FAA Commercial Pilot case studies
FAA Commercial Pilot · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Commercial Pilot - Airplane certificate is the FAA pilot credential that a pilot pursues after the private pilot level, qualifying the holder for piloting work that a private certificate does not permit. The standards for both the knowledge test and the practical test are published in the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) for Commercial Pilot for Airplane Category, FAA-S-ACS-7B, issued April 2024 and effective May 31, 2024. The FAA Commercial Pilot case studies are 5 cases and about 3,966 words.
1Loading the Archer: Weight, Balance, and a Hot High Departure
A client has loaded a PA-28-181 for a business trip and asks you to sign off the flight. Empty weight is 1,650 lb with an empty moment of 147,015 lb·in.
720 words, about 4 min2Displaced Threshold, Twelve Knots of Tailwind, and a Late Go-Around
You are flying a 2,550-lb single-engine airplane into a 3,200-ft by 60-ft paved runway with a threshold displaced 400 ft. The AFM shows landing ground roll of 1,000 ft and a 50-ft obstacle distance of 1,525 ft at maximum weight, sea level, ISA, no wind.
761 words, about 4 min3Base-to-Final Overshoot at a High-Density-Altitude Field With an Aft CG
You are flying a 2,550-lb four-seat single into a 6,200-ft-MSL airport on a 28 degree C afternoon with an altimeter setting of 29.92. Two passengers and bags put the computed CG at 45.8 in; the aft limit at that weight is 47.3 in.
826 words, about 4 min4Engine Failure at 10,500 ft With Terrain Below and Two Bad Options
You are cruising a normally aspirated single at 10,500 ft MSL over rising terrain. Best glide is 80 KIAS; you determine that at best glide the airplane descends at 800 fpm with a true airspeed of 96 kt.
838 words, about 4 min5Light Twin, Engine Failure at 300 ft, and a Question You Should Have Answered on the Ground
A 4,200-lb light twin departs a 1,200-ft-elevation airport on a 25 degree C day. Vmc is 84 KIAS, Vyse is 102 KIAS, and the single-engine climb rate at 300 ft AGL, gear and flaps up, is 220 fpm.
821 words, about 4 min