Need help from a pilot understanding airport traffic patterns

[spoilsofwar]

Backstory: I am taking my Part 107 FAA knowledge test this week to get my Remote Pilot certificate - small UAS rating.

Question:

Sectional chart except provided:

I'm confused as to how I can determine the aircraft's position based on the pilot's transmission on CTAF. He states he is midfield left downwind, which I understand, however, if I don't know if he's landing North to south, or vice versa, how can I be sure which side of the runway he is on? Is the "Left" in his transmission just expressing he is flying a standard left hand traffic pattern, or is the "Left" some sort of reference between himself and the airport?

I've tried to wrap my head around this every which way, but it seems that I must know which direction on the runway he will be landing before I can figure out which side the downwind leg is on! I'm sure I'm missing something simple!

 

[southkogs]

Not a rated pilot, but I think I've got this right:

Runway is 13 (130 degrees) ... and he is in a left traffic pattern on the downwind leg ... he's got two left turns to line up with the runway on it's North(ish) to South(ish) axis (130 degrees) ... So, the aircraft is East relative to the runway.

How was the process for getting this rating? I've got plans to do the same thing sometime next year. Expensive?

 

[spoilsofwar]

Ah! Makes sense! I didn't realize the runway number correlated to degrees, but was beginning to wonder if that was the bit I was overlooking. That's critical information that is not covered in any of the 107 study material and probably wouldn't be known to remote pilots unless they were familiar with manned aviation stuff.

So, if like altitudes on the sectionals, some of the numbers are omitted in the runway numbering, if I understand then runway;

06 = 60 deg
10 = 100 deg
26 = 260 deg
35 = 350 deg

And so on?

The process for a 107 is easy. This is one of only a couple questions I've had trouble with on the study exam. If you're not already a Part 61 (PPL) holder, to get a Remote Pilot cert with sUAS rating, you must take an online course which culminates with a simple exam (which covers only part 107 material, no aeronautical knowledge) then take a 60 question, 2 hour max, exam (which does include aeronautical knowledge) at a test site with a minimum score of 70%. The test goes live tomorrow, the 29th. I'm taking my exam Wednesday. Cost was $150, but it depends on the test site. The FAA doesn't set the cost, the proctoring site does. I just went with the closest test site to me.

 

[spoilsofwar]

Just googled "runway numbering" and can confirm. Thanks Southkogs. This simple question had been pissing me off.

 

[MTboatguy]

East, East and East

 

[spoilsofwar]

East, East and East

Yep, knew the answer (the practice test told me), just didn't know the why!

 

[southkogs]

Interesting they didn't provide basic study stuff for ya' ... if you want, Google Civil Air Patrol's Aerospace Dimensions. That's the material our cadets study - some colleges use it too. There's no cost to 'em - PDF's you can view online.

Thanks for the info on the tests. I've been working the UAS stuff through CAP, but wanted to get rated anyway. Haven't looked into test sites by me, but I was really expecting the test to be more expensive. So that's good news!

 

[spoilsofwar]

Here is the part 107 online portion
http://www.faasafety.gov/gslac/ALC/course_content.aspx?cID=451&sID=726&crID=1436761

Here is the full test study guide:
www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/media/remote_pilot_study_guide.pdf

And a 40 question practice test
www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/test_questions/media/uag_sample_exam.pdf

Use the resources list to get the other materials you'll need to study if you want to test; the PHAK, AC107-2, AIM, and so on.

 

[southkogs]

Cool! Thanks for the help ... I had started to look at it all, but I think you just saved me some time!

 

[MTboatguy]

Yep, knew the answer (the practice test told me), just didn't know the why!

Only way I knew, is I have actually flown into that airport a few times, but it does not sound like they provided all of the information required to answer the question with the correct amount of understanding.

 

[spoilsofwar]

Passed exam today with a 92% (55 of 60 correct).

 

[MTboatguy]

Passed exam today with a 92% (55 of 60 correct).

Great, glad to hear you got er done!