Free Flight Instructor Sport Powered Parachute Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Flight Instructor Sport Powered Parachute practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A sport pilot and one passenger plan a personal powered-parachute flight. The allowable operating expenses total $180. What is the minimum amount the pilot must pay?

   1. A. $45
   2. B. $60
   3. C. $90
   4. D. $180

   Answer: C

   Explanation: Section 61.315(b) states, "You must pay at least half the operating expenses of the flight." Half of $180 is $90. Paying $45 or $60 is below that minimum; $180 exceeds the minimum asked for.

   Reference: 14 CFR 61.315 — Sport pilot privileges and limits — § 61.315(b)

2. 2After a powered-parachute mishap, which hospitalization alone meets the hospitalization criterion for a serious injury under NTSB Part 830?

   1. A. 36 hours, beginning one day after injury
   2. B. 48 hours, beginning three days after injury
   3. C. 60 hours, beginning three days after injury
   4. D. 60 hours, beginning eight days after injury

   Answer: C

   Explanation: Section 830.2 specifies hospitalization "for more than 48 hours, commencing within 7 days". Sixty hours starting on day three satisfies both conditions. Thirty-six and exactly 48 hours fail the duration condition; admission on day eight fails the commencement condition.

   Reference: 49 CFR Part 830 — NTSB accident notification and reporting — § 830.2, Serious injury, item (1)

3. 3A powered-parachute pilot makes an initial radio call to ground control from the south ramp. Which sequence follows the AIM initial-contact format?

   1. A. Facility name, aircraft identification, position, request
   2. B. Aircraft identification, request, facility name, position
   3. C. Position, facility name, request, aircraft identification
   4. D. Request, position, aircraft identification, facility name

   Answer: A

   Explanation: AIM 4-2-3(a)(1) gives the format: "(a) Name of the facility being called; (b) Your full aircraft identification as filed in the flight plan or as discussed in paragraph 4−2−4, Aircraft Call Signs; (c) When operating on an airport surface, state your position. (d) The type of message to follow or your request if it is short; and". Thus the call begins with the facility, then full aircraft identification, surface position, and request. All other options reorder these same elements.

   Reference: Aeronautical Information Manual — Contact Procedures — Initial Contact — paragraph a, first format list, items (a) through (d)

4. 4Before a powered-parachute departure, the pilot sees precipitation evaporating below a convective cloud and a ring of blowing dust at the surface. Which hazard is most directly suggested by these combined signs?

   1. A. An advancing sea breeze
   2. B. A developing microburst
   3. C. A nocturnal valley breeze
   4. D. A mountain-wave rotor

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The handbook identifies "virga" and "a ring of blowing dust" as possible visible clues to microburst activity. The combined convective-cloud and surface-outflow signs call for recognizing that hazard, rather than interpreting them as ordinary coastal, valley, or mountain-wave circulation.

   Reference: Aviation Weather Handbook — § 22.7.3, Downburst and Microburst, p. 22-8

5. 5A powered-parachute pilot is assessing the wake from a preceding airplane. Which combination produces that airplane's greatest vortex strength?

   1. A. Heavy, clean, and fast
   2. B. Light, clean, and slow
   3. C. Heavy, clean, and slow
   4. D. Heavy, configured, and slow

   Answer: C

   Explanation: AIM 7-4-3 states, "the greatest vortex strength occurs when the generating aircraft is HEAVY, CLEAN, and SLOW." Increasing speed, reducing weight, or using the configuration that hastens wake decay changes a controlling condition in the competing choices.

   Reference: Aeronautical Information Manual — Vortex Strength — paragraph (a)

6. 6A powered-parachute pilot needs an altitude value that reflects air density for takeoff-performance planning. Which altitude is pressure altitude corrected for temperature deviations from the standard atmosphere?

   1. A. True altitude
   2. B. Indicated altitude
   3. C. Absolute altitude
   4. D. Density altitude

   Answer: D

   Explanation: The handbook defines, "Density altitude is the pressure altitude corrected for temperature deviations from the standard atmosphere." True, indicated, and absolute altitude express different altitude references and do not provide that temperature-corrected density index.

   Reference: Aviation Weather Handbook — § 8.4.1.5, Density Altitude

7. 7A powered-parachute loading worksheet places a 20-pound item 10 inches forward of the reference datum. With forward arms negative, what moment should be entered for this item?

   1. A. Negative 200 pound-inches
   2. B. Positive 200 pound-inches
   3. C. Negative 2 pound-inches
   4. D. Positive 2 pound-inches

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The chapter states, "a positive times a negative equals a negative". Moment is weight times arm: 20 × (−10) = −200 pound-inches. A positive result drops the arm’s sign; dividing weight by arm rather than multiplying produces the incorrect magnitude of 2.

   Reference: Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge — Weight and Balance — Chapter 10, Computations With a Negative Arm, p. 10-10

8. 8While teaching stall awareness in a powered parachute, an instructor explains the aerodynamic boundary that causes a wing to stall. Which condition defines that boundary?

   1. A. Reaching a particular groundspeed
   2. B. Reaching a particular pitch attitude
   3. C. Reaching a particular engine RPM
   4. D. Exceeding the critical angle of attack

   Answer: D

   Explanation: The handbook states, "The critical angle of attack is the angle of attack at which a wing stalls regardless of airspeed, flight attitude, or weight." Stall awareness therefore centers on AOA, not a fixed groundspeed, pitch attitude, or RPM.

   Reference: Powered Parachute Flying Handbook — Chapter 2, Stalls: Exceeding the Critical Angle of Attack, p. 2-14

9. 9A powered-parachute pilot knows that experienced pilots have accidents but believes personal skill makes the same hazards unlikely to affect them. Which hazardous attitude does this illustrate?

   1. A. Impulsivity
   2. B. Resignation
   3. C. Invulnerability
   4. D. Anti-authority

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The ADM chapter describes invulnerability: "Many people falsely believe that accidents happen to others, but never to them." The pilot’s belief is personal immunity to a known hazard, rather than haste, helplessness, or rejection of authority.

   Reference: Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge — Aeronautical Decision-Making — Chapter 2, Figure 2-4, Invulnerability, p. 2-5

10. 10For a powered-parachute cross-country flight, the pilot needs detailed airport runway information and available services for an intended U.S. landing airport. Which publication is designed to supplement the sectional chart with this airport information?

    1. A. The Pilot/Controller Glossary
    2. B. The Chart Supplement U.S.
    3. C. The Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix
    4. D. The Aircraft Weight and Balance Handbook

    Answer: B

    Explanation: The Navigation chapter’s Chart Supplement discussion includes "location, elevation, runway and lighting facilities, available services". It is the appropriate airport reference. The glossary defines terminology, the testing matrix describes examinations, and the weight-and-balance handbook explains loading rather than providing the airport’s runway data.

    Reference: Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge — Navigation — Chapter 16, Use of Chart Supplement U.S., p. 16-18