4.1

The ability of a portion of airspace or airport to handle a given volume of traffic within a specified period of time is known as what?

Capacity

4.2

What are the three types of operations?

1.  A takeoff

2.  A landing

3.  An approach to land

(note:  touch-n-go operations is also considered an operation)

4.3

The provision of AIP funding priority to airport projects that expanded or enhanced existing airport capacity was included in what piece of federal legislation?

1987 Airport and Airway Safety and Capacity Expansion Act (ASCEA)

4.4

Under the ASCEA, what types of projects received the highest funding priority?

Those projects at commercial service airports that maximized the safety of operations

4.5

What are the four elements of a capacity analysis?

1.  Airspace

2.  Airfield

3.  Terminal

4.  Ground Access

4.6

What measurement of capacity is defined as the rate at which aircraft can operate into or out of the airfield WITHOUT regard to delay?

Throughput capacity

4.7

What measurement of capacity is defined as the rate at which aircraft can operate into or out of the airfield WITH an acceptable level of delay?

Practical capacity

4.8

True or False: 

Practical capacity is always greater than throughput capacity

FALSE.

Practical capacity is always LESS than throughput capacity due the affect of delay.

4.9

True or False:

Practical capacity is a subjective measurement

TRUE

4.10

True or False:

Small changes in capacity have no affect on delay experienced at airports.

FALSE

Small changes in capacity can have a dramatic impact on delay.

4.11

True or False:

Hub airports (as in hub-and-spoke) are more likely to experience delays than O+D airports.

TRUE

4.12

What measurement of delay is defined as an arbitrarily defined average amount of delay incurred per operation at an airport and is mutually agreed upon by the airport, airlines and the FAA?

Acceptable Level of Delay

4.13

Define PHOCAP

PHOCAP is the practical hourly capacity and is the total combined capacity measurement of the runways, taxiways and gate areas

4.14

Define PANCAP

PANCAP is the practical annual capacity and is defined as the level of operations that results in not more than 4 minutes of average delay per aircraft in a peak two hour period.

4.15

What is the maximum level of delay per operation that is considered in PANCAP?

4-minutes per operation

4.16

In determining capacity levels, PANCAP examines the total number of operations of what period of time?

The peak two-hour operating period

4.17

What is the definition of Airport Acceptance Rate (AAR)?

The airport acceptance rate is the maximum number of aircraft that can land at any given airprot during a one-hour period of time

4.18

What does the Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCCs) use the AAR to determine?

The desired interval between successive arriving aircraft

4.19

What five factors can affect an airport's AAR?

1.  Type of approach (visual, non-precision or precision)

2.  Type of aircraft operating the approach

3.  Airfield configuration

4.  Wake turbulence

5.  Weather

4.20

Where two data sources does the FAA use to gather delay data?

1.  The Air Traffic Operations Management System (ATOMS)

2.  Airline Service Quality Performance (ASQP)

4.21

True or False:

The ATOMS database records aircraft that are delayed 15 minutes or more and records the delay by a specific cause

TRUE

4.22

 True or False:

The ASQP collects data from airlines with more than 2% of total domestic scheduled passenger revenues and presents delay by phase of flight from 0 to 15 minutes

FALSE

It is 1% of total domestic scheduled passenger revenues. . .the rest is correct!

4.23

What three factors can impact gate capacity?

1.  Gate type/size

2.  Mix of aircraft (narrow versus wide-body)

3.  Gate occupancy time

4.24

What are the five factors that can lower capacity and increase delay?

1. Airfield characteristics

2.  Airspace characteristics

3.  Air Traffic Control

4.  Meteorological conditions

5.  Demand characteristics

4.25

What characteristics can affect airfield capacity?

(8 items) 

1.  Runway configuration and length

2.  Percent of arrivals versus departures

3.  Mix of aircraft

4.  Percent of touch-n-go operations

5.  Location and type of exit taxiways (right versus acute angle)

6.  Type of navigational approach aids

7.  Availability of radar

8.  Weather conditions

4.26

What is the most critical determinant of airfield capacity?

Runway configuration!

4.27

What four characteristics affect airspace and air traffic control capacity?

1.  Aircraft separation

2.  Runway occupancy

3.  Arrival/departure spacing and sequencing

4.  Use of parallel or converging runways

4.28

What are the two types of demand management strategies that exist to manage capacity or reduce delay?

1.  Administrative strategies

2.  Economic strategies

4.29

Quotas on passenger enplanements, type of aircraft operations, the diversion of some intended air traffic, balancing use of aircraft among several metropolitan airporrts and rehubbing are all expamples of what type of demand management strategy?

Administrative

4.30

 What are two common economic strategies for the management of demand?

1.  Slot allocations

2.  Peak hour pricing

4.31

True or False:

Airports are allowed to restrict access to its facilities?

FALSE

To do so would be considered a violation of interstate commerce and discriminatory in nature

4.32

What five barriers to entry does a start-up airline face when serving a destination?

1.  Airline alliances

2.  Computer reservations

3.  Frequent flyer programs

4.  MII agreements

5.  Slot controls

4.33

What are the four methods for slot allocation?

1.  Administrative

2.  Negotiation

3.  Assignment

4.  Market-based

4.34

The principle that a slot has to be used 80-percent of the time overa  two-month period is known as what?

The "use-it-or-lose-it" principle

4.35

Under the "use-it-or-lose-it" principle, who recalls any unused slots?

The FAA

4.36

What factors are considered prior to the installation of new technology to reduce delays at ain airport?

(7 items)

1.  Increased capacity

2. Higher efficiency

3.  Greater safety

4.  Improved reliability

5.  Greater accuracy

6.  Lower costs

7.  Greater convenience

4.37

What level of precision approach is offered by WAAS?

Category I

4.38

What level of precision approach is offered by LAAS?

Category II and/or Category III

4.39

What is WAAS?

The Wide Area Augmentation System

4.40

What is LAAS?

The Local Area Augmentation System

4.41

What is currently the greatest technological need for improving capacity and reducing delay?

The ability to improve weather detection and prediction, particularly wake turbulence and wind shear.

4.42

What is wake turbulence?

It is the natural turbulance created by the wing of an aircraft and the physics of flight

4.43

What is wind shear?

A sudden shift in the direction and velocity of wind

4.44 

What is the role of a Flight Service Station (FSS)?

To provide pilot briefings, aircraft enrout communications and VFR search-and-rescue services

4.45

What six services does an FSS provide?

1. Aviation weather broadcasting

2.  NAS information

3.  Receive and process IFR flight plans

4.  Relays ATC clearances

5.  Orginates and dissiminates NOTAMs

6.  Monitors NAVAIDs

4.46

True or False:

An ASOS is typically more expensive than an AWOS and is a part of the National Weather Service

TRUE

4.47

Where are ASOSs typically located?

Near the touchdown zone of a runway

4.48

Where are AWOSs typically located?

Remote airports or GA airports

4.49

What is the Integrated Terminal Weather System (ITWS) designed to do?

Enhance the weather reporting capabilities at airports around the country

4.50

True or False

Delay gradually increases until practical capacity is reached, at this point any additional traffic will cause delays to increase exponentially.

TRUE

4.51

What three observations about delay leads to the conclustion that defining an acceptable level of delay is essentially a policy decision on the tolerability of delay?

1.  Some delay is unavoidable due to reasons beyond anybody's control

2. Some avoidable delays may be too expensive to fix

3.  The random nature of delay means that somebody somewhere is going to experience delay above an acceptible level

4.52

What initiatives are used to limit the volume of traffic allowed into or out of an airport or airspace?

Traffic management initiatives

4.53

What are the three most common traffic management initiatives?

1.  mile-in-trail or minute-in-trail

2.  Re-routing

3.  Ground delay programs

4.  Ground stops

4.54

What four factors affect the delay characteristics of an airport?

1.  Aircraft separation

2.  Runway occupancy

3.  Use of parallel or converging runways

4.  Spacing of arrivals and departures

4.55

What three factors establish the capacity of airspace around an airport?

1.  Radar vectoring

2.  Sequencing

3.  Aircraft spacing

4.56

What is the intent of metering?

To match the arrival of aircraft to the ability of the airport to handle the volume

4.57

How is metering accomplished?

1.  Reduction of airspeed

2.  Modifying its arrival path

4.58

What is meant by sequencing aircraft?

Determining the exact order in which aircraft are to takeoff or land

4.59

When is a ground delay program implemented?

At an airport significantly affected by bad weather or is anticipated to have limited runway capacity available

4.60

What does a ground delay attempt to accomplish?

A reduction in the arrival rate at an airport affected by bad weather

4.61

What is the last resort to managing traffic flow into an airport?

The ground stop

4.62

What are some of the administrative tools available to manage demand?

1.  Restrict airport access by establishing quotas on passenger enplanements

2.  Diverting of itended traffic to reliever airports

3.  Balancing use of aircraft among several metropolitan airports

4.  rehubbing or redistributing transfer traffic

4.63

How far in-trail does a small aircraft have to be from a B757 in order to not encouter wake turbulence?

5 miles

4.64

What are the four ASOS levels?

1. Level A

2.  Level B

3.  Level C

4.  Level D

4.65

What are the four levels of ASOSs based on?

The air traffic levels

and

the severity of local weather