Can You Answer All of These Questions a Pilot Should Know?

By: Ian Fortey
Estimated Completion Time
3 min
Can You Answer All of These Questions a Pilot Should Know?
Image: James Lauritz/ DigitalVision / Getty Images

About This Quiz

If you want, you can Google the plans for a flying machine drawn up by Leonardo da Vinci back in the early 1500s. He was fascinated by the subject and had drawn hundreds and hundreds of plans and written a ton on the subject. There's no evidence he ever built his machine, and that's probably for the best as the knowledge we have today tells us that there's no way it would have worked. But the idea was there! And it never went away. And then on Dec. 17, 1903, the Wright brothers tested their very first plane at Kitty Hawk and made four very brief but overall successful flights. And in just over 100 years look how far we've come! The Concorde could cross the ocean at speeds topping 1,300 miles per hour. The Airbus A380 plane had a wingspan of 262 feet and could carry 500 passengers. That's an incredible evolution! And learning everything needed to fly these things is not easy.

If you have a bit of a pilot's heart, that love of freedom and taking to the air in defiance of gravity, then prove to us you know your stuff. Hop in the pilot's seat and take the quiz!

1. meter
Mehmet Hilmi Barcin/ E+ / Getty Images
Altitude is measured in feet in places like the United States. How is it measured in other countries?
Kilometers
Meters
Yards
Fathoms
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The problem with imperial versus metric measurements is that there's no worldwide standard for something as basic as altitude. While they measure in feet in America, you'll be doing it in meters in a place like Russia.

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2. air
Chanin Wardkhian/ Moment / Getty Images
What's the maximum payload capacity of a commuter aircraft?
6,000 lbs
7,500 lbs
9,500 lbs
10,000 lbs
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A commuter aircraft has to carry passengers on at least 5 round trips per week and the max payload has to be no more than 7,500 lbs. They also have to have under 30 passenger seats.

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3. plane
All copyrights belong to Jingying Zhao/ Moment / Getty Images
What does the variometer on a plane measure?
Pitch movements
Air temperature
Drag
Velocity
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A variometer is a simple gauge that can be as simple as a ball in a tube. It is used to measure changes in the pitch of the plane, no matter how subtle they may be. What does that mean? The rate of climb or descent basically.

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4. rudder
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You have a rudder and a fin. Which one moves?
Rudder
Both
Fin
Neither
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Your plane has a vertical airfoil that has two important parts; the fin and the rudder. Your rudder is what moves to affect the yaw of the plane, which is what causes the plane to rotate left or right in the opposite direction it might roll. The fin, on the other hand, stays stationary.

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5. altitute
Aaron Foster/ DigitalVision / Getty Images
There's a name for the height a plane stays at for most of a flight. What is it?
Set altitude
Static altitude
Conventional altitude
Cruising altitude
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Your cruising altitude is the constant highest altitude that a plane stays at for the majority of its flight with the exception of its ascent and descent and any corrections that need to be made for weather or other circumstances.

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6. ELT
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ELT stands for what?
Elevation Test
Emergency Locator Transmitter
Extended Length Turn
Emergency Landing Technique
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

ELT stands for emergency locator transmitter, which is a piece of equipment that broadcasts an emergency signal on a designated frequency in the event that an accident or other emergency occurs. It can either be set off automatically or you may have to do it manually.

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7. chicago
Wikicommons by Unknown
Do you know the first freedom of the Chicago Convention?
The right to fly from one's own country to another
The right to refuel in a foreign country
The right to overfly a foreign country without landing
The right to fly from a foreign country to one's own
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Chicago Convention lays out a set of 9 freedoms that are part of the International Civil Aviation Organization. The first of these freedoms which coordinate and regulate international air travel gives you the right to overfly a foreign country without landing.

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8. dc
Patrick Foto/ Moment / Getty Images
Where is the National Flight Data Center?
Washington, D.C.
New York, New York
Seattle, Washington
Chicago, Illinois
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Located in Washington, D.C., the National Flight Data Center is a facility that was started by the FAA and is basically the central hub of all relevant data and information needed for the flight industry whether government, military or commercial.

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9. vertical
Isabel Pavia/ Moment / Getty Images
Adverse yaw occurs along what axis?
Vertical
Transverse
Longitudinal
Horizontal
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A plane works in three dimensions so it can move along three separate principal axes. Adverse yaw occurs along the vertical axis. If there were a spike right through the middle of the plane going up and down, adverse yaw would be when it spins to the left or right on that axis.

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10. airplane
guvendemir/ E+ / Getty Images
Do you know on which axis roll occurs?
Vertical
Transverse
Longitudinal
Horizontal
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Roll occurs on a plane's longitudinal axis. You can imagine this axis running the length of the plane from nose to tail, and roll occurs as the plane rotates on that axis. So if the left wing lifts and the right wing dips, that's a roll.

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11. air
guvendemir/ E+ / Getty Images
What gauge will tell you the plane's altitude?
Variometer
Flight director system
Non-directional beacon
Altimeter
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Altitude is measured by the altimeter, which tells you the plane's altitude above sea level. It determines altitude by measuring atmospheric pressure and needs to be adjusted to account for local barometric pressure.

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12. plane
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Do you know what CAVU stands for?
Cruising altitude variation units
Ceiling and visibility unlimited
Central aviation variometer units
Central airport visibility unlimited
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

CAVU is a meteorological term that means ceiling and visibility unlimited and refers to ideal flying conditions. Visibility should be 10 miles and your ceiling should be 10,000 feet.

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13. right
Kent Wien/ Moment / Getty Images
Can you tell us what it means if your course deviation indicator needle is pointing to the left?
The plane deviated to the right.
The plane deviated to the left.
The landing zone is to the left.
The flight path is being updated to the left.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The course deviation indicator, or CDI, is a gauge that shows the plane's position in relation to a course that's been set out by some kind of radio beacon. If the needle is pointing left then you have gone off course to the right. When you're on course the needle will be straight.

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14. wind
Issarawat Tattong/ Moment / Getty Images
What's the name of the wind that does not run parallel to the plane's direction of travel?
Upwind
Headwind
Crosswind
Driftwind
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

If the wind is blowing and it's not directly in line with the plane, then that can be classified as a crosswind. Basically any wind that isn't perfectly parallel to the flight path is a crosswind and can make flying more difficult.

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15. land
Copyright Xinzheng. All Rights Reserved./ Moment / Getty Images
Which of these is the term for when you have to land a plane that has lost propulsion?
Dead-stick
Deadweight
Blank
Blind
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You're landing dead-stick if anything that propels the plane has stopped working. The engine and propeller are out and the pilot has to glide in for a landing if at all possible. The stick the term refers to is a reference to old-timey wooden propellers.

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16. force
Ruben Earth/ Moment / Getty Images
Do you know what you call the force that works against a plane as it flies?
Weight
Velocity
Drag
Yaw
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Drag is just part of physics, and even Aristotle understood the basic principles of it way back in the day. Something moving forward has a force acting against it essentially pushing back on that forward momentum.

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17. tail
Image Source/ Image Source / Getty Images
Which of these is another name for the tail assembly of a plane?
Airfoil
Fuselage
Flaperon
Empennage
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The empennage is what provides the stability to the plane during flight and consists of the entire tail assembly such as the rudder and fin. Without a vertical and horizontal stabilizer, it's nearly impossible to fly.

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18. speed
Bruno Guerreiro/ Moment / Getty Images
How is speed measured when you're flying?
Clips
Knots
Dens
Rips
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A plane's speed is measured in knots, much like a boat. A knot is equal to one nautical mile per hour and a nautical mile is slightly different than your average everyday mile, so it's actually about 1.15 miles per hour.

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19. digit
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Every aircraft gets a four-digit number assigned to it. What do you call that number?
Squawk
Trip
Break
Freep
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Formally, you'd call this a transponder code but air traffic control will call it a squawk code. Every aircraft has its own squawk code that they use when speaking to air traffic control, and it helps them organize who and where everyone is in the sky.

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20. passenger
Patrick Foto/ Moment / Getty Images
Cargo, passengers and anything else being carried by plane is called what?
Portage
Bus
Payload
Breakage
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The payload on an aircraft is anything that the plane is carrying above and beyond the essentials. Most people don't consider that if you break the word down it's a load that pays, which is what cargo or passengers are at the end of the day.

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21. wheel
George Pachantouris/ Moment / Getty Images
What do pants do on a plane?
Hold cargo
Cover the wheels
Line the engine compartment
Secure fuel lines
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Pants, arguably the best-named piece of equipment in aviation, are also called fairings and they look basically like sleek, streamlined coverings for the wheels on a smaller plane. They help reduce drag on the plane overall.

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22. speed
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What officially qualifies as supersonic speed?
523 knots
550 knots
611 knots
667 knots
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Supersonic speed is what you'd call anything that has exceeded Mach 1, otherwise known as the speed of sound. That works out to 768 miles per hour or, in proper aviation terms, 667 knots at 68F at sea level.

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23. lift
George Pachantouris/ Moment / Getty Images
What's the name of the principle that explains how an aircraft achieves lift?
Kasha's rule
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle
Pascal's law
Bernoulli's principle
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lift in an aircraft is explained by Bernoulli's principle, which says that an increase in the speed of a fluid, or in this case air, occurs with a decrease in pressure. So the faster you get that plane going on the runway the less pressure on the craft overall ... and boom, you have lift.

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24. fuel
guvendemir/ E+ / Getty Images
Which of these will prevent a fire or explosion while fueling?
Suppressor
Static wire
Insulation coil
Vent system
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A static wire is a pretty simple tool which is literally just a wire that you can clip onto the plane to ground it during the fueling process. A static wire draws off static electricity so that you're not worrying about a spark starting a fire.

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25. 5
Stocktrek/ DigitalVision / Getty Images
How many aircraft approach categories are there?
1
3
4
5
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There isn't just one speed for aircraft approach, and in fact, there are five categories for aircraft approach based on the kind of aircraft ranging from single-engine to jet airliners to military aircraft. Technically, there's a sixth category for helicopters, too.

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26. soft
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Not every airfield is super high-tech. What do you call an unpaved runway?
Soft field
Country road
Roughway
Breakway
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

When you can't find a nice, smooth paved runway at a typical airport, sometimes you need to go for something a little more rustic and dirty. In that case, you could make a soft field landing on a dirt runway.

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27. plane
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On which axis does pitch occur?
Vertical
Horizontal
Longitudinal
Transverse
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Pitch is what occurs on the transverse axis of a plane. The transverse axis runs through the plane from the left side to the right side, so when you pitch on that access the nose will move up or down.

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28. land
Brigitte Blättler/ Moment / Getty Images
You can't actually land on every part of a runway. What is the name of the sections that denote the ends of the landable surface?
Brink
Threshold
Body
Roll-out
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The threshold of a runway is often marked with something like lines or lights and is essentially a kind of border or end of the usable runway surface. It's kind of like a bookend for a runway.

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29. handle
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An airplane doesn't have a steering wheel like a car. What does it have?
Throttle
Control rod
Yoke
Handle
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You'd likely hear someone in a movie call it a stick or just "the controls," but the proper name for the control wheel of any aircraft is actually the yoke. Whether or not anyone in the cockpit uses that term is another matter.

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30. leave
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Which of these is the maximum altitude at which a plane can fly?
Absolute ceiling
Top shelf
Break ceiling
Scuttle mark
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The absolute ceiling is about as high as a plane can fly under normal conditions. Generally, the number an aircraft uses will be the service ceiling, which can be considered the maximum altitude an aircraft "should" fly at, rather than the absolute altitude it can achieve.

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31. accidnet
All copyrights belong to Jingying Zhao/ Moment / Getty Images
Do you know what used to cause serious accidents back in the day but not so much anymore?
Tailwind
Turbulence
Wind shear
Headwind
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Wind shear contributed to 26 serious crashes between 1964 and 1985. By 1993, all commercial aircraft were required to have an onboard wind shear detection system to prevent any serious accidents.

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32. go
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Which term covers when you land and then head into another take-off without stopping?
Stutter step
Bait-and-switch
Touch-and-go
Ping pong
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

They call a landing in which you touch down and take off again a touch-and-go landing. Obviously this isn't an everyday technique, but it's something you might do when learning how to fly a fixed-wing aircraft.

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33. ultra
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What type of vehicle doesn't require any kind of certification to operate?
Ultralight
Turboprop
Fixed-wing
Single engine
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ultralight aircraft are typically single-seat, slow-flying vehicles that don't even technically qualify as planes. They're flown for recreation and you don't even need pilot certification to use one. They're kind of like those electric scooters that you don't need a license to drive because they're glorified bicycles, but for the air.

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34 propeller
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This type of engine has a turbine that moves a propeller. What is it?
Turbojet
Turboprop
Tiltrotor
Turbofan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Turboprop engines work by using the energy produced by the engine to get a turbine moving. That turbine then rotates the propeller which is what generates the thrust for the entire plane. Contrast that with a turbojet engine that uses no propeller but is powerful enough to generate thrust through the compression of air.

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35. little
Azri Suratmin/ Moment / Getty Images
Which of these means "little wing" in French?
Empennage
Elevon
Aileron
Corsair
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The aileron on a plane's wing is a hinged flap that you'll see along the flat, inside edge of a plane's wing. Used together on both wings the pilot raises and lowers the ailerons to control the plane's roll during flight, which is the up and down movement of the wings.

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You Got:
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