How Aviation Information works
It is a knowledge test. Questions cover the four forces on an aircraft, how the controls move it, the instruments and what drives them, airport lights, signs and runway markings, and basic flight terms and navigation. Terms are American: feet, knots and the FAA’s names for things.
It is the final subtest of the sitting, after Block Counting, so it comes when you are most tired. It counts towards the Pilot and Air Battle Manager composites, which makes it a direct lever on pilot selection.
Unlike the speeded subtests, there is no technique that substitutes for knowing the material. The good news is that the material is finite and published.
What to study
The FAA’s free handbooks cover everything the subtest asks. Work through these topics:
- Lift, weight, thrust and drag, angle of attack, and why a wing stalls.
- The three axes and the controls for each: ailerons roll the aircraft, the elevator pitches it, the rudder yaws it.
- The six basic flight instruments, and which work from the pitot-static system and which from gyroscopes.
- Airport lighting and markings: white runway edge lights, blue taxiway edge lights, green threshold lights, and runway numbers from magnetic heading.
- Flaps, slats, trim tabs and spoilers, and what each does to lift and drag.
Worked examples
“A runway is numbered 9 at one end. What is it numbered at the other end? (A) 9 (B) 18 (C) 21 (D) 27 (E) 36.” Runway numbers are the magnetic heading divided by ten. Runway 9 points 090 degrees, the opposite end points 270, so it is 27: D.
“Which instrument depends on the pitot tube? (A) altimeter (B) attitude indicator (C) heading indicator (D) airspeed indicator (E) turn coordinator.” Only the airspeed indicator uses pitot (ram) pressure: D. The altimeter uses the static port alone, and the other three are gyroscopic.
Tips for the real subtest
- Study in short sessions over several weeks; this is memory work.
- Practise at 24 seconds a question so recall becomes quick, not just correct.
- Answer every question. A guess costs nothing.
- Keep some energy for the end of the sitting. This subtest comes last, about five hours after check-in.
Practise Aviation Information on CogniPrep
Our Aviation Information game gives you 20 questions in 8 minutes with five options each, across aerodynamics, aircraft parts and controls, flight instruments, airports, navigation and flight rules, written in American terms. You can move back and change answers until time runs out. Your result is the number right with the topics you missed, compared with other CogniPrep users.