How to use these practice questions
The FAA Airman Knowledge Tests are computer-based, multiple-choice exams. Question banks are tailored to the certificate or rating, and questions may ask you to interpret references or apply knowledge to a scenario. These original practice items cover common private-pilot topics; they are not taken from an FAA test bank. Check current FAA publications and regulations for authoritative wording and requirements.
For each question, choose the best answer in the screen, then read the explanation. Pay attention to the strongest distractor: it often uses a familiar number or concept in the wrong situation. Keep units visible in calculations, and check whether the result makes sense operationally.
1. Passenger-carrying currency
This question tests whether you can distinguish passenger currency from general recent flight experience. A MySummaries practice screen for the question looks like this:
A pilot wants to act as PIC carrying passengers in a single-engine land airplane during daytime. Which statement describes the baseline takeoff-and-landing currency requirement?
For passenger-carrying privileges, 14 CFR 61.57(a) requires three takeoffs and landings within the preceding 90 days as sole manipulator of the controls, in the same category and class, and type if a type rating is required. The night landing requirement is separate.
Option A is correct. The strongest distractor is D: night currency has an additional full-stop requirement and applies to carrying passengers at night, but this scenario is daytime. Don’t add a make-and-model condition where the regulation specifies category, class and, when required, type.
2. Reading a METAR
Here the task is to extract visibility and ceiling from coded weather, rather than infer conditions from the precipitation alone. MySummaries shows the item with the answer options:
A METAR contains the group `2SM -RA BR BKN008`. What prevailing visibility and ceiling are reported?
SM means statute miles, so visibility is 2 statute miles. BKN008 means a broken layer at 800 feet above the reporting station; a broken layer is a ceiling. The METAR cloud height is reported above ground level, not mean sea level.
A is correct. C is the closest distractor, but the cloud-group height is not an MSL altitude. Read the units in the visibility group and the cloud-height convention independently.
3. Measuring distance on a sectional
This tests scale conversion and unit discipline. The scale is supplied in the question, so you do not need to assume one for every chart. A MySummaries question screen presents it as follows:
On a chart with a scale of 1:500,000, two points are 2.0 inches apart on the chart. Approximately how far apart are they on the ground? (1 nautical mile = 6,076 feet.)
At 1:500,000, 2 inches on the chart represent 1,000,000 inches on the ground. Dividing by 72,912 inches per nautical mile gives about 13.7 NM. The 27.4 NM distractor doubles the result, while 164.6 comes from confusing inches with feet.
B is correct. C is the strongest distractor because it is exactly twice the result: check that you used the measured chart distance once, not twice. Always convert to the requested unit before selecting an answer.
4. Density altitude
The key is to find the standard temperature at the pressure altitude before applying the approximate density-altitude rule. MySummaries displays the calculation scenario like this:
An airport has a pressure altitude of 5,000 feet and an outside air temperature of 30°C. Using the approximate rule DA = PA + 120 × (OAT − ISA temperature), what is the density altitude? Use ISA temperature of 5°C at 5,000 feet.
The temperature is 25°C above ISA. The approximate correction is 120 × 25 = 3,000 feet; add that to the 5,000-foot pressure altitude for an estimated density altitude of 8,000 feet.
C is correct. The tempting 6,000-foot answer applies only a 1,000-foot correction, not the 25°C temperature difference multiplied by 120. This is an approximation for study and planning; use the aircraft’s approved performance information for operations.
5. Crosswind component
This question checks whether you resolve wind relative to the runway rather than report the full wind speed as crosswind. A MySummaries screen gives the runway and wind direction explicitly:
The wind is 240° at 20 knots and the runway is 18 (heading 180°). Approximately what is the crosswind component?
The angle between the wind and runway is 60°. Crosswind component is approximately 20 × sin 60°, or 17 knots. The headwind component is approximately 20 × cos 60°, or 10 knots.
B is correct. A is the strongest distractor because it is the headwind component, not the crosswind. Identify the angle first, then match sine to the crosswind component.
6. Day-VFR fuel reserve
The distinction here is between fuel required to reach the destination and the required reserve after arrival. MySummaries sets out the regulation question this way:
Under the baseline airplane fuel requirement for day VFR in 14 CFR 91.151, how much fuel must remain after reaching the first point of intended landing, assuming normal cruising speed?
For day VFR, an airplane must have enough fuel to fly to the first point of intended landing and then fly for at least 30 minutes at normal cruising speed. Night VFR has a different reserve requirement.
B is correct. C is the strongest distractor because 45 minutes is associated with the night-VFR airplane requirement, not the day-VFR requirement asked here. Confirm the applicable rule for the operation rather than memorising a reserve number without its conditions.
7. Class D cloud clearance
This tests the VFR weather minimums for a specific airspace and altitude band. A MySummaries question screen keeps those conditions in the stem:
Below 10,000 feet MSL in Class D airspace, which basic VFR visibility and cloud-clearance minimums apply?
The basic VFR minimums for Class D below 10,000 feet MSL are 3 statute miles visibility and cloud clearance of 500 feet below, 1,000 feet above, and 2,000 feet horizontally. Other airspace classes and conditions can have different minima.
A is correct. C is a plausible distractor because “clear of clouds” applies in some other VFR contexts, but it is not the Class D requirement. Check both visibility and all three cloud-clearance dimensions.
8. Weight and balance
The task is to total moments before dividing by total weight. MySummaries’ practice screen asks for the centre of gravity from the supplied loading data:
An airplane has an empty weight of 1,500 lb at an arm of 40 in. Add a 180 lb pilot and a 160 lb passenger, both at 37 in, plus 40 lb baggage at 95 in. What is the loaded centre of gravity, to the nearest tenth of an inch?
Total weight is 1,880 lb. Total moment is 60,000 + 6,660 + 5,920 + 3,800 = 76,380 lb-in. Divide 76,380 by 1,880 to obtain 40.6 in. Confirm the resulting loading is within the aircraft’s approved limits separately.
B is correct. D is the strongest distractor: it resembles the total moment expressed as a number, but centre of gravity is moment divided by weight. Do not treat a calculated CG as proof that the loading is within limits.
9. True course and variation
This item checks the direction of magnetic variation. A MySummaries screen tests the conversion before any compass-deviation correction:
A plotted true course is 090°. The chart shows 10° east variation. What is the magnetic course before applying deviation?
For east variation, subtract variation from true course: 090° − 10° = 080° magnetic. Deviation is a separate correction that depends on the aircraft compass.
A is correct. C is the strongest distractor because it applies the east variation in the wrong direction. Keep true, magnetic and compass headings distinct, and apply corrections in a consistent order.
10. Fuel remaining
The final calculation distinguishes fuel consumed from fuel remaining. MySummaries shows a simple planning scenario with the assumptions stated:
A flight begins with 36 gallons of usable fuel. At an average burn of 8.5 gallons per hour, how much remains after 2.4 hours? Ignore taxi and climb fuel for this calculation.
Fuel used is 8.5 gallons per hour × 2.4 hours = 20.4 gallons. Subtract from 36 gallons: 36 − 20.4 = 15.6 gallons remaining.
A is correct. B is the strongest distractor because it is the quantity consumed, not the amount left. In real planning, account for the actual aircraft, conditions, and required reserves rather than treating an average burn as a guarantee.
Turn missed marks into a plan
After working through a set, sort errors by topic rather than simply repeating the whole set. A low score on regulations calls for checking the exact regulatory wording; repeated calculation errors call for writing units into each step. A MySummaries weak-area view could look like this:
If you miss the same concept twice, make the correction specific enough to answer next time. For example, ask yourself whether a fuel figure is consumed or remaining, or whether a wind component is headwind or crosswind. A MySummaries remediation card might read:
You lost this mark twice: with a 240° wind at 20 knots and runway 18, which component is about 17 knots—the headwind or the crosswind?
How MySummaries helps
Build a revision board from your own FAA study material, then use it to generate question practice, spaced-repetition cards and targeted review from missed marks. Start at portal.mysummaries.app.