Free FAA BGI Practice Test

A student asks what kind of weather to expect when stable, moist air is forced up a mountain slope. The best answer is:

• A. clear skies with strong gusty surface winds.
• B. thunderstorms embedded in haze.
• C. cumuliform clouds with turbulence and showery precipitation.
• D. stratiform clouds with smooth air and steady precipitation. ✓

Stable air resists vertical motion, so lifting produces layered stratiform clouds, smooth flying, steady precipitation, and often poor visibility. Unstable air produces the opposite package: cumuliform clouds, turbulence, showers, and good visibility between buildups.

Reference: AC 00-6B

An applicant for a ground instructor certificate need NOT pass the fundamentals of instructing (FOI) knowledge test if the applicant:

• A. holds a current teacher's certificate authorizing teaching at the 7th grade level or higher. ✓
• B. has completed a home-study ground school course.
• C. holds a commercial pilot certificate with an instrument rating.
• D. has logged at least 200 hours as pilot in command.

The FOI test is waived for someone who already holds a flight or ground instructor certificate, holds a current teacher's certificate for 7th grade or above, or teaches at an accredited college or university. Pilot certificates and flight time do not qualify; teaching credentials do.

Reference: 14 CFR 61.213(a)(3)

A ground instructor may not perform the duties of a ground instructor unless, within the preceding 12 calendar months, that person has:

• A. passed the appropriate ground instructor knowledge test again.
• B. logged at least 10 hours of ground instruction given.
• C. served as a ground or flight instructor, completed an instructor refresher course, or received a proficiency endorsement from an authorized instructor. ✓
• D. held a current flight review.

The certificate never expires, but 61.217 requires recent experience: instructional activity, a refresher course graduation certificate, or an endorsement certifying proficiency in the subject areas. There is no retest requirement and no minimum-hours rule.

Reference: 14 CFR 61.217

An airplane has a maximum gross weight of 2,300 lb and an empty weight of 1,400 lb. With a pilot and passenger totaling 400 lb and 80 lb of baggage, the maximum fuel that may be carried is:

• A. 70 gallons (420 lb). ✓
• B. 75 gallons (450 lb).
• C. 48 gallons (288 lb).
• D. 62 gallons (372 lb).

Useful load is 2,300 − 1,400 = 900 lb; occupants and baggage take 480 lb, leaving 420 lb for fuel. At 6 lb per gallon of avgas, that is 70 gallons. The 6 lb/gal figure is a number every ground school student must carry in their head.

Reference: PHAK ch. 10

A student asks why an airplane can stall at any airspeed and any attitude. The correct explanation is that a wing always stalls when:

• A. the nose is raised too high above the horizon.
• B. airspeed drops below the published stall speed.
• C. it exceeds its critical angle of attack. ✓
• D. load factor exceeds 2 Gs.

The stall is a function of angle of attack alone: exceed the critical AOA and the airflow separates, at any airspeed, attitude, or power setting. Published stall speeds only apply at 1 G and a specified weight and configuration; an accelerated stall happens well above those speeds.

Reference: PHAK ch. 5