CAEA Time ! (en)

I've decided to share this first post in english. To be more accecible of course, but especially in order to practise my english, so please ... be lenient.

Certificate of Proficiency in Aviation Education

Why not?

This is what I told to myself in the middle of last year, coming across an article that I published some time ago. The CAEA, that could be CPAE in english, “certificate of proficiency in aviation education” is, as its name suggests, a french certificate of studies in the field of aviation and aerospace, open to all adults, students, teachers, or pilots eager to get the opportunity to teach aeronautics in schools and colleges or perhaps in the clubs.

Actually, this exam allows primarily to teach the B.I.A (Brevet d'Initiation à l'Aéronautique, Aeronautics Initiation Certificate ), that is open to young students from 13 years. This is also the first exam I've passed in 2009 and that has allowed me to discover microlight and taught me many things, general knowledge in several aeronautics topics, namely, aerodynamics and flight mechanics, general knowledge of aircraft, aviation weather, navigation, aviation regulations and safety (and a bit about the history of air and space).

The CAEA deals with all these themes, but at a higher level, that I meant in an older post (2 March 2011):
 

[...] In addition, I focused on the CAEA (certificate of proficiency in aviation education), which would have allowed me, for example, to give a hand to Yves, my first flight instructor, who is responsible to teach the BIA to high school pupils interested in aviation and at the same time, provide them microlight initiation flights. But what I did not know, and I discovered by a past exam of 2009, is that the bar is set a bit higher ... second-year university level ! So, I tried just to see. And after several hours in front of my screen smiling, because of questions with complicated and technical terms such as "on a helicopter rotor in translation is called reverse flow zone ..." or "in a free turbine turboprop equipped with a constant speed propeller, the figurative setting is...", well the result is about 50%! Maybe a coincidence ... But I'll wait a moment and aim at the PPL first, with a good result! The CAEA we'll see later! =P

Indeed, the level steps up a notch, but still a scholar level, and the preparation is so interesting that the level is achievable without major difficulty when you are passionate! For example, knowledge of aircraft,  is a very instructive part and many interesting formulas appear and in all topics.
 

To prepare, many books are recommended by the academies, including the essential CAEA Manual by Charles Pigaillem, who also wrote lessons (also very insteresting) for the BIA. A hefty tome, frankly not very attractive when you're not interested in what is inside, ... 430 pages of aeronautics, equipment and navigation aids, elements of meteorology, navigation, safety and regulatory, history of air and a lot of appendices. All in black and white and slightly cardboard pages.
Of course, there are many other sources, all sites of various academies that prepare for the exam.

New in the program, the concepts of rocket and space mechanics, the conquest of space are added to the program over the BIA, which makes things a little more interesting.

The written exam lasts 2:30 (30 minutes per 20 questions MCQ) for each module, and will take place on May 22 at the same time that younger will work on the BIA, with the next optional oral test (on an unknown subject, actually, the organization by the Academy of Reunion is pretty lame).

Some example questions on CAEA:

An airplane wing profile is asymmetrical performs a straight vertical climb:
a) lift and the incidence is zero.
b) the lift is zero and the incidence is negative,
c) thrust is always less than the drag.
d) none of the above is correct

A plane moving at 756 kt at FL 150 where the temperature is equal to the temperature
standard + 4. What is the impact temperature:
a) 63.2 ° C
b) 336.2 ° C
c) 324.3 K
d) 51.3 ° C

The "CSP" specific consumption of a turbojet engine:
a) increases with increasing altitude at the same speed
b)  is the relationship between the hourly consumption and speed of the aircraft. This ratio increases as altitude increases
c)  is the relationship between the hourly consumption and thrust. This ratio decreases as altitude increases
d) is the ratio between the hourly consumption and speed of the aircraft. This ratio decreases as altitude increases

You follow a true course of 218 ° with a wind 270 ° / 35 kt, and true speed of 240 kt. What are the drift and flight time over a distance of 94 Nm
a) -7 ° and 26 min.
b) 28 min and 7 °.
c) -5 ° and 24 min.
d) 5 ° and 24 min.

Called hypergolic:
a) a very high power propellant propulsion
b) a mono-propellant which the exothermic composition is accelerated by a catalyst
c) a set of the two components capable of igniting on contact
d) combination of a solid propellant with liquid fuel

What is the compressor that is not among those that equip turbo
Aviation (turbojet, turboshaft, turboprop):
a) turbocharger.
b) inertial compressor.
c) axial compressor.
d) centrifugal compressor.

The risk of airframe icing an aircraft is the largest in the presence of:
a) stratiform clouds and fog or mist sparse
b) dense mist or nimbrostratus
a) orographic clouds and stratocumulus unstable.
c) supercooled precipitation, cumulus or altocumulus very unstable, cumulonimbus

The elevation of the airport is 1067 meters. QNH is 988 hPa and temperature of 27 ° C. Pressure altitude of the airfield is:
a) 3100 ft
b) 3900 ft
c) 4200 ft
d) 4500 ft

In terms of terminology, the common reference meteorologists around the world:
a) the World Meteorological Corpus published by WMO in 1951.
b) the World Meteorological Convention (Washington, 1947).
c) International Atlas of Meteorology, 1956.
d) Schedule 3 to the 1929 Warsaw conference

The "broomstick" was coined in 1906 by:
a) Orville Wright.
b) Robert Esnault-Pelterie.
c) Anthony Fokker.
d) Henri Fabre

The first jet aircraft in the world to have been engaged in aerial combat was the:
a) Gloster Meteor
b) Messerschmidt 262
c) Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star
d) MLG 15