PPL Guide Ch. 1 - Pilot Qualifications

Question 1

What are the eligibility requirements for a Private Pilot (Airplane) Certificate? (14 CFR 61.103)

Answer 1

1. Be at least 17 years of age.
2. Be able to read, speak, write, and understand the English language.
3. Hold at least a current third-class medical certificate.
4. Received the required ground and flight training endorsements.
5. Meet the applicable aeronautical experience requirements.
6. Pass the required knowledge and practical tests.

Question 2

What are the requirements to remain current as a private pilot? (14 CFR 61.56, 61.57)

Answer 2

1. W/in the preceding 24 months, a pilot must have accomplished a flight review given in an aircraft for which that pilot is rated by an authorized instructor and received a logbook endorsement certifying that the person has satisfactorily completed the review.
2. To carry passengers, a pilot must have made, within the preceding 90 days:
   - 3 takeoffs and landings as the sole manipulator of flight controls of an A/C of the same category, class, and, if a type rating is required, type.
   - If the A/C is a tailwheel airplane, the landings must have been made to a full stop in an airplane with a tailwheel.
   - If operations are to be conducted during the period beginning 1 hour after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise, with passengers on board, the PIC must have, w/in the preceding 90 days, made at least 3 takeoffs and 3 landings to a full stop during that period in an aircraft of the same category, class, and type, if required, of A/C to be used.

Question 3

You have not kept up with logging each of your recent flights. Are you in violation of any regulation? (14 CFR 61.51)

Answer 3

• No.
• You’re only required to document and record the training and aeronautical experience used to meet the requirements for a certificate, rating, or flight review and the aeronautical experience required for meeting the recent flight experience requirements.

Question 4

You’re flying in a single-engine, high performance, complex airplane. You hold a Private Pilot Certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating, but you don’t have a high-performance or complex airplane endorsement. Your friend, who has those endorsements, is acting as PIC for the flight. Can you log PIC time for the time you act as sole manipulator of the controls? (14 CFR 61.31, 61.51)

Answer 4

• Yes.
• 14 CFR 61.51 governs the logging of PIC time and states that a sport, recreational, private, commercial, or airline transport pilot may log PIC time for the time during which that pilot is “sole manipulator of the controls of an aircraft for which the pilot is rated or has privileges.”

Question 5

Explain the difference between being current and being proficient. (FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-P-8740-36)

Answer 5

• Being current means that a pilot has accomplished the minimum FAA regulatory requirements within a specific time period and can exercise the privileges of their certificate. It means that you’re legal to make a flight, but it does not necessarily mean that you’re proficient or competent to make that flight. Being proficient means that if a pilot is capable of conducting a flight with a high degree of competence; it requires that the pilot have a wide range of knowledge and skills. Being proficient is not about just being legal in terms of the regulations but about being smart and safe in terms of pilot experience and proficiency.

Question 6

How will establishing a personal minimums checklist reduce risk? (FAA-H-8083-25)

Answer 6

• Professional pilots live by the numbers, and so should you. Pre-established numbers can make it a lot easier to come to a smart go/no-go or diversion decision, than would the vague sense that you probably can deal with the conditions you face at any given time. A written set of personal minimums also makes it easier to explain tough cancelation or diversion decisions to passengers who are, after all, trusting their lives to your aeronautical skill and judgement.

Question 7

The airplane you normally rent has been grounded due to an intermittent electrical problem. You ask to be scheduled in another airplane. During preflight of the new airplane, you discover that it has avionics you’re unfamiliar with. Should you go ahead and depart on your VFR flight? (FAA-H-8083-2)

Answer 7

• Pilot familiarity with all equipment is critical in optimizing both safety and efficiency. If a pilot is unfamiliar with any aircraft system, this will add to workload and can contribute to a loss of situational awareness. This level of proficiency is critical and should be looked upon as a requirement, not unlike carrying an adequate supply of fuel. As a result, pilots should not look upon unfamiliarity with the aircraft and its systems as a risk control measure, but instead as a hazard with high-risk potential. Discipline is the key to success.

Question 8

If a pilot’s permanent mailing address changes, and the pilot fails to notify the FAA Airmen Certification branch of the new address, how long may the pilot continue to exercise the privileges of a pilot certificate? (14 CFR 61.60)

Answer 8

• 30 days after the date of the move.

Question 9

What flight time can a pilot log as second-in-command time? (14 CFR 61.51)

Answer 9

• A person may log second-in-command (SIC) time only for flight time during which that person:
  – Is qualified in accordance with theh SIC requirements of 14 CFR 61.55 and occupies a crewmember station in an aircraft that requires more than one pilot by the aircraft’s type certificate; or
  – Holds the appropriate category, class, and instrument rating (if an instrument rating is required) for the aircraft being flown, and the typer certification of the aircraft or the regulations under which the flight is being conducted requires more than one pilot.

Question 10

What privileges and limitations apply to a private pilot? (14 CFR 61.113)

Answer 10

No person who holds a private pilot certificate may act as a PIC of an aircraft that is carrying passengers or property for compensation or hire; nor may that person, for compensation or hire, act as PIC of an aircraft. A private pilot:
1. May act as PIC of an aircraft in connection with any business or employment if it is only incidental to that business or employment and does not carry passengers or property for compensation or hire.
2. May not pay less than the pro rata share of the operating expenses of a flight with passengers, provided the expenses involve only fuel, oil, airport expenditures, or rental fees.
3. May act as PIC of a charitable, nonprofit, or community event flight described in 14 CFR 91.146, if the sponsor and pilot comply with the requirements of that regulation.
4. May be reimbursed for aircraft operating expenses that are directly related to search and location operations, provided the expenses involve only fuel, oi, airport expenditures, or rental fees, and the operation is sanctioned and under the direction and control of local, state, or federal agencies or organizations that conduct search and location operations.
5. May demonstrate an aircraft in flight to a prospective buyer if the private pilot is an aircraft salesperson and has at least 200 hours of logged flight time.
6. May act as PIC of an aircraft towing a glider or unpowered ultralight vehicle, provided they meet the requirements of 14 CFR 61.69.
7. May act as PIC for the purpose of conducting a production flight test in a light-sport aircraft intended for certification in the light-sport category under 14 CFR 21.190, provided they meet the requirements of 61.113.