Free FAA Private Helicopter Practice Test
This is a free FAA private pilot helicopter practice test: 60 questions in the same format as the real Private Pilot Helicopter (PRH) knowledge test, scored at 70%. Roughly half of it is the shared airman knowledge every private applicant needs, including regulations, airspace, weather and navigation. The other half is the reason a helicopter-specific bank exists. You will be asked why a hovering helicopter drifts toward its tail rotor thrust, which three conditions set up settling with power and how the Vuichard recovery escapes it, what makes dynamic rollover possible with one skid on the ground, which wind directions invite a loss of tail rotor effectiveness, and why the first response to an engine failure is collective down rather than cyclic back.
ACS-aligned study questions written by ATIS Alerts, not actual FAA test questions.
66 practice questions · 42 flashcards · 60-question test · 70% to pass
An operable transponder with altitude reporting and ADS-B Out is required:
A new question every day at 0000Z.
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The PRH knowledge test at a glance
These are the FAA’s own numbers for the Private Pilot Helicopter knowledge test, from the Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix. Our practice test matches them.
| FAA test code | PRH |
|---|---|
| Questions | 60 |
| Time allowed | 2 hours |
| Passing score | 70% (42 correct) |
| Minimum age to test | 15 |
| Administered by | PSI, at an FAA-approved testing center |
Sample Private Helicopter practice test questions
A few examples of the 66 ACS-aligned questions in this bank: correct answer marked.
A helicopter used to give flight instruction for hire must be inspected:
- A. every 50 hours of time in service.
- B. every 100 hours, which replaces the annual.
- C. annually only.
- D. annually, and additionally within each 100 hours of time in service. ✓
Instruction for hire (and carrying persons for hire) adds the 100-hour inspection on top of the annual. The 100-hour limit may be exceeded by up to 10 hours to reach a place where the inspection can be done, but the overrun counts against the next interval.
Reference: 14 CFR 91.409(b)
The anti-torque pedals in a conventional single-rotor helicopter control:
- A. the tilt of the main rotor disc left and right.
- B. the pitch of the tail rotor blades, and therefore heading in a hover. ✓
- C. engine power output.
- D. the RPM of the tail rotor.
Pedals change tail rotor blade pitch, varying its thrust to balance main rotor torque and to yaw the nose on command. Some designs replace the open tail rotor with a ducted fenestron or with NOTAR circulation control, but the pedals do the same job.
Reference: FAA-H-8083-21B ch. 3
A helicopter's loaded weight is 1,600 pounds and its total moment is 168,000 pound-inches. The CG is located at station:
- A. 110.0.
- B. 96.0.
- C. 105.0. ✓
- D. 100.5.
CG = total moment ÷ total weight = 168,000 ÷ 1,600 = 105.0 inches aft of the datum. The final step is always to check that number against the CG envelope for the loaded weight.
Reference: FAA-H-8083-21B ch. 6
During the day in Class G airspace at or below 1,200 feet AGL, a helicopter may be operated with a flight visibility of:
- A. 1 statute mile, remaining clear of clouds.
- B. 3 statute miles with 500/1,000/2,000-foot cloud clearances.
- C. no visibility minimum, provided the surface is in sight.
- D. 1/2 statute mile, remaining clear of clouds. ✓
Helicopters get their own Class G row in 91.155: 1/2 SM and clear of clouds by day, 1 SM and clear of clouds at night. The 1-SM day figure is the airplane rule: a classic crossover trap for transitioning pilots.
Reference: 14 CFR 91.155
At high forward airspeed, the first indications of retreating blade stall are:
- A. abnormal vibration, nose pitch-up, and a rolling tendency toward the retreating side. ✓
- B. a smooth loss of altitude with no vibration.
- C. a rapid RPM increase and nose-down pitch.
- D. an uncommanded yaw toward the advancing side.
The slow-moving retreating blade must fly at ever-higher angles of attack as speed increases, and its tip stalls first: vibration, then pitch-up and roll toward the stalled side. Recovery is to reduce collective and airspeed and lessen the severity of the maneuver, not to pull harder.
Reference: FAA-H-8083-21B ch. 11
About the Private Helicopter written test
The Private Pilot Helicopter knowledge test (PRH) is 60 multiple-choice questions with a time limit of 2 hours, administered by PSI at approved testing centers. You need 70%, 42 of 60, to pass, and the questions are drawn from the FAA Airman Certification Standards. Bring a valid photo ID and your instructor’s endorsement (or an approved equivalent), and plan to keep your test report. You’ll review any missed areas with your instructor before the practical test. Knowledge test results are valid for 24 calendar months.
From study to the real sky
Density altitude and wind matter even more in a helicopter. See them live:
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Free FAA Private Helicopter practice test FAQ
How many questions are on the FAA private pilot helicopter written test?
60 questions, with 2 hours to complete them under the current FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix. An older matrix allowed 2.5 hours, but today the answer is 2 hours. You need 70%, which is 42 correct, to pass. The FAA test code is PRH.
How old do I have to be to take the helicopter written?
15 to take the PRH knowledge test. You must be 16 to solo a helicopter and 17 before the private pilot certificate itself can be issued, so many students take the written early and bank it. The passing result is valid for 24 calendar months.
How is the PRH test different from the airplane private written?
The shared core, regulations, airspace, weather, navigation and human factors, is the same body of knowledge. What replaces airplane aerodynamics and systems is the helicopter-specific material: dissymmetry of lift, settling with power, dynamic rollover, ground resonance, LTE, autorotations and the height-velocity diagram.
I already hold an airplane certificate. Do I take this test to add a helicopter rating?
No. An additional category or class rating at the same certificate level is earned on a practical test. You do not retake the private knowledge test. This course still fits transition pilots, because helicopter aerodynamics, hazards and emergencies are exactly what the oral and checkride will probe.
What should I study for the PRH written?
The Helicopter Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-21B) is the backbone: aerodynamics, hazards, performance and emergencies all come from it. Add 14 CFR parts 61 and 91, the AIM, and the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge for weather and navigation.
Are these the actual FAA questions?
No. They are original questions written against the Helicopter Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-21B), 14 CFR parts 61 and 91, and the AIM. Every one is figure-free.
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