FAA · Private Pilot Knowledge Test

Private Pilot Flight Performance

POH numbers to go/no-go: weight and balance, density altitude, crosswinds, and fuel reserves.

There is no separate Flight Performance 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 Flight Performance in seven lessons, about 49 minutes of reading in all.

01
Weight & Balance
7 min
The weights you need to know · Why CG matters · Calculating CG: arms and moments · The envelope diagram · Loading effects · Cargo securing · Performing the calculation in practice · Density of fuel · Practical consequences
02
Density Altitude & Performance
7 min
Why DA, not altitude · How to compute DA · Reading the POH performance chart · Corrections to chart data · What degrades with DA · DA at very high fields · Mitigating high DA · DA on landing · Humidity's effect · Watching DA in flight · Performance summary card
03
Takeoff & Landing Performance
7 min
Takeoff distance: the two values · Factors affecting takeoff distance · Calculating takeoff distance · Takeoff technique by category · Landing distance · Approach speed discipline · Soft-field landing · Rejected takeoff · Go-around technique · Crosswind component · Performance summary
04
Climb, Cruise & Descent
8 min
Climb performance · Climb performance: POH table · Climb at less-than-best speeds · Cruise performance · Cruise altitude tradeoffs · Maneuvering speed: Va · Descent performance · Range and endurance · Wind correction in cruise · Leaning for cruise · Engine cooling in climb · Putting it together: the cruise plan
05
Crosswind Components
6 min
The geometry · Quick mental math · Maximum demonstrated crosswind component · Crosswind techniques · Limits to crosswind handling · Gusts · Runway selection in crosswind · Crosswind landing accidents: pattern · Practice: quick problem set · E6-B / EFB calculator
06
Fuel Planning Under FAA Rules
7 min
The legal minimums · Why the legal minimum is not the safe minimum · Fuel calculations: the basics · Tank-switching discipline · Fuel exhaustion vs. fuel starvation · Fuel exhaustion accidents · The "minimum fuel" radio call · Fuel sticking · Sumping discipline · Refueling discipline · Pre-takeoff fuel check · Cross-country fuel planning workflow · En-route fuel monitoring
07
The Go / No-Go Decision
7 min
What "go / no-go" actually means · The PAVE checklist · Personal minimums · The IMSAFE checklist · External pressure: the "E" in PAVE · The "outs": building decision points into the flight · Scrubbing a flight: the emotional cost · The passenger pressure trap · Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM) · Hazardous attitudes · The five P's · Practical go / no-go workflow

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. Flight Performance 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 Flight Performance 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 Flight Performance question bank, each with the app's explanation and the source it cites.

01 / 03
An airplane's fuel tanks are located ahead of the center of gravity. As fuel burns off during flight, the CG will move:
1. AForward
2. BAft
3. CIt will not move
4. DLaterally toward the fuller tank
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer B. Removing weight ahead of the CG shifts the CG aft; burning fuel from tanks behind the CG shifts it forward. This is why weight and balance must be checked for the landing condition as well as takeoff.
Source
FAA-H-8083-1B, Chapter 4
Lesson
Weight & Balance
02 / 03
Pressure altitude is 4,000 ft and the OAT is 25 °C. The density altitude is approximately:
1. A4,000 ft
2. B5,000 ft
3. C6,200 ft
4. D8,000 ft
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer C. ISA temperature at 4,000 ft is 15 − (4 × 2) = 7 °C. The deviation is 25 − 7 = 18 °C above ISA. DA ≈ PA + (120 × 18) = 4,000 + 2,160 ≈ 6,200 ft.
Source
FAA-H-8083-25C, Chapter 11
Lesson
Density Altitude & Performance
03 / 03
You are landing on runway 14 and the wind is from 200° at 20 knots. The crosswind component is approximately:
1. A17 knots
2. B10 knots
3. C14 knots
4. D20 knots
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer A. The wind is 60° off the runway heading (200° − 140°). Crosswind = 20 × sin 60° ≈ 20 × 0.87 ≈ 17 knots from the right, with a headwind component of only about 10 knots (20 × cos 60°). The rule-of-thumb ladder: 30° gives half the wind, 45° about seven-tenths, and at 60° or more treat nearly the whole wind as crosswind. Seventeen knots exceeds a 172's 15-knot demonstrated crosswind, so look for a better-aligned runway.
Source
FAA-H-8083-25C, Chapter 11
Lesson
Crosswind Components