FAA · Private Pilot Knowledge Test

Private Pilot Airport Operations & Comms

Working safely around airports: markings, lighting, traffic patterns, ATC, transponders/ADS-B, and wake.

There is no separate Airport Operations & Comms 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 Airport Operations & Comms in eight lessons, about 58 minutes of reading in all.

01
Airport Markings & Signs
8 min
Runway markings · Runway numbers · Displaced threshold · Closed runway / blast pad · Taxiway markings · Airport signs · Movement and non-movement areas · Hot spots · Wind direction indicators · Segmented circle · Lighting
02
Airport Lighting
8 min
Rotating beacon · Approach lighting systems · Visual glide path indicators · Runway edge lights · Runway centerline lighting · Taxiway lighting · Threshold lights · Pilot-controlled lighting (PCL) · Operation Lights On · Obstruction lighting · Heliport lighting · Visual landing aids · Airport with no lighting
03
Traffic Patterns
9 min
The standard pattern · Right traffic · Pattern altitude · Pattern entry: non-towered field · Pattern entry: towered field · Pattern speeds · Standard radio calls at non-towered fields · Departing the pattern · Pattern density: how busy is too busy? · Helicopters in the pattern · Skydiving and other special activity · Pattern at controlled airports: visual flight rules · Land and hold short operations (LAHSO) · Common pattern mistakes
04
Radio Communications & Phraseology
8 min
Core operating words · The phonetic alphabet · Frequencies · CTAF: Common Traffic Advisory Frequency · ATIS: Automatic Terminal Information Service · AWOS / ASOS · The standard call format · Read-back items · Conditional clearances · Position reports · Frequency changes · Lost communications · Emergencies · Phraseology on the checkride
05
ATC Services & Flight Following
7 min
The ATC facilities · Frequency progression on a typical flight · ATC services for VFR pilots · VFR Flight Following: your most valuable free service · Class B: additional procedures · Special VFR (SVFR) · Wake turbulence avoidance (ATC's role) · Lost-comms procedures (with ATC) · Position reports: IFR vs. VFR · Working with center · Center sectors and crossover frequencies · When to skip ATC services
06
Transponders & ADS-B
6 min
What a transponder does · Squawk codes · When to "squawk and ident" · ADS-B Out · ADS-B In · ADS-B latency · 1090 ES vs. UAT · Pre-flight transponder check · Transponder failure · Required tests (§ 91.413) · Identifying yourself by callsign · Combined-altitude reporting issues · Squawk codes by traffic type · Discrete vs. non-discrete codes
07
Wake Turbulence
6 min
Why wake exists · How the wake behaves · ICAO wake categories · Wake separation standards · Avoidance during takeoff · Avoidance during landing · Crossing runways and parallel operations · Crosswind drift of the wake · Encountering wake unexpectedly · Helicopter rotor wash · Wake near terrain · Wake turbulence on the test
08
Runway Incursion Prevention
6 min
What is a runway incursion · Causes: three main types · High-risk scenarios · Prevention disciplines · The "hot spot" notation · Wrong-runway takeoff prevention · What to do if you've made an error · ATC's role · Recognizing and reporting · Runway safety training

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. Airport Operations & Comms 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 Airport Operations & Comms 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 Airport Operations & Comms question bank, each with the app's explanation and the source it cites.

01 / 03
What does a runway holding-position marking (two solid yellow lines and two dashed yellow lines perpendicular to the taxiway centerline) require a pilot to do?
1. ACross without stopping
2. BReduce taxi speed but continue
3. CStop and wait for ATC clearance before crossing onto the runway (when crossing from the solid side)
4. DStop only at night
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer C. When approaching the holding-position marking from the solid side, the pilot must stop and obtain an ATC clearance before crossing. From the dashed side, the aircraft has exited the runway environment.
Source
AIM 2-3-5
Lesson
Airport Markings & Signs
02 / 03
On a four-light PAPI, an indication of all four lights white means the aircraft is:
1. AOn the glide path
2. BBelow the glide path (too low)
3. CAligned with the runway centerline
4. DAbove the glide path (too high)
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer D. On a PAPI, all white means well above the glide path; two white over two red is on path; all red means well below. The memory aid 'red over white, you're alright; white over white, high as a kite; red over red, you're dead' captures the VASI and PAPI logic.
Source
AIM 2-1-2
Lesson
Airport Lighting
03 / 03
ATC clears you to taxi from the ramp to Runway 27 via taxiways A and B. Without an explicit crossing clearance, you should:
1. AHold short of every runway encountered en route; a taxi clearance does not authorize you to cross any runway without explicit instruction
2. BCross any runway encountered if it appears clear
3. CCross only the assigned departure runway
4. DRequest a progressive taxi from ground
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer A. Per the explicit-runway-crossing rule, ATC must issue specific clearance for each runway to be crossed, even if the runway is inactive. A taxi clearance does not implicitly authorize crossing any runway. Hold short at the marking and wait for the crossing clearance.
Source
AIM 4-3-18
Lesson
Runway Incursion Prevention