven't done a bunch of paddock operations ? .. you haven't lived !)
The problem was that it is a bit awkward to figure or try to measure slopes out in the bush. The solution adopted by DCA (the then antecedent of CASA) was to permit a concession for shallow slopes, acknowledging that the effects of such slopes were relatively minor and would be more or less covered by the usual operational restrictions.
It wasn't a case that you SHOULDN'T consider slopes or ignored them as a matter of course; you had a permitted concession to do so if it proved too difficult to figure the number. The idea was that, if you had a slope, or could work it out, then you used it - why wouldn't you try to get an end figure as accurate as you could manage ?
Somewhere, over the intervening period, folks started to think (quite incorrectly) that you shouldn't use small slopes or you were, somehow, required not to use them - go figure ? That unfortunate matter then appeared in many exams and training activities. Indeed, in recent years, with a whole bunch of new folk in CASA who don't know the history, a lot of the old, sensibly pragmatic rules have been binned and the occasional new rule bordering on stupidity has been introduced .. the way life goes.
A few years ago, CASA decided that this concession was one of the things which had to go and the pilot, henceforth, HAD to account for slope. Let's ignore the practical difficulties which that might entail.
The philosophy adopted by the examiner is that the CURRENT rules will apply to the current exam. So you now MUST account for slope in the CASA exams.
Why have you been seeing tests with the old concession ? Folks just haven't got around to updated all the old questions. For the exam, though, you MUST account for slope.
Engineering specialist in aircraft performance and weight control.
Hi Hans,
CAO 20.7.4 has been repealed, but it still exists out on the internet. For your reference, look at PART 135 Chapter 10.07 paragraph (2) (d)
"(d) the runway slope in the direction of take-off;".
Cheers W
