CFI Written Test Questions and Answers

Correct answer: A. make each lesson a pleasant experience.

The Aviation Instructor's Handbook stresses that learning should be a pleasant, positive experience: learners who find lessons rewarding stay motivated and keep progressing. Making lessons too easy removes challenge, and endless repetition until confidence appears slows progress and dulls motivation.

Source: Aviation Instructor's Handbook

Correct answer: A. safety.

The ACS introduction states that the FAA's goal is to ensure pilots are certificated at a high level of performance and proficiency, consistent with safety. Time available and individual ability are not the standard against which certification is set.

Correct answer: B. continuous professional development.

The handbook describes the professional aviation instructor as committed to continuous improvement and professional development, never settling for minimum qualifications. Sharing responsibility for training phases is not the professional commitment it describes.

Correct answer: C. consider the current block of learning and select an appropriate alternate lesson.

The handbook says a syllabus should be flexible: if weather prevents the planned lesson, the instructor should select an appropriate alternate lesson from the current block of learning. Cancelling wastes the session, and jumping to the next lesson can skip material the learner has not mastered.

Correct answer: B. would detract from the completion of the objective.

The handbook explains that each block of learning should build toward the stated objective; cross-country procedures are not needed for a first solo and would detract from attaining that objective by consuming training time on unrelated material.

Correct answer: A. It is conducted jointly between the learner and the instructor.

In a learner-centered assessment the learner and instructor assess performance together; the learner first self-assesses and the instructor then guides the discussion. The instructor simply handing down a grade, or excluding the learner, is the traditional approach the handbook contrasts it with.

Correct answer: C. The instructor must develop a keen perception for subtle responses from the class.

The handbook notes that during a lecture the instructor does not get obvious, direct feedback, so he or she must develop a keen perception for subtle responses from the class, such as facial expressions and posture. A well-organized lecture can give learners of varied backgrounds a common understanding.

Correct answer: A. Multiple Choice.

Among selection-type items, the handbook explains that true-false questions give a 50 percent chance of guessing correctly, while multiple-choice items with several plausible distractors reduce the probability of guessing. Matching items can be answered partly by elimination.

Correct answer: B. The critique should vary in content as necessary to accommodate the performance being evaluated.

The handbook says an effective critique is flexible: its content and form should fit the performance being evaluated and the learner, covering strengths and weaknesses. Critiquing in public can embarrass the learner, and focusing only on exemplary performance leaves out what needs improvement.

Correct answer: B. Readiness.

The law of readiness says people learn best when they are ready to learn; the handbook advises instructors to create readiness by giving a clear set of objectives and relating each new topic to them, so learners see a reason to learn. Primacy concerns first impressions and intensity vivid experiences.

Correct answer: C. cannot be shut down by turning the switch to the OFF position.

The ignition switch turns a magneto off by grounding it through the P-lead. If that ground wire is disconnected, the magneto stays 'hot' and PHAK notes the engine cannot be shut down with the switch, a hazard when anyone moves the propeller. The engine still starts and runs normally.

Source: PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25)

Correct answer: C. The amount of fuel entering the combustion chamber is being reduced.

The mixture control meters fuel; leaning reduces the amount of fuel entering the combustion chamber to match the lower air density (PHAK Chapter 7). It does not change the volume of air entering the carburetor, which is governed by the throttle.

Source: PHAK Chapter 7

Correct answer: B. permits a relatively constant angle of attack along its length when in cruising flight.

Each section of a propeller blade moves at a different speed, faster toward the tip, so PHAK explains the blade is twisted (higher blade angle near the hub, lower near the tip) to keep a relatively constant angle of attack along its length in cruise. The twist exists to equalize angle of attack, not angle of incidence.

Source: PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25)

Correct answer: C. mixture control.

The pilot adjusts the fuel/air ratio with the mixture control (PHAK Chapter 7). The throttle controls the amount of mixture going to the cylinders and hence power, and manifold pressure is an indication, not a control.

Source: PHAK Chapter 7

Correct answer: A. gains altitude with no mixture adjustment.

Climbing into thinner air without leaning makes the mixture progressively richer, and PHAK notes an excessively rich mixture causes rough running and spark plug fouling from carbon deposits. Descending without adjusting makes the mixture leaner, and abrupt throttle movement is not the typical cause of fouling.

Source: PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25)

Correct answer: A. through cooling fins on the cylinder and head.

Air-cooled engines dissipate heat through cooling fins on the cylinders and cylinder heads, with baffles directing airflow over them (PHAK Chapter 7). Radiators belong to liquid-cooled engines, and a temperature probe only measures heat.

Source: PHAK Chapter 7

Correct answer: C. is more likely to form when outside air temperatures are below 70°F and relative humidity is above 80%.

PHAK Chapter 7 says carburetor ice is likely when outside air temperatures are below about 70 degrees F and relative humidity is above 80 percent, because fuel vaporization and venturi cooling can drop the intake air below freezing. It is not only a function of temperature and can form well above freezing.

Source: PHAK Chapter 7

Correct answer: C. the unburned charge in the cylinders explodes instead of burning normally.

PHAK defines detonation as an uncontrolled, explosive ignition of the fuel/air charge in the cylinder instead of normal, progressive burning. Ignition by a hot spot before the spark is preignition, and fouled plugs cause misfiring, not detonation.

Source: PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25)

Correct answer: C. The asymmetric propeller thrust or P-factor results in the center of thrust from one engine being farther from the airplane centerline than the center of thrust from the other engine.

With both propellers turning clockwise (seen from behind), P-factor moves each engine's center of thrust to the right, so the right engine's thrust line is farther from the centerline. Losing the left engine leaves that longer-armed right thrust, creating more yaw, so the left engine is critical (Airplane Flying Handbook Chapter 12).

Source: Airplane Flying Handbook

Correct answer: B. decreased drag, especially at a high angle of attack.

A high aspect ratio wing produces weaker wingtip vortices and therefore less induced drag than a low aspect ratio wing at the same lift, and induced drag matters most at high angles of attack (PHAK Chapter 5). So it has less drag, especially at high angle of attack.

Source: PHAK Chapter 5

Correct answer: A. aft, a flat spin may develop.

The Airplane Flying Handbook warns that with the CG too far aft the airplane may enter a flat spin, in which the nose stays high and recovery may be difficult or impossible because the elevator lacks authority. A forward CG makes spins more likely to become spirals and easier to recover from.

Source: Airplane Flying Handbook

Correct answer: B. Takeoff safety speed.

14 CFR 1.2 defines V2 as the takeoff safety speed. The takeoff decision speed is V1, and minimum takeoff speed is not what V2 means.

Source: 14 CFR 1.2

Correct answer: B. longitudinal axis.

Ailerons control roll, which is movement about the longitudinal axis running from nose to tail (PHAK Chapter 6). The elevator controls pitch about the lateral axis and the rudder yaw about the vertical axis.

Source: PHAK Chapter 6

Correct answer: C. Only if the person is a medical patient under proper care or in an emergency.

14 CFR 91.17(b) says that, except in an emergency, no pilot may allow a person who appears to be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs to be carried, unless that person is a medical patient under proper care. A second pilot on board does not create an exception.

Source: 14 CFR 91.17(b)

Correct answer: C. When an intentional maneuver that exceeds 30° noseup or nosedown relative to the horizon is made.

14 CFR 91.307(c) requires each occupant to wear an approved parachute during an intentional maneuver exceeding 60 degrees of bank or 30 degrees nose-up or nose-down relative to the horizon, unless an exception applies (for example spins and other maneuvers required for a certificate or rating when given by a CFI). Over-water flight does not require parachutes.

Source: 14 CFR 91.307(c)

Correct answer: B. July 31, next year.

14 CFR 91.409(a)(1) requires an annual inspection within the preceding 12 calendar months, so an inspection on July 12 is valid through July 31 of the next year. The date on the airworthiness certificate has nothing to do with it.

Source: 14 CFR 91.409(a)(1)

Correct answer: A. Every 12 months.

14 CFR 91.207(d) requires each ELT to be inspected within 12 calendar months after the last inspection (installation, battery corrosion, controls and a check for radiated signal). 24 months is the transponder/altimeter interval, and there is no 100-hour ELT inspection rule.

Source: 14 CFR 91.207(d)

Correct answer: B. 16 years.

14 CFR 61.83(a) requires an applicant for a student pilot certificate to be at least 16 years old, except 14 for operation of a glider or balloon. 17 is the minimum age for a private pilot certificate in airplanes.

Source: 14 CFR 61.83(a)

Correct answer: B. Direction to takeoff runways.

AIM 2-3-11 explains that destination signs have arrows showing the direction of the taxiing route to a destination, such as outbound signs pointing to takeoff runways. Runway entrances are marked by runway holding position signs and the runway you are on by runway location signs.

Source: AIM 2-3-11

Correct answer: A. 1,000 feet of runway remaining.

AIM 2-1-5 explains that runway centerline lights are white, then alternate red and white from 3,000 to 1,000 feet remaining, and are all red for the last 1,000 feet of runway. Continuous red lights therefore indicate 1,000 feet remaining, not 3,000 feet or the overrun.

Source: AIM 2-1-5

Correct answer: A. 4 NM.

AIM 2-1-2 says the VASI visual glide path provides safe obstruction clearance within plus or minus 10 degrees of the extended runway centerline and to 4 NM from the runway threshold. 6 and 10 NM overstate the protected distance.

Source: AIM 2-1-2

Correct answer: A. 5 clicks.

AIM 2-1-8 says keying the microphone 7 times within 5 seconds selects the highest intensity, 5 times medium or lower intensity, and 3 times the lowest intensity. For medium-intensity MIRL, key 5 times; 3 clicks gives low intensity, and pilot-controlled lighting is not left on all night.

Source: AIM 2-1-8

Correct answer: C. Systematically focus on different segments of the sky for short intervals.

AIM 8-1-6 recommends a series of short, regularly spaced eye movements that bring successive areas of the sky into central vision, each viewed for at least a second. A continuous sweep does not let the eyes focus, and daytime detection depends on central, not peripheral, vision.

Source: AIM 8-1-6

Correct answer: B. the high-power, low-airspeed situation with the airplane trimmed for a full-flap configuration.

During a go-around the airplane is slow, trimmed nose-up for the full-flap approach, and suddenly given takeoff power; the Airplane Flying Handbook notes that this combination produces strong pitch-up and left-turning tendencies that can make control difficult. Airspeed is low, not excessive, and flaps do not reduce angle of attack to the point of losing control.

Source: Airplane Flying Handbook

Correct answer: B. clear days in the vicinity of navigational aids.

FAA collision-avoidance guidance notes that most midair collisions occur in daylight on clear VFR days, where traffic concentrates, such as near airports and around navigational aids where aircraft converge (AIM 4-4-15 calls for sustained vigilance near VORs). Hazy days and night simulated-instrument flights are not where most occur.

Source: AIM 4-4-15

Correct answer: B. 10 miles of any airport.

AIM 4-3-23 encourages pilots to turn on landing lights when operating below 10,000 feet, day or night, especially within 10 miles of any airport, in reduced visibility and where flocks of birds may be expected. The recommendation is not limited to Class B or to controlled airports.

Source: AIM 4-3-23

Correct answer: A. 50 feet per minute rate of climb.

The Airplane Flying Handbook defines the single-engine service ceiling as the density altitude at which VYSE produces a 50 feet per minute rate of climb with the critical engine inoperative (the single-engine absolute ceiling is where it produces zero). 100 feet per minute is the all-engine service ceiling criterion.

Source: Airplane Flying Handbook

Correct answer: B. The airplane will accelerate more slowly with the same power output, and a higher airspeed is required to generate necessary lift for takeoff.

PHAK Chapter 11 explains that more weight lengthens the takeoff in two ways: the greater mass accelerates more slowly for the same power, and a higher liftoff airspeed is needed because stall speed rises with weight. So the airplane accelerates more slowly and needs more airspeed; acceleration is not the same for every airplane.

Source: PHAK Chapter 11

Correct answer: A. Higher true airspeed and longer landing distance.

At a high-elevation airport the air is thinner, so the same indicated approach speed corresponds to a higher true airspeed and groundspeed, which lengthens the landing roll (PHAK Chapter 11). Indicated airspeed stays the same; true airspeed rises.

Source: PHAK Chapter 11

Correct answer: B. It reduces climb performance.

High density altitude means thinner air, which reduces engine power, propeller thrust and wing lift, so climb performance is reduced and takeoff distance increases (PHAK Chapter 11). It does not improve engine or takeoff performance.

Source: PHAK Chapter 11

Correct answer: B. Situational awareness, problem recognition, and good judgment.

PHAK Chapter 2 describes risk management as the part of ADM that relies on situational awareness, problem recognition and good judgment to reduce the risks of each flight. The third option describes judgment/decision making in general, and stress management is a separate topic.

Source: PHAK Chapter 2

Correct answer: B. Antiauthority, impulsivity, macho, resignation, and invulnerability.

PHAK Chapter 2 names five hazardous attitudes: anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho and resignation, each with its antidote. Poor risk or stress management and poor situational awareness are consequences or weaknesses, not the named hazardous attitudes.

Source: PHAK Chapter 2

Correct answer: B. Recognizing hazardous thoughts.

PHAK Chapter 2 explains that the first step in neutralizing a hazardous attitude is recognizing hazardous thoughts; only then can the pilot label the attitude and apply its antidote. Making a rational judgment follows recognition, and 'invulnerability' is itself one of the hazardous attitudes.

Source: PHAK Chapter 2

Correct answer: B. noseup attitude.

AIM 8-1-5 explains that a rapid acceleration, such as during takeoff, stimulates the otolith organs to create the illusion of being in a nose-up attitude (somatogravic illusion); the disoriented pilot may push the nose down. Rapid deceleration produces the opposite, nose-down, illusion.

Source: AIM 8-1-5

Correct answer: A. 5,000 feet.

AIM 8-1-2 notes that night vision is significantly impaired as low as 5,000 feet because of reduced oxygen and recommends supplemental oxygen above 5,000 feet at night. 10,000 and 12,500 feet relate to daytime recommendations and regulatory requirements.

Source: AIM 8-1-2

Correct answer: C. A blue coloration of the lips and fingernails develop along with tunnel vision.

Above 15,000 feet without supplemental oxygen, occupants are likely to become hypoxic, with signs such as cyanosis (blue lips and fingernails) and visual impairment like tunnel vision (PHAK Chapter 17). Trapped gases expand, not contract, with altitude, and middle-ear pressure problems occur mainly during descent.

Source: PHAK Chapter 17

Correct answer: B. The compass will indicate a turn to the right, but at a faster rate than is actually occurring.

In the Northern Hemisphere, when turning from a south heading the compass leads: it shows a turn in the correct direction but faster than the airplane is actually turning (PHAK Chapter 8). Lagging or an initial opposite indication is the behavior when turning from north.

Source: PHAK Chapter 8

Correct answer: A. The vertical distance of the aircraft above sea level.

PHAK defines true altitude as the vertical distance of the aircraft above sea level. Height above the surface is absolute altitude, and height above the standard datum plane is pressure altitude.

Source: PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25)

Correct answer: B. magnetic variation.

Magnetic variation is the angle between true north and magnetic north at a given location (PHAK Chapter 16). Deviation is the compass error caused by the aircraft's own magnetic fields, and acceleration error is a compass error in flight.

Source: PHAK Chapter 16

Correct answer: C. 57 gallons.

Time en route is 620 NM / 167 knots = 3.71 hours. Fuel required is 3.71 x 15.3 gallons per hour = about 56.8, so about 57 gallons.

Correct answer: B. SIGMET.

AIM 7-1-6 lists severe icing not associated with thunderstorms among the conditions for which a (non-convective) SIGMET is issued. A PIREP is an individual pilot report rather than an in-flight advisory, and a Convective SIGMET covers thunderstorm activity (which implies severe icing but is issued for convection).

Source: AIM 7-1-6

Correct answer: C. Embedded thunderstorms, lines of thunderstorms, and thunderstorms with 3/4 inch hail or tornadoes.

AIM 7-1-6 says Convective SIGMETs are issued for severe thunderstorms (surface winds of 50 knots or more, hail 3/4 inch or larger, or tornadoes), embedded thunderstorms, lines of thunderstorms, and large areas of strong thunderstorms. VIP 2 is too low a threshold and 1/2-inch hail is below the criterion.

Source: AIM 7-1-6

Correct answer: B. VNE decreases as temperature and weight increase.

Helicopter VNE is limited mainly by retreating blade stall, which occurs sooner at higher density altitude and higher weight (more blade angle of attack needed). The Helicopter Flying Handbook therefore notes that VNE decreases as temperature (density altitude) and weight increase.

Source: Helicopter Flying Handbook

Correct answer: A. knowing the density altitude, gross weight, and surface wind.

The Helicopter Flying Handbook identifies density altitude, gross weight and wind as the main factors affecting helicopter performance, and performance charts use them. The formula option is meaningless, and hover ceiling is one result of performance, not how it is determined.

Source: Helicopter Flying Handbook

Correct answer: C. 4,000 feet above airport.

AIM 3-2-4 describes Class C airspace as normally extending from the surface to 4,000 feet above the primary airport elevation, with the outer shelf from 1,200 feet AGL. The altitudes are charted in MSL, but the design height is 4,000 feet above the airport, not 3,000.

Source: AIM 3-2-4

Correct answer: B. Slant-range distance in nautical miles.

AIM 1-1-7 explains that DME displays slant-range distance from the aircraft to the station in nautical miles. It is not given in statute miles, and it is not a horizontal distance measured at the aircraft's altitude.

Source: AIM 1-1-7

Correct answer: C. 5°F or less and decreasing.

Fog forms when air cools to near its dewpoint, so a small temperature/dewpoint spread (about 5 degrees F or less) that is decreasing signals likely fog (PHAK Chapter 12). A 15-degree spread is far from saturation, and an increasing spread means the air is drying.

Source: PHAK Chapter 12

Correct answer: C. 35.9 pounds.

Adding weight W at station 150 moves the CG to (5,000 x 80 + 150W) / (5,000 + W). Setting that equal to the aft limit of 80.5: 400,000 + 150W = 402,500 + 80.5W, so 69.5W = 2,500 and W = about 35.9 pounds. 69.5 is the distance from the new CG to the station, and 70 is the arm from the old CG, not a weight.

Correct answer: A. sunset to sunrise.

14 CFR 91.209(a) requires lighted position lights on aircraft operated from sunset to sunrise (Alaska has its own rule). The other periods in the options are not in the regulation.

Source: 14 CFR 91.209(a)

Correct answer: C. 7500, 7600, 7700.

AIM 4-1-20 cautions pilots, when making routine code changes, to avoid inadvertently selecting 7500 (hijack), 7600 (lost communications) or 7700 (emergency), which would trigger alarms at ATC facilities. The codes in the other options have no special meaning.

Source: AIM 4-1-20