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FAA Commercial Pilot Airplane (CAX) practice questions

212 free questions with answers and explanations.

Practice test
  1. 101.A pilot in the Central Standard Time zone (UTC−6) plans a departure at 1400 local time. What time should the pilot file as the proposed departure time in Coordinated Universal Time (Zulu)?Navigation and Flight Planning
  2. 102.Before engine start, a commercial pilot systematically reviews the flight route and weather, aircraft airworthiness and fuel, personal readiness and currency, passenger needs, and any automation or avionics settings to be used during the flight. This structured review, repeated at each decision point, best represents application of which risk management tool?Human Factors and ADM
  3. 103.An airplane flying straight and level at 160 KIAS (above its 132 KIAS maneuvering speed) encounters a sharp vertical gust. Why does this create a greater risk of structural damage compared to encountering the same gust at or below Va?Aerodynamics and Performance
  4. 104.A pilot is planning a cross-country leg with a true course of 360° and a true airspeed of 150 knots. The forecast wind is from 090° at 30 knots, a direct crosswind. Using the wind triangle, what true heading should the pilot fly to remain on the 360° course (ignoring magnetic variation)?Navigation and Flight Planning
  5. 105.During the landing flare, a pilot notices the airplane seems reluctant to settle onto the runway and floats farther than expected. This is most likely caused by:Aerodynamics and Performance
  6. 106.An airplane's retractable landing gear system includes a switch actuated by weight on the main gear struts. What is the primary function of this switch?Aircraft Systems
  7. 107.An airplane's pressurization system includes a valve, independent of the normal outflow valve, that automatically opens if cabin differential pressure exceeds the maximum structural limit. What is this valve called, and what does it protect against?Aircraft Systems
  8. 108.Using the PAVE checklist for risk management, a pilot's concern about gusty crosswinds forecast at the destination airport falls under which category?Human Factors and ADM
  9. 109.During a descending turn from base to final, a pilot is high and steepens the turn using excessive rudder while holding opposite aileron to prevent the bank from increasing (a cross-controlled, skidding condition), inadvertently increasing the wing's angle of attack. If the airplane stalls in this condition, toward which wing will it most likely spin, and why?Aerodynamics and Performance
  10. 110.An airplane's calibrated airspeed is 140 knots while cruising at 8,000 feet MSL under standard conditions. Using the rule of thumb that true airspeed increases approximately 2% for every 1,000 feet of altitude above sea level, what is the approximate true airspeed?Navigation and Flight Planning
  11. 111.A client asks a flight instructor whether a high-performance endorsement is required to act as pilot in command of an airplane with fixed landing gear and a 210-horsepower engine. What should the instructor say?Aircraft Systems
  12. 112.A turbocharged airplane's induction system includes a heat exchanger positioned between the turbocharger compressor discharge and the intake manifold. What is the primary purpose of this component?Aircraft Systems
  13. 113.A pilot is on a moonless night visual approach and notices the airplane seems to be pitching up steeply despite maintaining a constant attitude on the attitude indicator. The pilot recently accelerated to a higher airspeed. This sensation is most likely caused by:Human Factors and ADM
  14. 114.An aircraft owner sells an aircraft and must transfer maintenance records to the new owner. According to 14 CFR 91.417, which records must be retained and transferred with the aircraft indefinitely, rather than only for one year?Regulations
  15. 115.A commercial pilot plans an IFR cross-country flight relying on VOR navigation. According to 14 CFR 91.171, the VOR equipment used must have been operationally checked, with results entered in the aircraft's log, within the preceding how many days?Regulations
  16. 116.A pilot is conducting a visual approach at night to a runway surrounded by dark, featureless terrain with no lights between the airplane and the runway. Without instrument cross-checks, this situation is most likely to cause the pilot to:Human Factors and ADM
  17. 117.A pilot attempts a hot engine start on a fuel-injected airplane shortly after shutdown, but the engine will not start reliably. This difficulty is most likely caused by:Aircraft Systems
  18. 118.An airplane's positive limit load factor is 3.8G, and FAA certification standards require a structural safety factor of 1.5 beyond the limit load. At approximately what load factor would structural failure be expected to occur?Aerodynamics and Performance
  19. 119.An airplane's power-off stall speed is 55 KCAS. During a full-power stall in the same configuration, the measured stall speed is only 48 KCAS. What primarily accounts for this reduction in stall speed with power applied?Aerodynamics and Performance
  20. 120.Some retractable-gear airplanes incorporate a mechanical pin or lock on the landing gear control lever that must be manually released before the lever can be moved to the 'up' position. What is the purpose of this device?Aircraft Systems
  21. 121.During a single-pilot IFR flight in busy terminal airspace, a pilot becomes so absorbed in reprogramming the GPS for a last-minute runway change that they fail to notice ATC has issued two altitude calls and the aircraft has descended 300 feet below the assigned altitude. This scenario best illustrates a breakdown in which CRM-related skill?Human Factors and ADM
  22. 122.During the before-takeoff runup, a pilot cycles the propeller control from high RPM to low RPM and back two or three times before setting takeoff RPM. What is the primary purpose of this check on a constant-speed propeller?Aircraft Systems
  23. 123.During a preflight briefing, a pilot reviews the emergency landing gear extension procedure for a retractable-gear airplane equipped with a hydraulic gear system. Which method is most commonly used to lower the gear if primary hydraulic power fails?Aircraft Systems
  24. 124.A hydraulically actuated retractable landing gear system includes a valve that opens automatically to relieve excess pressure caused by thermal expansion of fluid trapped in the actuator lines after the gear is locked. What is this valve called?Aircraft Systems
  25. 125.A normally aspirated engine produces 29.5 inHg manifold pressure at full throttle at sea level. Assuming manifold pressure available decreases at approximately the same rate as atmospheric pressure (about 1 inHg per 1,000 feet), what full-throttle manifold pressure should a pilot expect at 7,500 feet density altitude?Aircraft Systems
  26. 126.A commercial pilot has not acted as pilot in command since completing initial certification 20 months ago. To act as pilot in command, the pilot must have, within the preceding 24 calendar months, satisfactorily completed a flight review or:Regulations
  27. 127.A single-engine airplane is equipped with a counterweight-type constant-speed propeller, in which governor oil pressure drives the blades toward low pitch and counterweights (assisted by a spring) drive the blades toward high pitch. If the engine-driven oil pump fails in flight, what will most likely happen to the propeller?Aircraft Systems
  28. 128.A pilot scans the night sky for a distant, dimly lit tower obstruction. When looking directly at the tower's light, it seems to disappear, but it becomes visible again when the pilot looks slightly to the side. What technique explains why the light reappears with this scanning method?Human Factors and ADM
  29. 129.During a single-pilot IFR flight, an engine begins running rough while the pilot is also trying to copy a complex reroute clearance from ATC. Applying sound crew (single-pilot) resource management principles, the pilot should first:Human Factors and ADM
  30. 130.A commercial pilot intends to fly an airplane on an IFR flight plan in controlled airspace. Maintenance records show the airplane's static pressure system, altimeter, and automatic altitude reporting equipment were last tested and inspected 23 calendar months ago. According to 14 CFR Part 91, may the pilot legally conduct this IFR flight?Regulations
  31. 131.A pilot is executing a steep, coordinated turn at a 60° bank angle while maintaining altitude. What load factor is the airplane experiencing?Aerodynamics and Performance
  32. 132.A cross-country flight has two legs: the first leg is 120 NM flown at a groundspeed of 150 knots, and the second leg is 90 NM flown at a groundspeed of 120 knots. If the flight departs at 0915 local time, what is the estimated time of arrival at the destination?Navigation and Flight Planning
  33. 133.Two airplanes of equal weight fly at the identical true airspeed and identical 45° bank angle in a coordinated turn. Airplane A has a larger wing area (lower wing loading) than Airplane B. Which statement correctly compares their turn radii under these conditions?Aerodynamics and Performance
  34. 134.An airplane's center of gravity is shifted from mid-range toward the forward CG limit without changing the airplane's gross weight. How is the airplane's stall speed most likely affected, and why?Aerodynamics and Performance
  35. 135.An airplane's maneuvering speed (Va) is 120 KIAS at its maximum gross weight of 3,000 pounds. If the airplane is now flown at a weight of 2,400 pounds, what is the approximate new maneuvering speed?Aerodynamics and Performance
  36. 136.During preflight planning, a commercial pilot uses the IMSAFE checklist. What is the primary purpose of this checklist?Human Factors and ADM
  37. 137.A commercial pilot believes that because they have thousands of hours of experience, accidents happen only to other, less-skilled pilots. This mindset best illustrates which hazardous attitude?Human Factors and ADM
  38. 138.A pilot notices a rising level of workload during an instrument approach in turbulence and recognizes a decision point is approaching regarding a possible diversion. According to the DECIDE model, after Detecting the change, what should the pilot do next?Human Factors and ADM
  39. 139.An airplane has a glide ratio (L/D) of 12:1 in its best-glide configuration. Following an engine failure at 6,000 feet AGL in no-wind conditions, and disregarding altitude lost while establishing the glide, approximately how many nautical miles can the airplane glide?Aerodynamics and Performance
  40. 140.A flight instructor is explaining logging requirements to a student. Under 14 CFR 61.1, which combination of features makes an airplane a "complex airplane" for logbook endorsement purposes?Aircraft Systems
  41. 141.A pilot observes a rapidly developing cumulus cloud with a significant vertical extent and a distinct anvil top spreading out at high altitude. Which stage of a thunderstorm is this cloud likely in, and what is its primary characteristic?Weather
  42. 142.A pilot is flying through an area forecast to have a high probability of supercooled large droplets (SLD). What type of icing is primarily associated with SLD, and what are its characteristics?Weather
  43. 143.A pilot is flying VFR and observes a layer of stratus clouds at 1,000 feet AGL and a layer of altostratus clouds at 10,000 feet AGL. What type of weather report or forecast would provide the most detailed information about the vertical extent and characteristics of these cloud layers?Weather
  44. 144.A pilot is conducting a preflight weather briefing and notes a Convective SIGMET (WST) for an area. What type of weather phenomenon would qualify for a Convective SIGMET issuance?Weather
  45. 145.A pilot is flying at 8,000 feet MSL and experiences a sudden, uncommanded change in pitch and altitude, indicating encountering a downdraft associated with a thunderstorm. What is the most likely hazardous weather phenomenon encountered?Weather
  46. 146.A pilot receives a PIREP indicating 'UA/OV KSEA/TM 1430/FL060/TP C172/SK OVC030/WX FV05SM HZ/TA M02/WV 270020KT/TB MOD/RM NRM ICE'. What is the reported temperature at 6,000 feet?Weather
  47. 147.A pilot is planning a flight through an area where a SIGMET is issued for 'OCNL SEV TURB BLW 080 FL200'. What does this SIGMET indicate?Weather
  48. 148.A pilot is conducting a preflight briefing and notes a SIGMET for 'OCNL SEV TURB FCST FL200-FL350'. What does this indicate for the flight?Weather
  49. 149.A pilot is flying VFR and observes a layer of stratus clouds at 1,000 feet AGL and a layer of altocumulus clouds at 8,000 feet AGL. The PIREP for this observation would likely report the sky cover as:Weather
  50. 150.A pilot is flying at 10,000 feet MSL and notices a significant increase in outside air temperature (OAT) while maintaining altitude. This observation suggests the presence of a(n):Weather