PPL Air Law exam

What the exam covers

Pocket Pilot teaches Air Law in eight lessons, about 69 minutes of reading in all.

1. 01

   International Aviation Law & EASA

   5 min

   Sovereignty and the freedoms of the air · ICAO and its Annexes · Inside ICAO · From ICAO to the rules you actually fly under · Nationality & registration marks · The two Parts every PPL must know

2. 02

   SERA: Rules of the Air

   9 min

   What SERA covers · Right-of-way hierarchy · Converging, head-on, overtaking · Operating in the aerodrome circuit · The pilot-in-command's responsibilities · Special activities: permission first · Interception of civil aircraft

3. 03

   Airspace Classification

   10 min

   The seven ICAO classes · VFR weather minima · Aerodrome and traffic-protection airspace · Special-use airspace · Class B and Class F: for completeness · Operating-rule consequences · VFR conditions vs IFR conditions

4. 04

   Pilot Licensing (Part-FCL) & Medicals

   13 min

   Minimum PPL(A) training requirements · The 9 theoretical knowledge (TK) exams · The skill test · Language Proficiency (LP) · The Class 2 Medical · Revalidating the SEP class rating · Carrying passengers: the 90-day rule · Alternative routes: LAPL(A) and NPPL · Conversion and validation between licences

5. 05

   Altimeter Setting Procedures

   9 min

   The three pressure settings (Q-codes) · Altitude, height, flight level: the precise terms · Transition Altitude, Layer and Level · Regional Pressure Setting (RPS): the UK construct · High to Low, Look out Below · Lowest Usable Flight Level · VFR cruising levels: the semi-circular rule

6. 06

   Aerodrome Markings, Signals & Lighting

   7 min

   Runway markings: always white · Taxiway markings: always yellow · Aerodrome lighting · Obstacles, closed runways and unserviceable areas · Signal square · Light signals: when the radio fails · Marshalling signals

7. 07

   Documents & Rules for VFR Flight

   11 min

   Documents that must be carried · Minimum instruments and equipment (Part-NCO.IDE) · VFR: the basic rules · Minimum heights · Flight plans · International flights: customs and immigration · Night VFR · Transponder codes (squawks) · Search and Rescue (SAR) · After the flight: occurrence reporting

8. 08

   Air Traffic Services, Information & Security

   5 min

   The four air traffic services · When the radio fails · Aeronautical information · Aviation security

How the exam works

Air Law is one of the nine PPL(A) theory exams. Each is a separate multiple-choice paper, sat at your school or at a test centre approved by your national aviation authority. This one has 16 questions in 35 minutes, and you need 75% to pass, which is 12 correct answers.

• You have four attempts at each subject before further training is required.
• You must pass all nine within 18 months of your first sitting, in no more than six sittings.
• Your passes then stay valid for 24 months, and your skill test must fall inside that window.

The Air Law mock exam in Pocket Pilot has the same question count, time limit and pass mark, drawn from a growing bank of practice questions.

Try three exam questions

From the Pocket Pilot Air Law question bank, each with the app's explanation and the source it cites.

1. 01 / 03

   Two power-driven aeroplanes are converging at approximately the same level. Which one has right of way?

   1. AThe faster of the two aircraft
   2. BThe aircraft on the right; you give way to traffic converging from your own right
   3. CThe larger of the two aircraft
   4. DThe aircraft at the lower altitude
   Show the answerHide the answer

   Answer B. Under SERA.3210, when two aircraft are converging at about the same level, the one that has the other on its right gives way, so the aircraft on your right has priority: alter course to pass behind it. Where different types converge, power-driven aeroplanes give way to airships, gliders and balloons. Aircraft approaching head-on both turn right, and an overtaking aircraft passes on the right.

   Source

   SERA.3210

   Lesson

   SERA: Rules of the Air

2. 02 / 03

   For a VFR flight in Class G airspace at 2,000 ft AMSL (more than 1,000 ft above terrain), the VMC minima are:

   1. A8 km visibility, 1,500 m horizontally from cloud
   2. B5 km visibility, 1,500 m horizontally and 1,000 ft vertically from cloud
   3. C3 km visibility, clear of cloud
   4. D5 km flight visibility, clear of cloud, in sight of the surface
   Show the answerHide the answer

   Answer D. At or below 3,000 ft AMSL (or 1,000 ft above terrain, whichever is higher) in Class F/G, the minima are 5 km flight visibility, clear of cloud, and in sight of the surface. The 1,500 m / 1,000 ft cloud clearances apply in controlled airspace and everywhere above 3,000 ft AMSL.

   Source

   SERA.5001

   Lesson

   Airspace Classification

3. 03 / 03

   Flying with the correct QNH set on a day much colder than ISA, the altimeter will:

   1. AOver-read: your true altitude is lower than indicated
   2. BUnder-read: your true altitude is higher than indicated
   3. CRead correctly, because QNH compensates for temperature
   4. DRead pressure altitude
   Show the answerHide the answer

   Answer A. Cold air is denser and the pressure levels are squeezed closer together, so even with the correct QNH the altimeter over-reads: you are lower than indicated. The rule of thumb is about 4 percent of your height above the setting source for every 10 degrees Celsius below ISA. Add terrain margin in cold weather.

   Source

   ICAO Doc 8168 PANS-OPS (cold temperature corrections)

   Lesson

   Altimeter Setting Procedures

The other eight exams

• Human Performance & Limitations→12 questions · 25 min
• Meteorology→16 questions · 50 min
• Communications→12 questions · 20 min
• Navigation→12 questions · 45 min
• Principles of Flight→12 questions · 35 min
• Operational Procedures→12 questions · 30 min
• Flight Performance & Planning→12 questions · 45 min
• Aircraft General Knowledge→16 questions · 35 min