Private Pilot Regulations

What the test covers

Pocket Pilot teaches Regulations in ten lessons, about 59 minutes of reading in all.

1. 01

   The FAR/AIM & Regulatory Structure

   4 min

   What the FARs actually are · The AIM: not law, but expected · Other documents you should know exist · How to read a FAR citation · When rules conflict

2. 02

   Pilot Certification (Part 61)

   6 min

   The certificate ladder · Category, class, and type: two different systems · Eligibility for the Private Pilot Certificate · Aeronautical experience: § 61.109(a) · Private Pilot privileges and limitations: § 61.113 · Instructor endorsements · High-performance, complex, and tailwheel

3. 03

   Medical Certificates & BasicMed

   5 min

   The three classes of FAA medical · Validity of a Third-Class medical · BasicMed: flying without an FAA medical · Special Issuance · Medical self-grounding: IMSAFE · Reporting a new condition · Carrying the medical

4. 04

   Currency & Recent Experience

   5 min

   Flight review: § 61.56 · Passenger-carrying currency: § 61.57(a) · Night passenger-carrying: § 61.57(b) · Instrument currency: § 61.57(c) · Recordkeeping: § 61.51 · Change of address: § 61.60 · Lapsed pilot: what to do

5. 05

   Required Aircraft Documents & Inspections

   6 min

   Who decides it's airworthy: § 91.7 · Documents required on board: AROW · Inspections: AVIATES · The 100-hour overrun · ELT and 406 MHz · Airworthiness Directives (ADs) · Special flight permits · Inoperative equipment: § 91.213 · § 91.205: VFR day / night equipment

6. 06

   Airspace Classification

   8 min

   The two-axis split · Class A · Class B · Class C · Class D · Class E · Class G · Special Use Airspace (SUA) · Other airspace to know · If you are intercepted · ADS-B Out (§ 91.225) · Speed limits (§ 91.117)

7. 07

   VFR Weather Minimums

   6 min

   The table · Why the breakpoints · Special VFR (SVFR): § 91.157 · VFR over-the-top vs. VFR-on-Top · Operating at night · Special cases near the airport: § 91.155(b)–(d) · Decoding a sectional vignette

8. 08

   Preflight Action & Fuel Requirements

   5 min

   § 91.103: preflight action · NOTAMs · § 91.151: VFR fuel requirements · IFR fuel (§ 91.167): for context · Supplemental oxygen: § 91.211 · Calculating useful fuel: the burn check · In-flight fuel state: the "minimum fuel" call · Position vs. operational vs. NOTAM-driven

9. 09

   Right-of-Way, Altitudes & Flight Plans

   9 min

   Right-of-way: § 91.113 · Converging at the same altitude · Head-on approach · Overtaking · Landing priority · Operating near other aircraft: § 91.111 · Safety belts and briefing passengers: § 91.105 / 91.107 · Minimum safe altitudes: § 91.119 · VFR cruising altitudes: § 91.159 · VFR flight plans · Flight Following · ATC light signals: § 91.125 · Dropping objects: § 91.15 · Aerobatic flight: § 91.303

10. 10

    NTSB 830: Accident & Incident Reporting

    5 min

    Key definitions: § 830.2 · Immediate-notification events: § 830.5 · Preservation of wreckage: § 830.10 · Filing a written report: § 830.15 · ASRS: the NASA report · Reportable summary · Quick scenario tests

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. Regulations 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 Regulations 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.

Try three test questions

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

1. 01 / 03

   A private pilot has gone more than 90 days without making three takeoffs and landings. To regain passenger-carrying currency, the pilot may:

   1. ASimply log three landings from a previous year
   2. BCarry passengers on one flight to make the three landings
   3. CComplete an online course in place of the landings
   4. DFly without passengers (solo or with an instructor) and make the three takeoffs and landings in the same category and class
   Show the answerHide the answer

   Answer D. Section 61.57(a) only restricts carrying passengers, so a pilot who is out of currency can still fly solo or with an instructor and re-establish the three takeoffs and landings (to a full stop in a tailwheel airplane, and at night for night currency). Currency does not transfer across category or class.

   Source

   14 CFR 61.57(a)

   Lesson

   Currency & Recent Experience

2. 02 / 03

   What are the basic VFR weather minimums for daytime flight in Class E airspace below 10,000 ft MSL?

   1. A1 SM visibility and clear of clouds
   2. B5 SM visibility; 1,000 ft below, 1,000 ft above, and 1 SM horizontal from clouds
   3. C3 SM visibility and clear of clouds
   4. D3 SM visibility; 500 ft below, 1,000 ft above, and 2,000 ft horizontal from clouds
   Show the answerHide the answer

   Answer D. In controlled airspace (Class E) below 10,000 ft MSL during the day, the basic VFR minimums are 3 statute miles flight visibility and cloud clearance of 500 ft below, 1,000 ft above, and 2,000 ft horizontal. At or above 10,000 ft MSL (and more than 1,200 ft AGL) the requirement increases to 5 SM with 1,000 ft below, 1,000 ft above, and 1 SM horizontal.

   Source

   14 CFR 91.155

   Lesson

   VFR Weather Minimums

3. 03 / 03

   A Private Pilot flies two friends to a beach town. The total cost of the flight (fuel and rental) is $300. What is the most the passengers may legally contribute?

   1. A$300, split between them
   2. B$200 ($100 each), with the pilot paying at least the $100 pro-rata share
   3. C$150 total
   4. DNothing; private pilots may never accept money
   Show the answerHide the answer

   Answer B. Under § 61.113(c), a private pilot may not pay less than their pro-rata share of the operating expenses of a flight with passengers, and those expenses may involve only fuel, oil, airport expenditures, or rental fees. With three people aboard, each share is $100, so the pilot must pay at least $100.

   Source

   14 CFR 61.113(c)

   Lesson

   Pilot Certification (Part 61)

The other nine subjects

• Aerodynamics→7 lessons · 41 min
• Flight Instruments→6 lessons · 35 min
• Aircraft Systems→7 lessons · 52 min
• Aviation Weather→9 lessons · 60 min
• Aviation Weather Services→6 lessons · 36 min
• Flight Performance→7 lessons · 49 min
• Navigation→8 lessons · 60 min
• Airport Operations & Comms→8 lessons · 58 min
• Aeromedical Factors→8 lessons · 58 min