FAA Ground Instructor cheat sheet

14 CFR Part 61 governs certification of pilots, flight instructors, and ground instructors, including eligibility, experience, and privileges.

14 CFR Part 91 contains the general operating and flight rules; Parts 121 and 135 cover airline and commuter/on-demand operations.

Advisory Circulars are guidance only; compliance is not mandatory unless a regulation incorporates the AC by reference.

The Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) is the FAA's official guide to basic flight information and ATC procedures and is non-regulatory.

Chart Supplements (formerly the Airport/Facility Directory) are reissued on a 56-day cycle and list airport data, services, and remarks.

Airworthiness Directives are legally enforceable; an aircraft must comply with all applicable ADs to be airworthy.

ARROW: Airworthiness certificate, Registration, Radio station license (international flight), Operating limitations, Weight and balance data must be aboard.

Ground instructor ratings: Basic covers sport, recreational, and private; Advanced covers any certificate or rating other than instrument; Instrument covers instrument ground training.

Class A extends from 18,000 ft MSL to FL600, is IFR only, and requires an ATC clearance and an instrument-rated pilot.

Class B requires an explicit clearance (the pilot must hear "cleared into the Class B airspace"); VFR minimums are 3 SM and clear of clouds.

Class C and Class D require two-way radio communication and, for Class C, a Mode C transponder; VFR minimums are 3 SM, 500 below, 1,000 above, 2,000 horizontal.

Class E at or above 10,000 ft MSL requires 5 SM visibility, 1,000 ft above and below clouds, and 1 SM horizontal.

Class G at or below 1,200 ft AGL: 1 SM and clear of clouds by day; 3 SM, 500/1,000/2,000 by night.

Special VFR permits 1 SM and clear of clouds in surface areas of Class B, C, D, or E; at night it requires an instrument-rated pilot and an IFR-equipped aircraft.

Speed limits: 250 KIAS below 10,000 ft MSL, and 200 KIAS at or below 2,500 ft AGL within Class B, C, or D airspace.

A Mode C transponder is required in Class A, B, and C airspace, above 10,000 ft MSL, and within the 30-NM Mode C veil of a Class B primary airport.

Light gun signals: steady green = cleared to land; flashing green = cleared to taxi; steady red = stop; flashing red = taxi clear of the runway.

The four forces are lift, weight, thrust, and drag; in unaccelerated level flight lift equals weight and thrust equals drag.

Lift = CL × ½ρV² × S, so lift increases with air density, wing area, and the square of true airspeed.

Parasite drag varies with the square of airspeed, while induced drag decreases as airspeed increases.

Best glide occurs at the airspeed for maximum lift-to-drag ratio, which is also the speed of minimum total drag.

In a level turn, load factor = 1/cos(bank); a 60° bank produces 2 G and increases stall speed by about 41% (√2).

A wing stalls at the critical angle of attack regardless of airspeed, weight, or aircraft attitude.

Vx (best angle of climb) increases with altitude while Vy (best rate of climb) decreases; the two are equal at the absolute ceiling.

High density altitude reduces engine power, propeller thrust, and lift, producing longer takeoff rolls and shallower climbs.

Ground effect occurs within about one wingspan of the surface and reduces induced drag and required thrust.

Standard atmosphere at sea level: 15 °C and 29.92 inHg, with a temperature lapse rate of about 2 °C per 1,000 ft.

METAR is an hourly surface observation, SPECI is an unscheduled special observation, and a TAF is a terminal forecast usually valid 24–30 hours.

Ceiling is the lowest broken or overcast layer, or the vertical visibility into an obscuration.

Stable air produces stratiform clouds, smooth air, and restricted visibility; unstable air produces cumuliform clouds, turbulence, and good visibility.

Radiation fog forms on clear, calm nights with a small temperature–dew point spread; advection fog forms when warm moist air moves over a colder surface.

Structural icing is most likely in visible moisture at temperatures between 0 °C and about −20 °C, with freezing rain the most hazardous.

Thunderstorm life cycle: cumulus (updrafts), mature (updrafts and downdrafts, all hazards present), dissipating (downdrafts).

AIRMETs address moderate hazards to light aircraft; SIGMETs address severe turbulence, icing, or volcanic ash; Convective SIGMETs address thunderstorms.

Flying from high pressure toward low pressure without resetting the altimeter makes indicated altitude higher than true altitude - "high to low, look out below."

"East is least, west is best": subtract easterly variation from true heading and add westerly variation to obtain magnetic heading.

Compass deviation is error caused by aircraft magnetic fields and is read from the compass correction card.

VOR stations operate from 108.0 to 117.95 MHz on a line-of-sight basis; the CDI centers on the selected radial and TO/FROM shows the side of the station.

IFR VOR receiver checks are required every 30 days, with a tolerance of ±4° for ground checks and ±6° for airborne checks.

A sectional aeronautical chart has a scale of 1:500,000, roughly 8 statute miles per inch; one minute of latitude equals one nautical mile.

True airspeed increases about 2% per 1,000 ft of altitude at a constant indicated airspeed.

VFR fuel reserves are 30 minutes by day and 45 minutes by night; IFR reserves are 45 minutes.

Magnetic compass acceleration error on east or west headings follows ANDS: accelerate, compass indicates north; decelerate, compass indicates south.

GPS RAIM must be available (or predicted) for IFR navigation; without RAIM integrity monitoring, GPS cannot be used for IFR.

Moment = weight × arm, and center of gravity = total moment ÷ total weight.

The datum is the reference point for all arms; a station is an arm expressed in inches from the datum.

Useful load = maximum gross weight − empty weight; it includes fuel, occupants, baggage, and cargo.

Standard weights: aviation gasoline 6 lb/gal, oil 7.5 lb/gal, water 8.35 lb/gal.

Forward CG limits produce a longer takeoff roll, a higher stall speed, and greater longitudinal stability with heavier control forces.

Aft CG limits lower stall speed and raise cruise speed but reduce stability and can make a stall unrecoverable.

Weight-shift formula: (weight shifted ÷ total weight) × distance shifted = change in CG location.

After adding or removing weight, new CG = (new total moment) ÷ (new total weight); the CG must stay within limits as fuel burns.

Key V-speeds: Vs (stall), Vso (stall in landing configuration), Vx (best angle), Vy (best rate), Va (maneuvering), Vne (never exceed), Vfe (flaps extended).

Right-of-way: head-on both aircraft alter course to the right; converging aircraft of the same category - the one on the right has the right of way; overtaking passes to the right.

An aircraft on final approach or landing has the right of way over other aircraft in flight; the lower aircraft has the right of way, except when an emergency exists.

Minimum safe altitude: 500 ft above the surface over other than congested areas; 1,000 ft above the highest obstacle within 2,000 ft horizontally over congested areas.

Stall recovery: reduce the angle of attack by lowering the nose, level the wings, then add power and adjust configuration.

Spin recovery using PARE: Power idle, Ailerons neutral, Rudder opposite the rotation, Elevator forward to break the stall.

IMSAFE: Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, Emotion - a preflight self-assessment of pilot fitness.

PAVE: Pilot, Aircraft, enVironment, External pressures - a structured preflight risk checklist.

Emergency transponder codes: 7700 general emergency, 7600 communications failure, 7500 unlawful interference.

Learning domains: cognitive (knowledge), affective (attitudes), and psychomotor (physical skills).

Levels of learning from lowest to highest are rote, understanding, application, and correlation.

Laws of learning include readiness, exercise, effect, primacy, recency, intensity, and freedom.

Characteristics of learning: it is purposeful, results from experience, is multifaceted, and is an active process.

The demonstration-performance method proceeds through explanation, demonstration, student performance, instructor supervision, and evaluation.

Lesson plan elements: objective, content, schedule, equipment, instructor actions, student actions, and completion standards.

Question types: direct (one student), overhead (whole group), reverse (student questions instructor), and relay (student questions another student).

Defense mechanisms such as rationalization, denial, and displacement reduce anxiety but interfere with learning if not recognized.

Transfer of learning is positive when prior experience assists new learning and negative when it interferes with it.