Exam-O-Grams

[[email protected]]

Hello all!

I was recently in a local used book store, and on their aviation shelf,
there was a bound copy (if staples count as binding) of FAA publication
AAC-45C, containing VFR and IFR "Exam-O-Grams". Using the search at
the FAA, plus a little Googling of both the Web and Usenet, seems to
show that these are no longer published by the FAA or anyone else.
There was one hit on the FAA site in a presentation that recommended
re-starting the program, and one hit in this group of someone asking for
a copy of one of them, but not much else.

The description on the index page says:

"Exam-O-Grams are brief and timely explanations of important
aeronautical knowledge items. These items include concepts and
procedures that are critical to aviation safety, common misconceptions
among airman applications, and areas which cause general difficulty in
written tests.

Exam-O-Grams are developed on a continuing basis, only as needs arise,
and not on a regularly scheduled basis. They are distributed free (one
copy per request) to airman applicants, pilots, ground and flight
instructors, educational institutions, airman training centers, flying
clubs, and other interested groups and individuals. Exam-O-Grams may
be reproduced without further permission from FAA."

Would scanned copies of these be useful to anyone? Or are there better,
more modern materials that have taken their place?

I have access to a scanner with a page feeder, so scanning them isn't
too much of a job. One caveat is that this is an older publication; the
revision dates for the VFR pages run from 8/1964 to 1/1977 and for the
IFR pages from 8/1965 to 1/1977. Some of them are probably still
perfectly valid and true, but I'm sure there have been enough changes
in 30+ years to make some of them partly or totally obsolete, and I
would prefer not to put wrong information out there.

I've scanned in a few pages already as a test. Right now they should
print at 300 dpi on an 8.5"x11" page, so the files are somewhat large
at about 500 kb each. Here's the VFR index page:
http://members.cox.net/mroberds/eog-vfr-index.png

And here's VFR #9:
http://members.cox.net/mroberds/eog-vfr-009-01.png
http://members.cox.net/mroberds/eog-vfr-009-02.png

The above images are a first cut. If many people want copies, I might
reduce the resolution (for smaller file size), and I will probably
convert them to PDF. PDF may not be the "best" file format for this,
but from past experience, it has the great advantage that it usually
comes out the right size when printed.

Or, if this whole thing is a silly idea, let me know that too.

Matt Roberds

[Larry Dighera]

On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 05:55:11 GMT, wrote in
>:

[kind, constructive offer snipped]

>Or, if this whole thing is a silly idea, let me know that too.
>
>Matt Roberds

How can more information be a silly idea? Thanks.

[Jim Macklin]

Before the "web" the Exam-O-Gram was a method for the FAA to
answer questions and clear up misunderstood questions from
the limited number of written test questions.

They are public domain and they can be reprinted and
distributed for free or sold at a profit. But most are
obsolete, dealing with airspace and other regulatory matters
that have changed greatly in the past 30 years.

But with a disclaimer, that states clearly that they are
historical and may not be current or correct, why not, you
can scan them to a PDF file and put them on a CD.


"Larry Dighera" > wrote in message
...
| On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 05:55:11 GMT,
wrote in
| >:
|
| [kind, constructive offer snipped]
|
| >Or, if this whole thing is a silly idea, let me know that
too.
| >
| >Matt Roberds
|
| How can more information be a silly idea? Thanks.
|

[Marco Leon]

> wrote in message
> "Exam-O-Grams are brief and timely explanations of important
> aeronautical knowledge items.

Sounds like it's old enough to be from the era of the "Land-O-Matic" and
Royalite. Speaking of Royalite, it looks like it's still available for
aircraft in new designs:
http://www.spartech.com/plastics/aircraft_sheet.html

Marco

[Gig 601XL Builder]

tom418 wrote:
> It is that old. Back in the mid '70s, there was a weekly PBS TV show
> on "Aviation Weather" and they frequently mentioned the "exam-o-
> grams"

I hadn't thought about that weathercast in years though it was on at my
house every morning that I can remember.

[tom418]

It is that old. Back in the mid '70s, there was a weekly PBS TV show on
"Aviation Weather" and they frequently mentioned the "exam-o-grams"
"Marco Leon" > wrote in message
...
> > wrote in message
> > "Exam-O-Grams are brief and timely explanations of important
> > aeronautical knowledge items.
>
> Sounds like it's old enough to be from the era of the "Land-O-Matic" and
> Royalite. Speaking of Royalite, it looks like it's still available for
> aircraft in new designs:
> http://www.spartech.com/plastics/aircraft_sheet.html
>
> Marco
>
>

[John Godwin[_2_]]

"tom418" > wrote in news:7AaPh.13786$Ng1.3979
@newsfe19.lga:

> It is that old. Back in the mid '70s, there was a weekly PBS TV show on
> "Aviation Weather" and they frequently mentioned the "exam-o-grams"
>

Makes ME feel a little old. I still have my original set of VFR and IFR
Exam-O-Grams.

[tom418]

Don't worry. At least we got to enjoy the Ed Sullivan Show, "Lost In
Space", "Man From Uncle", "Time Tunnel", etc. "They " didn't. ;)
"John Godwin" > wrote in message
...
> "tom418" > wrote in news:7AaPh.13786$Ng1.3979
> @newsfe19.lga:
>
> > It is that old. Back in the mid '70s, there was a weekly PBS TV show on
> > "Aviation Weather" and they frequently mentioned the "exam-o-grams"
> >
>
> Makes ME feel a little old. I still have my original set of VFR and IFR
> Exam-O-Grams.
>

[Chris G.]

Actually, it was "AM Weather" and its last show was on February 3, 1995.
I remember seeing it as a kid and being extremely bored by it. Now I
would love it.

Reference (heh, from 1995 of all things):
http://www.balloonlife.com/publications/balloon_life/9505/avchannl.htm

tom418 wrote:
> It is that old. Back in the mid '70s, there was a weekly PBS TV show on
> "Aviation Weather" and they frequently mentioned the "exam-o-grams"

[Private]

"Some Other Guy" > wrote in message
...
snip
> It's hard to find decent study material on the net. At least I've never
> found any.
>

????????? I have downloaded ~3gb of aviation training material. Many good
links are/have been posted here on r.a.p & r.a.s. and Google helps for
specific areas of interest. A Google Groups search on these ngs will yield
lots of information and more links. Many links can be deconstructed to
yield a general index or home page which allows a complete site to be
navigated. I thank all here for the links they have posted over the years.
My problem is not in finding good materials but rather the time to properly
read them.

Happy landings,

[Private]

"Jim Macklin" > wrote in message
...
> Before the "web" the Exam-O-Gram was a method for the FAA to
> answer questions and clear up misunderstood questions from
> the limited number of written test questions.
>
> They are public domain and they can be reprinted and
> distributed for free or sold at a profit. But most are
> obsolete, dealing with airspace and other regulatory matters
> that have changed greatly in the past 30 years.
>
> But with a disclaimer, that states clearly that they are
> historical and may not be current or correct, why not, you
> can scan them to a PDF file and put them on a CD.
>


I would love to see this material in pdf. or even better OCR as text or .doc

Once in editable format it should be a simple matter to remove parts that
are no longer correct.


Happy landings,

[Larry Dighera]

On Sat, 31 Mar 2007 11:04:16 -0400, Some Other Guy
> wrote in
>:

>It's hard to find decent study material on the net. At least I've never
>found any.

http://www.faa.gov/education_research/
http://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/
http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aircraft/
http://www.faa.gov/education_research/testing/

[Jim Macklin]

The ExamOgrams are mostly obsolete or have been printed in
later FAA textbooks. I would spend your time and money on
recent and current materials.



"Some Other Guy" > wrote in message
...
| wrote:
| > Would scanned copies of these be useful to anyone?
|
| I think that's a terrific idea.
|
| It's hard to find decent study material on the net. At
least I've never
| found any.
|

[Jim Macklin]

The main reason the FAA produced the ExamOgrams was because
they saw a pattern of missed questions on the exams they
were then using. Most of what is in them is either obsolete
or better done in later FAA texts and commercial texts..


"Private" > wrote in message
news:h1xPh.4962$DE1.1086@pd7urf2no...
|
| "Jim Macklin" > wrote
in message
| ...
| > Before the "web" the Exam-O-Gram was a method for the
FAA to
| > answer questions and clear up misunderstood questions
from
| > the limited number of written test questions.
| >
| > They are public domain and they can be reprinted and
| > distributed for free or sold at a profit. But most are
| > obsolete, dealing with airspace and other regulatory
matters
| > that have changed greatly in the past 30 years.
| >
| > But with a disclaimer, that states clearly that they are
| > historical and may not be current or correct, why not,
you
| > can scan them to a PDF file and put them on a CD.
| >
|
|
| I would love to see this material in pdf. or even better
OCR as text or .doc
|
| Once in editable format it should be a simple matter to
remove parts that
| are no longer correct.
|
|
| Happy landings,
|
|

[David Kazdan]

Different show--"Aviation Weather" was a morning show specifically about
the day's aviation weather predictions. It also had small educational
segments; I remember one about using VORs, which were relatively new to
small airplanes then.

I vaguely remember that it was a sponsored show, some FAA and industry
combination, that lost the money.

David

Chris G. wrote:
> Actually, it was "AM Weather" and its last show was on February 3, 1995.
> I remember seeing it as a kid and being extremely bored by it. Now I
> would love it.
>
> Reference (heh, from 1995 of all things):
> http://www.balloonlife.com/publications/balloon_life/9505/avchannl.htm
>
> tom418 wrote:
>> It is that old. Back in the mid '70s, there was a weekly PBS TV show on
>> "Aviation Weather" and they frequently mentioned the "exam-o-grams"

[[email protected]]

wrote:
> I was recently in a local used book store, and on their aviation shelf,
> there was a bound copy (if staples count as binding) of FAA publication
> AAC-45C, containing VFR and IFR "Exam-O-Grams".

I went ahead and put the VFR ones online. The IFR ones will be along in
a while; I'm not done scanning them yet. They are available as PDF
files at http://www.birdbird.org/aviation/examogram/index.html . Please
use the email address on that page (or this one) for feedback. Thanks!

Matt Roberds

[Private]

> wrote in message
...
> wrote:
>> I was recently in a local used book store, and on their aviation shelf,
>> there was a bound copy (if staples count as binding) of FAA publication
>> AAC-45C, containing VFR and IFR "Exam-O-Grams".
>
> I went ahead and put the VFR ones online. The IFR ones will be along in
> a while; I'm not done scanning them yet. They are available as PDF
> files at http://www.birdbird.org/aviation/examogram/index.html . Please
> use the email address on that page (or this one) for feedback. Thanks!
>
> Matt Roberds
>

Thank you for your contribution and efforts.

Am I the only one who is unable to retrieve the .pdf files? Timed out?

Am I the only one who is unable to read black background?
Is difficulty reading red or dark blue text on black background age related?
(I think I am using good quality monitors.)
IIRC we all used green and amber on black with our first PCs and that white
background was considered to be a real benefit when it became available.

Happy landings,

Happy landings,

[[email protected]]

Private > wrote:
> Am I the only one who is unable to retrieve the .pdf files? Timed out?

Looking through the logs, I see a mix of failed and apparently successful
attempts from your IP address starting at about 23:15 UTC 4 Apr and ending
at about 04:45 UTC 5 Apr. Were you able to download any of them
successfully or did you always have trouble? (There is something on the
server that might be causing that, but I'm trying to verify that it's
the problem before I change it.)

> Am I the only one who is unable to read black background?

Probably not, but you're the first one to complain. :) If I get more
complaints I'll change it.

Thanks!

Matt Roberds

[Private]

> wrote in message
...
> Private > wrote:
>> Am I the only one who is unable to retrieve the .pdf files? Timed out?
>
> Looking through the logs, I see a mix of failed and apparently successful
> attempts from your IP address starting at about 23:15 UTC 4 Apr and ending
> at about 04:45 UTC 5 Apr. Were you able to download any of them
> successfully or did you always have trouble? (There is something on the
> server that might be causing that, but I'm trying to verify that it's
> the problem before I change it.)
>

Thinking that your server was busy, I made several attempts during last
evening and again this morning but none were successful. On occasion I
would get other material (ie Outlook Express) appearing in IExplorer widow
while attempting download of .pdf. I would later get a small error window
saying "a file I/O error has occurred. The file connection timed out." The
back button returns to your index page correctly, then the forward button
results in "Error 403 - Forbidden etc etc." I have often downloaded .pdf
files from several sources but have not experienced this problem before.

>> Am I the only one who is unable to read black background?
>
> Probably not, but you're the first one to complain. :) If I get more
> complaints I'll change it.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Matt Roberds
>

I have developed a personal aversion to black backgrounds (particularly with
red or dark blue text) which is causing spontaneous rants. By highlighting
the text on your site I am able to change the text color to make it more
readable and on occasion have (used a technique learned from another
objector here) copied text to Notepad or Word in order to obtain a white
background. There have been some posts/threads here commenting on this
issue. Since I am experiencing some age related vision loss, I wondered if
this could be contributing to my problem.

Thanks for reply,
Happy landings,

[Jose]

I was curious too, and was unable to download anything. I also think
that blue on black is an atrocious design.

Jose
--
Get high on gasoline: fly an airplane.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[[email protected]]

Private > wrote:
> Thinking that your server was busy, I made several attempts during last
> evening and again this morning but none were successful.

My fault; I had something configured incorrectly on the server. I just
fixed it (0310 UTC 6 Apr), so the PDF downloads should work now. Sorry
for the trouble.

> Since I am experiencing some age related vision loss, I wondered if
> this could be contributing to my problem.

It could be. I have a page hosted elsewhere that has a similar color
scheme. Nobody has complained yet, BUT I'm fairly confident that the
readership of that page is mostly about 20 to 35 years old.

Thanks!

Matt Roberds

[john smith[_2_]]

I successfully downloaded the one file I clicked on.
I did chuckle at the choice of background and text colors you use.
Webpage design is truely a "graphic art".
A good webpage design is one that opens and I think to myself, "Wow!
that looks really good!"

[Jose]

> A good webpage design is one that opens and I think to myself, "Wow!
> that looks really good!"

A good webpage design is one that I don't notice, and one I don't have
to fight.

Jose
--
Get high on gasoline: fly an airplane.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[[email protected]]

wrote:
> I was recently in a local used book store, and on their aviation shelf,
> there was a bound copy (if staples count as binding) of FAA publication
> AAC-45C, containing VFR and IFR "Exam-O-Grams".

The VFR and IFR Exam-O-Grams are now online. They are available as PDF
files at http://www.birdbird.org/aviation/examogram/index.html . All of
the Exam-O-Grams I currently have are online.

If you previously visited the site but had difficulties downloading the
PDFs, please try again. I had something configured incorrectly on the
server, which I fixed at 0310 UTC 6 April.

Please use the email address on that page (or this one) for feedback.
Thanks!

Matt Roberds

[Private]

> wrote in message
...
> wrote:
>> I was recently in a local used book store, and on their aviation shelf,
>> there was a bound copy (if staples count as binding) of FAA publication
>> AAC-45C, containing VFR and IFR "Exam-O-Grams".
>
> The VFR and IFR Exam-O-Grams are now online. They are available as PDF
> files at http://www.birdbird.org/aviation/examogram/index.html . All of
> the Exam-O-Grams I currently have are online.
>
> If you previously visited the site but had difficulties downloading the
> PDFs, please try again. I had something configured incorrectly on the
> server, which I fixed at 0310 UTC 6 April.
>
> Please use the email address on that page (or this one) for feedback.
> Thanks!
>
> Matt Roberds
>

>PDFs now download correctly. Thank you for this contribution.

PIREP, Nicely done.

Happy landings,