Instructor Tips: Pre-Solo Exams

The road to good intentions is often full of potholes, and in flight training, Federal Aviation Regulation 61.87(b), ?Solo Requirements For Student Pilots,? is one of them. Loosely paraphrased, the FAR states that before soloing, a student must demonstrate satisfactory aeronautical knowledge by taking a knowledge test. The test must address information appropriate to the solo flight, including regulations, local airspace, procedures, and aircraft operations and limitations. Finally, it makes the instructor responsible for administering the test and reviewing incorrect answers with the student.

So what?s the pothole? Simply this ? the regulation doesn?t have any standards, and it doesn?t define ?satisfactory.? You cannot evaluate anything without a standard, and this FAR makes CFIs responsible for evaluating a student?s knowledge and does so without giving or establishing any measurement specifications.

Don?t become overwrought because the regulation is nebulous. Its intent appears to require the instructor and student to review information pertinent to the solo flight, and then create a written document as proof. Because there are no standards, you, as an instructor, pretty much can do what you want. Use this to your advantage. Create a test that allows you and your student to be aware of strong and weak areas. Create a test that focuses on your local situation.

During their solo flight students will make decisions. Unless your students tell you everything, you?ll never hear about many of those decisions. The ones you will hear about will be the wrong decisions, such as entering controlled airspace without following required procedures, or landing at an airport without clearance. Your test should be designed to help you determine whether your students will make the right decisions when you?re not there.

You can start with Part 61, Subpart C, ?Student Pilots.? Your students need to know what their privileges and limitations are, and you need to know that they know them. On your pre-solo test avoid questions that relate to your responsibilities, such as asking whether their certificate needs to be endorsed. That?s your job, not theirs. Instead, ask questions that relate to what they can and cannot do when they?re flying solo.

Be relevant and local with these questions. If you fly out of New York?s Oswego County Airport, don?t ask questions about San Francisco International. Instead, ask students to identify the local areas they can fly to. Ask for landmarks that identify the local boundaries so you?re sure they won?t inadvertently fly into airspace where they don?t belong, or out of airspace where they do belong. Have them define or describe their 25-nautical-mile limit. Ask which airfields you?ve endorsed them to fly to. Make sure they understand ? and can apply ? the visibility requirements for VFR flight.

Develop questions that describe practical scenarios, then ask your students to explain their restrictions as they relate to the described scenarios. Don?t ask what the visibility requirements are. Give them the reported visibility and cloud heights, put them at a specific point and altitude, and then ask them whether they are legal. If your sample scenario is not legal, ask your students how they would avoid the situation.

Part 91 is a question gold mine. As with Part 61, you should include questions based on the more relevant regulations. If you have a comprehensive training syllabus, your student will already have been exposed to appropriate regulations. You can decide which ones to include in your test.

A good portion of Part 91, Subpart B, ?Flight Rules,? is included in the normal operating procedures for most aircraft, such as preflight, safety belts and harnesses, right of way rules, etc. You already should have evaluated your student?s compliance with these regulations on every dual flight. What should be more important is to test operating practices your student may try while you?re not around, such as minimum safe altitudes, compliance with ATC instructions, operating rules in the different airspace classes they may be flying in, etc.

Ask questions that allow you to establish whether they understand and can use the regulations, not just memorize them for your test. Don?t ask them to write something down word for word out of the book. Make them explain what a regulation means to them and how they plan to use it. Ask them what they think the responsibility and authority of the pilot in command is (FAR 91.3), and how they can apply it to their situation. Ask them why they must accomplish a preflight, not just how to perform it. Have them tell you what to do in right-of-way situations, especially when entering a traffic pattern or departing from a non-tower airport.

The aircraft pilot operating handbook also has information your student needs to know. Many checkout tests include questions, such as how much usable fuel is available with full tanks, and what?s the minimum amount of oil for flight. Students can look up these answers. That doesn?t tell you what they will be doing when they?re flying solo.

Design your questions to learn if your student knows how much fuel is required for solo flight according to school or club policies. Most organizations have different minimums. Ask them how they can obtain fuel or engine oil when required, and have them include the minimum quantity as part of the answer. Have them describe how to service a low tire. These are examples of the practical things they will be dealing with during solo flight.

Create simulated equipment malfunctions and ask how they will deal with them, both on the ground and in flight. Describe potential malfunctions (i.e. what the situations would be) and ask what the problem is and what should be done. Try to find out how your students think and how they troubleshoot.

Also ask questions about school, club, or company policies regarding solo flight. They need to know when they can fly, how many days between flights is allowable, or how many consecutive flights are allowed without a dual ride.

In the adjacent box are 20 example questions to use as a guideline for developing your pre-solo test. Modify them as necessary to meet your needs. You?ll have to decide what the best answers are depending on your particular needs. Don?t limit yourself to the subject areas in these examples. Many other questions could be part of your pre-solo test. Use your imagination. There?s no required number of questions for the test. Just make sure it covers all the areas specified in FAR 61.87(b).