In order to obtain your
commercial pilot license, you will need to take two exams - the knowledge test, also known as the written test, and the practical (or flight) test. The FAA has prepared some multiple-choice questions for
flight training students who are ready to take the written test. As a
flight school student, it is good to review these so you will get a better idea what the test will be like. Remember, these are only sample questions, but they give you an indication about the difficulty of the exam. We only selected 15 out of over 200 sample questions. You can review the others on the FAA website. Sorry, we don’t provide you with the answers - you can get those on the FAA website or from your study books.
1. Load factor is the lift generated by the wings of an aircraft at any given time
A) Divided by the total weight of the aircraft.
B) Multiplied by the total weight of the aircraft.
C) Divided by the basic empty weight of the aircraft.
2 Lift on a wing is most properly defined as the
A) Force acting perpendicular to the relative wind.
B) Differential pressure acting perpendicular to the chord of the wing.
C) Reduced pressure resulting from a laminar flow over the upper camber of an airfoil, which acts perpendicular to the mean camber.
3. What performance is characteristic of flight at maximum lift/drag ratio in a propeller-driven airplane? Maximum...
A) Gain in altitude over a given distance.
B) Range and maximum distance glide.
C) Coefficient of lift and minimum coefficient of drag.
4. Recovery from a stall in any airplane becomes more difficult when its
A) Center of gravity moves forward.
B) Elevator trim is adjusted nosedown.
C) Center of gravity moves aft.
5. The need to slow an aircraft below VA is brought about by the following weather phenomenon:
A) High density altitude which increases the indicated stall speed.
B) Turbulence which causes an increase in stall speed.
C) Turbulence which causes a decrease in stall speed.
6. Which is true regarding the use of airborne weather-avoidance radar for the recognition of certain weather conditions?
A) The radar scope provides no assurance of avoiding instrument weather conditions.
B) The avoidance of hail is assured when flying between and just clear of the most intense echoes.
C) The clear area between intense echoes indicates that visual sighting of storms can be maintained when flying between the echoes.
7. Which is true regarding the use of flaps during level turns?
A) The lowering of flaps increases the stall speed.
B) The raising of flaps increases the stall speed.
C) Raising flaps will require added forward pressure on the yoke or stick.
8. Which airspeed would a pilot be unable to identify by the color coding of an airspeed indicator?
A) The never-exceed speed.
B) The power-off stall speed.
C) The maneuvering speed.
9. To determine pressure altitude prior to takeoff, the altimeter should be set to
A) The current altimeter setting.
B) 29.92 inches Hg and the altimeter indication noted.
C) The field elevation and the pressure reading in the altimeter setting window noted.
10.During pre-flight in cold weather, crankcase breather lines should receive special attention because they are susceptible to being clogged by
A) Congealed oil from the crankcase.
B) Moisture from the outside air which has frozen.
C) Ice from crankcase vapors that have condensed and subsequently frozen.
11. If necessary to take off from a slushy runway, the freezing of landing gear mechanisms can be minimized by
A) Recycling the gear.
B) Delaying gear retraction.
C) Increasing the airspeed to VLE before retraction.
12. The mixture control can be adjusted, which
A) Prevents the fuel/air combination from becoming too rich at higher altitudes.
B) Regulates the amount of air flow through the carburetor's venturi.
C) Prevents the fuel/air combination from becoming lean as the airplane climbs.
13. Fouling of spark plugs is more apt to occur if the aircraft
A) Gains altitude with no mixture adjustment.
B) Descends from altitude with no mixture adjustment.
C) Throttle is advanced very abruptly.
14. In aircraft equipped with constant-speed propellers and normally-aspirated engines, which procedure should be used to avoid placing undue stress on the engine components? When power is being
A) Decreased, reduce the RPM before reducing the manifold pressure.
B) Increased, increase the RPM before increasing the manifold pressure.
C) Increased or decreased, the RPM should be adjusted before the manifold pressure.
15. Once a pilot-in-command accepts a `land and hold short` (LAHSO) clearance, the clearance must be adhered to, just as any other ATC clearance, unless
A) An amended clearance is obtained or an emergency occurs.
B) The wind changes or Available Landing Distance decreases.
C) Available Landing Distance decreases or density altitude increases.