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FAA Flight Instructor Airplane (FIA) practice questions

300 free questions with answers and explanations.

Practice test
  1. 1.A private pilot invites three friends on a personal cross-country flight and asks each of them to pay an equal share of the fuel cost, including the pilot's own share. According to 14 CFR 61.113, under what condition is this arrangement permitted?Regulations (14 CFR 61/91)
  2. 2.A dispatcher is reviewing hazardous weather bulletins and needs to determine which condition, by itself, meets the criteria for issuance of a non-convective SIGMET. Which of the following qualifies?Weather and Weather Services
  3. 3.A commercial pilot has never acted as second in command (SIC) of a turbojet airplane requiring a type rating and does not hold a type rating for that airplane. According to 14 CFR 61.55, what must this pilot accomplish before acting as SIC of that airplane?Regulations (14 CFR 61/91)
  4. 4.A pilot notices that on a hot, humid day, density altitude computed from temperature and pressure altitude alone may understate the actual reduction in aircraft performance. What is the primary reason for this?Performance, Weight and Balance
  5. 5.Airplane A has a weight of 3,000 pounds, a wing area of 200 square feet, and stalls at 50 knots in level flight. Airplane B has the same weight of 3,000 pounds but a wing area of only 150 square feet. Using the fact that stall speed varies with the square root of wing loading, what is Airplane B's approximate stall speed?Aerodynamics and Principles of Flight
  6. 6.A meteorologist reviewing a 700-millibar constant pressure chart notices the height contour lines over a particular region are spaced very close together. What does this close spacing indicate to a pilot planning a flight through that region?Weather and Weather Services
  7. 7.A flight instructor explains that upper-level winds tend to flow parallel to isobars rather than directly from high to low pressure, once the wind has accelerated and stabilized above the friction layer. Which force, acting opposite the pressure gradient force, is primarily responsible for this geostrophic wind balance?Weather and Weather Services
  8. 8.A CFI is explaining to an advanced student the difference between preignition and detonation. What is preignition primarily caused by?Aircraft Systems and Instruments
  9. 9.A pilot plans a daytime VFR cross-country leg of 180 nautical miles at a groundspeed of 120 knots, with fuel burn of 8 gallons per hour. Per 14 CFR 91.151, what is the minimum total fuel required for this leg, including the required reserve?Navigation and Airspace
  10. 10.A pilot plans a cross-country leg with a true course of 090° and a forecast wind of 360° at 30 knots. The airplane's true airspeed is 120 knots. Using the wind triangle, what true heading should the pilot fly to maintain the desired course?Navigation and Airspace
  11. 11.A pilot's POH shows a takeoff ground roll of 800 ft at a gross weight of 2,000 lb. FAA guidance indicates that a 10% increase in gross weight produces approximately a 20% increase in takeoff distance. What is the estimated takeoff ground roll at a gross weight of 2,200 lb?Performance, Weight and Balance
  12. 12.During a steep spiral, a commercial pilot applicant loses situational awareness of altitude. According to the Commercial Pilot ACS, at what minimum altitude above the ground must the recovery from a steep spiral be completed?Flight Maneuvers and Endorsements
  13. 13.A tailwheel airplane with a clockwise-rotating propeller (as viewed from the cockpit) is accelerating during the takeoff roll. As the pilot raises the tail to a level attitude, gyroscopic precession causes a yawing tendency. Which best describes this effect?Aerodynamics and Principles of Flight
  14. 14.An approach controller advises a pilot that a Center Weather Advisory (CWA) has just been issued for the arrival airport describing an area of moderate-to-severe turbulence below 10,000 feet. What is the primary purpose of a CWA?Weather and Weather Services
  15. 15.A pilot studying frontal systems learns that an occluded front forms when a fast-moving cold front overtakes a slower-moving warm front. What is a key characteristic of weather associated with an occluded front?Weather and Weather Services
  16. 16.During cruise flight in a retractable-gear airplane equipped with a hydraulic power pack, a pilot notices the gear pump motor cycling on briefly every few minutes, even though the landing gear has been up and locked for over an hour. What does this behavior most likely indicate?Aircraft Systems and Instruments
  17. 17.During a turn, a pilot notices the ball is displaced toward the low (inside) wing even though the airplane is holding a constant bank angle with rudder applied. This condition, in which the bank angle is too steep for the existing rate of turn, is best described as a:Aerodynamics and Principles of Flight
  18. 18.A designer moves an airplane's horizontal stabilizer further aft, increasing the tail moment arm, while keeping the CG location and stabilizer area unchanged. What is the primary effect on longitudinal static stability?Aerodynamics and Principles of Flight
  19. 19.An applicant practicing power-on stall recovery allows the airplane to fully stall. What is the correct first action to begin recovery?Flight Maneuvers and Endorsements
  20. 20.A pilot plotting a long cross-country route on a Lambert conformal conic sectional chart draws a straight line between the departure and destination airports. This straight line most closely approximates:Navigation and Airspace
  21. 21.During cruise flight, a pilot notices the center-zero ammeter needle resting exactly on zero with the alternator online and all electrical equipment operating normally. What does this indication mean?Aircraft Systems and Instruments
  22. 22.A student pilot is preparing to fly a solo cross-country flight to an unfamiliar airport. According to 14 CFR 61.93, what must the endorsing instructor verify before signing the student's logbook for this specific flight?Regulations (14 CFR 61/91)
  23. 23.A commercial pilot applicant is performing a power-off 180° accuracy approach and landing. According to the Commercial Pilot ACS, within how many feet beyond or on the specified touchdown point must the airplane touch down?Flight Maneuvers and Endorsements
  24. 24.A pilot experiences an engine failure and wants to establish best glide airspeed to maximize gliding distance. This airspeed corresponds to which point on the total drag curve?Aerodynamics and Principles of Flight
  25. 25.A flight instructor asks a primary student to define 'relative wind.' Which statement correctly describes it?Aerodynamics and Principles of Flight
  26. 26.A commercial pilot applicant is performing eights-on-pylons with a groundspeed of 150 knots. Using the pivotal altitude formula, approximately what altitude AGL must the pilot maintain to keep the pylon on the reference line?Flight Maneuvers and Endorsements
  27. 27.A pilot is flying below the airspeed for maximum lift/drag ratio (L/D max) and decides to slow down further without adding power, intending to maintain altitude. What will happen, and why is this speed range called the region of reversed command?Aerodynamics and Principles of Flight
  28. 28.An aircraft's ADF indicator shows a relative bearing of 030° to an NDB station while the aircraft's magnetic heading is 090°. What is the magnetic bearing FROM the aircraft TO the station?Navigation and Airspace
  29. 29.An airplane has a gross weight of 2,650 lb and a wing area of 175 sq ft. What is its wing loading, and how does higher wing loading generally affect stall speed?Performance, Weight and Balance
  30. 30.A flight instructor explains that as air accelerates over the curved upper surface of a cambered wing, its static pressure decreases relative to the slower-moving air beneath the wing, creating a pressure differential that contributes to lift. This explanation is based on which principle?Aerodynamics and Principles of Flight
  31. 31.An airport has a field elevation of 3,000 ft. The current altimeter setting is 30.42 inches of mercury. What is the approximate pressure altitude at the field?Performance, Weight and Balance
  32. 32.During a preflight briefing, a client asks what happens to the airspeed indicator if the static port becomes completely blocked while the pitot tube remains clear during a climb. Which of the following will occur?Aircraft Systems and Instruments
  33. 33.An aircraft's normal hydraulic landing gear extension system fails during approach, and the pilot must use the emergency extension system. Which of the following best describes the typical operating principle of a manual emergency gear extension system?Aircraft Systems and Instruments
  34. 34.A turboprop pilot experiences a complete engine failure in cruise flight. To minimize drag and prevent damage from windmilling, the pilot should expect the propeller to move toward which position, and by what system is this accomplished?Aircraft Systems and Instruments
  35. 35.A student pilot flies solo from Airport A to Airport B, landing at a point 40 nautical miles (straight-line distance) from Airport A. The student wants to log this flight time as cross-country time toward the aeronautical experience requirements for a private pilot certificate. According to 14 CFR 61.1, may this time be logged as qualifying cross-country time?Regulations (14 CFR 61/91)
  36. 36.During which stage of a thunderstorm's life cycle do updrafts and downdrafts coexist, producing the heaviest rain, frequent lightning, and the greatest turbulence?Weather and Weather Services
  37. 37.A PIREP reports moderate rime icing at 9,000 feet MSL. The surface temperature is 15°C. Assuming a standard atmosphere lapse rate, at approximately what altitude would the freezing level be located, helping confirm the icing report is consistent with conditions aloft?Weather and Weather Services
  38. 38.An instructor reviews an airplane's CG envelope chart with a student. The chart shows the forward CG limit is 82.0 inches aft of datum at the maximum gross weight of 2,700 lb, and 85.0 inches aft of datum at a weight of 2,000 lb. The airplane is loaded to a gross weight of 2,100 lb with a computed CG of 83.5 inches aft of datum. Using linear interpolation between the two charted weight points, what should the instructor conclude?Performance, Weight and Balance
  39. 39.A pilot wants to act as pilot in command of an airplane with an engine that produces 210 horsepower. Before doing so, the pilot must receive ground and flight training and a logbook endorsement for a:Flight Maneuvers and Endorsements
  40. 40.A pilot plans a day VFR cross-country flight in a single-engine airplane that burns 9 gallons per hour at normal cruising power. The flight to the first point of intended landing is expected to take 2 hours 15 minutes. According to 14 CFR 91.151, what is the minimum amount of usable fuel the pilot must have on board at takeoff?Regulations (14 CFR 61/91)
  41. 41.An airplane's calibrated stall speed in level flight is 60 knots. During a steep, coordinated 60° bank turn, the load factor is 2 G. What is the approximate stall speed in this turn?Performance, Weight and Balance
  42. 42.A flight instructor discovers that an applicant for a commercial pilot certificate altered flight time entries in a personal logbook to meet the minimum aeronautical experience requirements. According to 14 CFR 61.59, this action provides a basis for which FAA enforcement action?Regulations (14 CFR 61/91)
  43. 43.A TAF for an airport includes the group 'TEMPO 1416 1/2SM FG'. How should a pilot interpret this element of the forecast?Weather and Weather Services
  44. 44.A pilot is on final approach when the aircraft encounters an increasing headwind that suddenly reverses to a strong tailwind accompanied by a severe downdraft. This scenario is characteristic of which hazard?Weather and Weather Services
  45. 45.During a rectangular ground reference maneuver, the pilot should use the steepest bank angle during which turn?Flight Maneuvers and Endorsements
  46. 46.A private pilot has never acted as pilot in command of an airplane with retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable-pitch propeller. According to 14 CFR 61.31(e), what must the pilot obtain before acting as pilot in command of such an airplane?Regulations (14 CFR 61/91)
  47. 47.A pilot reviewing a 24-hour Surface Prognostic Chart notices a scalloped line with H's and L's along with frontal symbols positioned differently than the current surface analysis chart. What is the primary purpose of this chart?Weather and Weather Services
  48. 48.A student pilot asks why, during a high-power, low-airspeed climb, the propeller's slipstream creates a corkscrew-shaped airflow pattern that strikes the left side of the vertical stabilizer and rudder, causing a left-yawing tendency. What is this effect called?Aerodynamics and Principles of Flight
  49. 49.An airplane has strong dihedral effect but weak directional (weathervane) stability. Following a disturbance that banks the airplane, a CFI would expect the airplane to exhibit:Aerodynamics and Principles of Flight
  50. 50.A pilot is flying in an area with no Class E surface area established around a nearby airport. In the absence of higher controlled airspace, Class G airspace typically extends from the surface up to:Navigation and Airspace