CFI Written Practice Test: FAA Flight Instructor Airplane (FIA) Questions

587 practice questions across the 13 knowledge areas of the Flight Instructor for Airplane ACS: your own certificate's privileges, limits, records and renewal; student pilots, solo and every endorsement you'll sign; the technical areas you'll teach (aerodynamics, systems, performance, weather, airspace and navigation); and how to teach the takeoffs, landings, maneuvers, stalls, spins and emergencies, with the errors your students will make. We wrote every question from the FAA's own handbooks, AC 61-65K and the regulations, and each answer links the exact page or rule it comes from. The real test is 100 questions in 2.5 hours at 70%.

The real test: 100 multiple-choice questions in 2.5 hours at an FAA-approved testing center, three choices each. 70 right (70%) passes.

Passing score: FAA knowledge test passing score (70%), the codes on your test report, and retesting

Here: 587 questions. Our own practice questions, written from the FAA's Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28B), AC 61-65K and 14 CFR parts 61 and 91, all U.S. government works. Topics follow the Flight Instructor for Airplane ACS (FAA-S-ACS-25). Not the FAA's test questions. Free.

What's on the test

"On the test" is the rough share of a 60-question test for each topic; the FAA's mix changes from test to test.

10 sample questions

1. The minimum age for a flight instructor certificate is:

   • A.18
   • B.21
   • C.17
   Show answer

   A. 18

   FIA-1 · The flight instructor certificate: privileges, limits, records and renewal · 14 CFR 61.183

2. Who administers the pre-solo knowledge test, and what must happen at its end?

   • A.The instructor, who reviews every wrong answer
   • B.A testing center, which mails the test report
   • C.An examiner, who reports the score to the FAA later
   Show answer

   A. The instructor, who reviews every wrong answer

   FIA-26 · Student pilots, solo, endorsements and logbook entries · 14 CFR 61.87

3. A flight review consists of at least:

   • A.3 takeoffs and landings plus 1 hour ground
   • B.1 hour of flight and 1 hour of ground training
   • C.1 hour of flight training and a 1-hour oral exam
   Show answer

   B. 1 hour of flight and 1 hour of ground training

   FIA-43 · Pilot certificates, currency, medicals and airworthiness · 14 CFR 61.56

4. The most common form of hypemic hypoxia is:

   • A.Low oxygen pressure aloft
   • B.Carbon monoxide poisoning
   • C.Excess G-forces in a turn
   Show answer

   B. Carbon monoxide poisoning

   FIA-231 · Human factors, ADM, collision and runway incursion avoidance · PHAK page 425

5. In steady flight, total drag is at its minimum at:

   • A.The stall
   • B.VNO
   • C.L/DMAX
   Show answer

   C. L/DMAX

   FIA-51 · Principles of flight, stability, load factor and turning tendencies · PHAK page 102

6. Using the cabin alternate static source, the altimeter and airspeed indicator typically read:

   • A.Slightly lower than actual
   • B.Exactly the same as before
   • C.Slightly higher than actual
   Show answer

   C. Slightly higher than actual

   FIA-273 · Airplane systems and flight instruments · PHAK page 205

7. Useful load is:

   • A.Pilot, passengers, baggage, usable fuel and drainable oil
   • B.The empty weight plus the unusable fuel and the undrainable oil
   • C.Maximum gross weight minus the fuel load
   Show answer

   A. Pilot, passengers, baggage, usable fuel and drainable oil

   FIA-290 · Performance, weight and balance · PHAK page 249

8. In the Northern Hemisphere, Coriolis force deflects moving air:

   • A.Straight up
   • B.To the right
   • C.Toward the poles
   Show answer

   B. To the right

   FIA-316 · Weather theory and weather information · PHAK page 288

9. A CTAF may be:

   • A.A UNICOM, MULTICOM, FSS or tower frequency
   • B.Only a tower frequency used after hours
   • C.Only an AWOS or ASOS broadcast
   Show answer

   A. A UNICOM, MULTICOM, FSS or tower frequency

   FIA-340 · Airspace, navigation and airport operations · PHAK page 336

10. The AFH warns instructors that, just after lift-off, a new student tends to:

    • A.Reduce power to climb power right at lift-off
    • B.Raise the flaps before reaching a safe altitude AGL
    • C.Hold too much back pressure and pitch up abruptly
    Show answer

    C. Hold too much back pressure and pitch up abruptly

    FIA-167 · Teaching takeoffs, landings and go-arounds · AFH page 136

What the study guide does

• Short study rounds and flip cards.
• A practice test built like the real one: 100 questions, 70 to pass.
• Pass Meter: your chance of passing if you sat the test today, worked out from your own answers.
• An explanation for every answer.