FAA · Private Pilot Knowledge Test

Private Pilot Aerodynamics

The forces behind every flight: lift, drag, stalls, spins, stability, load factor, and ground effect.

There is no separate Aerodynamics exam. It is one of the subjects on the Private Pilot Knowledge Test, a single test that covers them all.

The Knowledge Test

60questions
2.5 htime limit
70%to pass

Syllabus

What the test covers

Pocket Pilot teaches Aerodynamics in seven lessons, about 41 minutes of reading in all.

01
The Four Forces of Flight
5 min
The four forces · Steady, unaccelerated flight · The lift equation · Climbs, descents, and turns · Thrust required vs. thrust available · Newton's third law: the lift mechanism in plain English · Power vs. thrust · The PIC view in one sentence
02
Airfoils & Lift
5 min
Anatomy of an airfoil · How lift is generated · The CL vs. AoA curve · Camber and high-lift devices · Wingtip vortices and induced drag · Aspect ratio · Washout and stall progression · A flat plate produces lift
03
Drag & the Power Curve
5 min
Two kinds of drag · Total drag and the power curve · L/D and best glide · Vx vs. Vy: best angle vs. best rate of climb · What raises drag · Bank angle and drag · Speed regimes of an airplane
04
Stability & Control
7 min
Three axes, three motions · Static stability: initial tendency · Dynamic stability: subsequent behavior · Longitudinal (pitch) stability · Lateral (roll) stability: keeping the wings level · Directional (yaw) stability: the weathervane · Dutch roll vs. spiral instability · Adverse yaw and the rudder · P-factor, torque, slipstream: the left-turning tendencies
05
Angle of Attack & Stalls
6 min
What a stall actually is · The 1g and accelerated stall · What affects stall speed? · Stall warning systems · Recovery: the universal procedure · Power-on vs. power-off stalls · The base-to-final turn: the deadliest stall · Stall recognition before the warning · Bonus: the stall in a descending turn
06
Spins
6 min
What is required to spin · The four phases · PARE: the universal recovery · Aircraft-specific recovery · Why spin training matters · The deadliest spin: base-to-final · Cross-control stall: the spin precursor · Flat spin · Spin awareness: what to drill into yourself
07
Turning Flight, Load Factor & Ground Effect
7 min
Turning is banking · Load factor (n) · Certification categories · Va: the maneuvering speed · Turn rate and turn radius · Coordination, slips, and skids · Ground effect · Maneuvering in turbulence · Putting it all together

Format

How the test works

The Private Pilot Knowledge Test, often called the written, is one multiple-choice test of 60 questions drawn from every area of the FAA's Airman Certification Standards. Aerodynamics questions are mixed in with the rest.

You have 2.5 hours, and you need 70% to pass, which is 42 correct answers.
You take it at an approved testing center, once your instructor has endorsed you for it.
A pass is valid for 24 calendar months, and you need to pass your checkride within that time.

In Pocket Pilot you can practice Aerodynamics on its own, from a growing question bank, then sit a full 60-question mock exam that mixes every subject, timed like the real test.

Sample questions

Try three test questions

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

01 / 03
At a constant bank angle, increasing true airspeed has what effect on a level turn?
1. ANeither changes
2. BTurn radius decreases and rate of turn increases
3. CBoth radius and rate increase
4. DTurn radius increases and rate of turn decreases
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer D. For a given bank angle, a faster airplane traces a larger circle (greater radius) and takes longer to get around it (lower rate of turn). To hold a standard-rate turn at higher speed, more bank is required.
Source
FAA-H-8083-25C, Chapter 5
Lesson
Turning Flight, Load Factor & Ground Effect
02 / 03
An airplane has a level-flight (1g) stall speed of 60 knots. In a 60-degree banked, level, coordinated turn it will stall at approximately:
1. A71 knots
2. B85 knots
3. C120 knots
4. D60 knots
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer B. Stall speed rises with the square root of load factor: Vs(accelerated) = Vs x sqrt(n). A 60-degree level turn imposes 2g, so the multiplier is sqrt(2) = 1.41. 60 x 1.41 is about 85 knots.
Source
FAA-H-8083-25C, Chapter 5
Lesson
Angle of Attack & Stalls
03 / 03
A cross-controlled stall is most dangerous because it commonly leads to:
1. AA spin entry, often from a low-altitude base-to-final overshoot
2. BA normal wings-level stall
3. CA glide at best L/D
4. DA loss of pitot pressure
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer A. Skidding the turn with bottom rudder while holding opposite aileron loads the inside wing at higher AoA. If it stalls, the airplane snaps over into an incipient spin, frequently fatal at pattern altitude.
Source
FAA-H-8083-3C, Chapter 5
Lesson
Spins