Checkride-ready
See how you measure up to FAA standards with these questions from the AOPA Pilot Information Center.
1. Which statement best defines hypoxia?
A. An abnormal increase in the volume of air breathed.
B. A condition of gas bubble formation around the joints or muscles.
C. A state of oxygen deficiency in the body.
2. What regulation allows a private pilot to perform preventive maintenance?
A. FAR 43.7
B. FAR 91.403
C. FAR 61.113
3. Estimate the pressure altitude at an airport that is 1,386 feet msl with an altimeter setting of 29.97.
A. 1,536 feet msl
B. 1,336 feet msl
C. 1,436 feet msl
4. Who is responsible for determining whether a pilot is fit to fly for a particular flight, even though he or she holds a current medical certificate?
A. The FAA.
B. The medical examiner.
C. The pilot.
5. Before a person holding a private pilot certificate may act as pilot in command of a high-performance airplane, that person must have
A. passed a flight test in that airplane by an FAA inspector.
B. received ground and flight instruction from an authorized flight instructor who then endorses that person’s logbook.
C. an endorsement in that person’s logbook that he or she is competent to act as pilot in command.
Ace
Can you correctly answer these questions from retired TWA captain and 28,000-hour pilot Barry Schiff?
6. What would cause an airspeed indicator to behave like an altimeter? In other words, indicated airspeed would increase with an increase in altitude and decrease with a decrease in altitude (at any given pitch or power setting).
7. Which of the following does not belong?
A. Airplane
B. Glider
C. Balloon
D. Rotorcraft
8. Contrails (or condensation trails) can form behind jet engines at high altitude when hot, relatively moist exhaust mixes with cold, dry, ambient air. What are distrails?
9. Three of the four following conditions and circumstances create visual illusions that can mislead a pilot into believing that he is higher than he really is during a visual, straight-in approach and landing. Which one has the opposite effect?
A. “Black-hole” approach
B. High-aspect ratio (narrow) runway
C. Poor visibility
D. Upslope runway (uphill gradient)
10. True or false? The pilot in command of any certified, civil, U.S.-registered aircraft must use seat belts during all takeoffs and landings.
Illustrations by John Holms
Final Exam Answers
1. The correct answer is C. Hypoxia means reduced oxygen or not enough oxygen. The greatest concern regarding hypoxia during flight is lack of oxygen to the brain, since it is particularly vulnerable to oxygen deprivation. Any reduction in mental function while flying can result in life-threatening errors. (Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 17)
2. The correct answer is A. A person holding a private pilot certificate may approve an aircraft for return to service after performing preventive maintenance.
3. The correct answer is B. Pressure altitude is determined by setting the altimeter to 29.92 inches and reading the hands. In this example, that would involve a decrease of only 0.05 inches, from 29.97 to 29.92, equivalent to roughly 50 feet. (Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 11)
4. The correct answer is C. The pilot in command is always responsible for assessing his or her fitness to fly prior to each and every flight. (FAR 91.3)
5. The correct answer is B. FAR 61.31(f) requires some amount of logged ground and flight instruction, and a one-time logbook endorsement from the training instructor.
6. A blocked pitot tube. When the pitot is clogged, air pressure in the bourdon tube (the diaphragm inside the instrument) remains constant. Decreasing static pressure during a climb allows the diaphragm to expand and the airspeed indication to increase. The opposite occurs during descent.
7. The correct answer is C. Airplane, glider, and rotorcraft are categories of aircraft. Another category of aircraft is lighter-than-air, not balloon. (Balloons and airships are members of the lighter-than-air category.)
8. Distrails (or dissipation trails) are streaks of clearing that occur behind an airplane as it flies near the top of or barely within a thin cloud layer. The heat of exhaust and/or the mixing of dry downwash air from the wings causes the cloud to dissipate.
9. The correct answer is C. Poor visibility can give a pilot the impression that he is farther from the runway than he really is. This causes a delayed descent and high approach. Unusually high visibility can lead to premature descents.
10. False. Pilots of most balloons and some airships are not required to abide by this regulation.
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