Free Recreational Pilot Airplane Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Recreational Pilot Airplane practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A recreational pilot carries one passenger on a personal flight. Eligible expenses are $160 for fuel, $40 for oil, $40 in airport expenses, and $60 for aircraft rental. What is the minimum share the pilot must pay?

   1. A. $75
   2. B. $100
   3. C. $150
   4. D. $300

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The pilot may "Not pay less than the pro rata share of the operating expenses of a flight with a passenger". The eligible expenses total $300; divided between two occupants, the minimum pilot share is $150. The other amounts result from dividing by four, dividing by three, or failing to divide.

   Reference: 14 CFR 61.101 — Recreational pilot privileges and limitations — §61.101(a)(1)-(2)

2. 2Following a hard landing, an airplane has damage confined to its landing gear and tires, and no one is injured. For the NTSB accident definition, how is this damage classified?

   1. A. Substantial damage because a landing component is affected
   2. B. Excluded from substantial damage by the specific damage exception
   3. C. Substantial damage whenever the airplane cannot taxi away
   4. D. Excluded from substantial damage only if repairs cost under $25,000

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The substantial-damage definition excludes "damage to landing gear, wheels, tires, flaps, engine accessories, brakes, or wingtips". Damage confined to the gear and tires does not become substantial damage merely because the aircraft cannot taxi. The $25,000 threshold concerns other property, not this exception.

   Reference: 49 CFR Part 830 — Notification and reporting of aircraft accidents or incidents — §830.2, Substantial damage

3. 3A propeller-driven airplane approaches an airport with no published traffic-pattern altitude. Cloud clearance permits the normal pattern. Which altitude does the AIM recommend for entry?

   1. A. 500 feet AGL
   2. B. 1,000 feet AGL
   3. C. 1,500 feet AGL
   4. D. 2,000 feet AGL

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The AIM states: "Propeller-driven aircraft enter the traffic pattern at 1,000 feet above ground level (AGL)." This recommendation yields to a published pattern altitude and cloud-clearance requirements. The listed helicopter and large-aircraft altitudes are not the default for this airplane.

   Reference: Aeronautical Information Manual — Airport Operations — AIM 4-3-3(a)(1)

4. 4On final approach, a pilot inadvertently enters a microburst and initially notices an increasing headwind. What sequence should the pilot anticipate as the airplane continues through the microburst?

   1. A. An updraft followed by an increasing headwind
   2. B. A downdraft followed by an increasing tailwind
   3. C. A decreasing tailwind followed by an updraft
   4. D. An increasing headwind followed by a steady crosswind

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The handbook describes a headwind "followed by performance-decreasing downdrafts (2), followed by a rapidly increasing tailwind (3)." The initial performance improvement can therefore be followed rapidly by severe performance loss near the ground.

   Reference: Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge — Chapter 12: Weather Theory — Low-Level Wind Shear

5. 5A light airplane will follow a larger airplane during airport operations. Which combination on the larger airplane produces the strongest wake vortices?

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

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The AIM states: "the greatest vortex strength occurs when the generating aircraft is HEAVY, CLEAN, and SLOW." Lower weight, higher speed, or a configuration hastening wake decay does not produce the strongest combination.

   Reference: Aeronautical Information Manual — Wake Turbulence — AIM 7-4-3

6. 6For a hot-day departure, a pilot corrects pressure altitude for nonstandard temperature to assess takeoff performance. Which altitude has the pilot determined?

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

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The handbook states: "Density altitude is pressure altitude corrected for nonstandard temperature." It represents the air-density level affecting performance, rather than true height above sea level, an uncorrected indication, or height above terrain.

   Reference: Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge — Chapter 11: Aircraft Performance — Density Altitude

7. 7A loading worksheet lists an empty airplane weighing 1,200 pounds with a moment of 48,000 pound-inches, occupants weighing 400 pounds at a 45-inch arm, and fuel weighing 400 pounds at a 45-inch arm. With no other load, what is the loaded CG?

   1. A. 24.0 inches
   2. B. 41.25 inches
   3. C. 42.0 inches
   4. D. 45.0 inches

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The handbook directs: "To determine the CG, divide the total moment by the total weight." Total weight is 2,000 pounds; total moment is 48,000 + 18,000 + 18,000 = 84,000 pound-inches. CG = 42.0 inches. The 24.0 result omits both added moments while counting all weight; 41.25 omits one 400-pound item and its moment; 45.0 omits the empty airplane and averages only the added load.

   Reference: Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge — Chapter 10: Weight and Balance — Determining Loaded Weight and CG — Computational Method

8. 8During single-engine-airplane training, an instructor demonstrates that a stall can occur with the nose below the horizon. Which condition actually determines whether the wing stalls?

   1. A. Airspeed falling below a single fixed value
   2. B. The wing exceeding its critical angle of attack
   3. C. Pitch attitude rising above the level-flight attitude
   4. D. Engine power falling below the power needed for level flight

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The handbook states: "a stall occurs when the AOA—the angle between the chord line of the wing and the relative wind—exceeds the wing’s critical AOA." Airspeed, attitude, and power can vary; exceeding critical AOA is the controlling condition.

   Reference: Airplane Flying Handbook — Chapter 5: Maintaining Aircraft Control — Stalls

9. 9A pilot dismisses an accident scenario because similar events always seem to happen to other people. Which hazardous attitude does this reasoning illustrate?

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

   Answer: C

   Explanation: Under invulnerability, the handbook states: "Many people falsely believe that accidents happen to others, but never to them." Impulsivity concerns acting without thinking; resignation concerns helplessness; anti-authority concerns resistance to direction.

   Reference: Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge — Chapter 2: Aeronautical Decision-Making — Hazardous Attitudes and Antidotes — Invulnerability

10. 10A pilot is assembling detailed destination information, including runway facilities, fuel availability, services, and airport remarks. Which FAA publication organizes this information into airport entries?

    1. A. Sectional Aeronautical Chart
    2. B. Chart Supplement U.S.
    3. C. VFR Terminal Area Chart
    4. D. Aeronautical Information Manual

    Answer: B

    Explanation: The handbook directs a study of "the Chart Supplement U.S." and lists airport location, elevation, runway facilities, services, fuel, and remarks. A sectional or terminal chart primarily supports geographic navigation; the AIM supplies general operating guidance rather than these airport-specific directory entries.

    Reference: Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge — Chapter 16: Navigation — Use of Chart Supplement U.S. (formerly Airport/Facility Directory)