Free FAA Commercial Helicopter Practice Test

The engine governor fails in flight in a helicopter equipped with a manual throttle. The pilot should:

• A. shut down the engine and autorotate.
• B. cycle the governor switch until RPM stabilizes.
• C. take over RPM control manually with the throttle, coordinating it with collective changes for the remainder of the flight. ✓
• D. ignore it, since the correlator will hold RPM exactly.

Governor-out flight is manual RPM management: every collective movement now needs a matching throttle input to hold NR in the green. It is trained precisely because the failure is flyable when the pilot stays ahead of it.

Reference: FAA-H-8083-21B ch. 11

Cargo hooks are mounted close to the helicopter's center of gravity so that:

• A. the load is always visible from the cockpit.
• B. the load hangs behind the tail rotor.
• C. picking up, carrying, and releasing the external load causes minimal change to the aircraft's CG and trim. ✓
• D. the hook can carry more than the maximum gross weight.

A load slung near the CG swings beneath the aircraft's balance point instead of pitching or rolling it, and a jettison changes weight without a violent trim change. It is why belly hooks live where they do.

Reference: FAA-H-8083-21B ch. 6

A helicopter with a counterclockwise rotor begins an uncommanded rapid right yaw at low airspeed. The recovery is:

• A. aft cyclic and maximum collective.
• B. immediate autorotation in all cases.
• C. right pedal to stop the rotation in the direction it is turning.
• D. full left pedal with forward cyclic to increase airspeed, reducing collective if altitude permits. ✓

Pedal opposite the yaw, airspeed to restore weathervane stability and tail rotor efficiency, and less torque if height allows. LTE recovery consumes altitude: recognizing the onset early is what makes the recovery survivable.

Reference: AC 90-95

In Class G airspace at 1,200 feet AGL or below during the day, a helicopter may operate:

• A. only with 3 statute miles visibility.
• B. with no restrictions of any kind.
• C. clear of clouds, if flown at a speed that allows adequate opportunity to see and avoid traffic and obstructions. ✓
• D. only with 1 statute mile visibility and 500 feet below clouds.

91.155(b) gives helicopters a clear-of-clouds standard in low-level Class G, conditioned on speed. It enables legitimate low-level work, but 'clear of clouds' at speed in poor visibility is where CFIT statistics come from.

Reference: 14 CFR 91.155(b)

Class D (human external cargo) operations require, among other things:

• A. operations conducted over water only.
• B. only a standard cargo hook and a second pilot.
• C. an approved personnel lifting device and direct intercommunication among required crewmembers. ✓
• D. a part 135 certificate.

133.45(e) attaches special conditions to carrying people outside the aircraft: an FAA-approved personnel lifting device with an emergency release, direct intercom among crew, and rotorcraft performance requirements beyond the other classes.

Reference: 14 CFR 133.45(e)