While cleaning out his home office, one of the bloggers behind the AskaCFI blog stumbled upon an old copy of “Questions from an actual oral exam – Private Pilot.” He then noted that:
I sat in an oral exam for a private pilot checkrider on 11-24-98. The examiner asked the applicant the following questions. Your questions may be much different. Be aware that many of the questions asked were a result of the applicant’s answers to the previous questions.
Hence, we will repeat the questions again here and also note that there is a video of an actual pilot oral exam at the end of the original AskaCFI post:
Private Pilot Oral Exam Questions:
- Is the information on your 8710 form correct?
- Did your instructor review the areas that you were deficient on your written test?
- Explain which documents must be on board the aircraft.
- What invalidates the airworthiness certificate?
- Which of the required documents on board an aircraft has to be in view?
- What are the required inspections for your aircraft?
- What are your private pilot privileges and limitations?
- What is a flight review?
- Do you need to log flight time?
- What are the various v-speeds for your aircraft?
- What would you want to maintain a Vy climb for a while after takeoff?
- When might you need to slow down below maneuvering speed?
- What is the effect of high density altitude on aircraft performance, and what three things contribute to high density altitude?
- Have you ever had carb ice? When do you use carb heat?
- What is the spin recovery procedure for your aircraft?
- Can you intentionally spin your aircraft according to the manufacturer limitations?
- Explain what you would do if a large aircraft departed just as you were coming in to land?
- What is the maximum allowable baggage your can put in the baggage compartment of your airplane?
- What are the various anti- or de-icing components on your aircraft, and which one is each (anti-or de-icing?).
- When would you use pitot heat?
- What is the total fuel on your aircraft, and how much of that is usuable?
- How are the fuel tanks vented to allow for air to replace fuel that is used?
- What powers the flaps?
- Would the engine quit if you lost electrical power?
- How would you identify an electrical failure?
- What are the required instruments and equipment for day VFR flight?
- Could you fly the airplane if a piece of non-required equipment was not operational? If so, what would you need to do?
- Could you fly the airplane if a piece of required equipment was not operational? If so, what you would need to do?
- What are the night VFR equipment requirements?
- Explain hypoxia and its symptoms.
- Explain hyperventilation and its symptoms.
- Explain the supplemental oxygen requirements.
- What would you do if you smelled exhaust fumes in the cockpit?
- Why do you have to avoid alcohol and certain over-the-counter drugs with respect to flying, when you are allowed to drive with, for example, immediately after having a few drinks?
- Explain the effects of excessive nitrogen in the blood. Why might this be significant for you as a pilot?
- Where do Class A, B, C, D, E and G airspaces exist and show me them on a chart (if possible).
- What do you need to get into Class A airspace?
- What do you need to do to get into Class B airspace?
- What do you need to get into Class C airspace? Class D?
- If you called Flint approach control facility to enter Class C airspace, and the controller responded with “Aircraft calling Flint, standby,” could you enter the airspace? Why or why not?
- What are maximum elevation figures (on a chart)?
- Explain Military Operations Areas…where can you find information about specific MOAs depicted on your chart?
- How did you get the weather for today’s flight?
- Can we make today’s flight safely?
- What were the winds aloft?
- Any NOTAMS?
- How can you get windshear reports?
- Explain airmets and sigmets.
- Would you consider a sigment dangerous?
- Why did you choose 4500 as a cruise altitude?
- Explain the hemispherical rule. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_level)
- How would you activate your flight plan once airborne?
- Explain how your arrived at your computed heading and groundspeed for the first leg of the trip.
- Explain why you chose the checkpoints that you did.
- How will you determine the active runway at your destination (an uncontrolled airport)?
- What if you call the unicom and nobody answers?