Private Pilot Oral Exam Questions: Airworthiness, Documents & Inspections

By Walter Dusseldorp, CFII (Helicopter & Airplane) · Updated June 12, 2026 · Free study guide from Flight Path Pioneers

Almost every private oral starts the same way: 'Is this aircraft airworthy, and how do you know?' The examiner is testing whether you, as pilot in command, can determine airworthiness yourself — not whether your mechanic can. 91.7 puts that responsibility squarely on you: the PIC is responsible for determining whether the aircraft is in condition for safe flight.

The material organizes into three buckets: documents that must be aboard, inspections that must be current, and equipment that must work. Master the three buckets plus the 91.213 inoperative-equipment flow, and this section of the oral becomes a layup.

Documents and inspections: ARROW and AV1ATE

ARROW — what must be aboard: Airworthiness certificate (visible at the cabin entrance; valid as long as the aircraft is maintained per regs), Registration (must be current — verify the expiration date on the certificate, as durations have changed over the years), Radio station license (only for international operations), Operating limitations (POH/AFM, placards, markings), and Weight and balance data (the current, aircraft-specific data).

AV1ATE — recurring inspections: Annual (12 calendar months, 91.409), VOR check (30 days, IFR only, 91.171), 100-hour (only when carrying persons for hire or giving instruction for hire in an aircraft you provide; may be exceeded by up to 10 hours to reach a place of inspection, with the overage deducted from the next interval), Altimeter/pitot-static (24 calendar months, IFR, 91.411), Transponder (24 calendar months, 91.413 — required even for VFR if you use the transponder), and ELT (12 calendar months, 91.207; battery replaced after 1 hour of cumulative use or 50% of useful life). Also be ready for airworthiness directives: recurring ADs must be tracked like inspections, and compliance is mandatory.

The 91.213 inoperative-equipment flow

When something is broken and there is no Minimum Equipment List, run the standard four-question flow. Is the item required by: (1) the day-VFR type certification instruments and equipment, (2) 91.205 for the kind of flight (day VFR, night VFR, IFR), (3) the aircraft's equipment list or kinds-of-operations equipment list, or (4) an airworthiness directive? If yes to any, the aircraft is grounded until repaired or a ferry permit is obtained. If no to all, the item must be removed or deactivated and placarded 'INOPERATIVE' — and you, the PIC, must still judge the aircraft safe for the specific flight.

For 91.205 itself, most applicants use the day-VFR mnemonic (A TOMATO FLAMES) and the night add-ons (FLAPS: fuses, landing light if for hire, anti-collision lights, position lights, source of power). Don't just recite — be ready to apply it: 'your attitude indicator is dead, can we go fly the day-VFR checkride?' The legal answer can be yes for many trainers; the airmanship answer still has to come from you.

Practice questions with answers & rationales

Q1. Who is responsible for determining that the aircraft is airworthy before flight?

Answer: The pilot in command, per 91.7. The owner/operator is responsible for maintaining the aircraft in an airworthy condition (91.403), and a mechanic signs off inspections — but the go/no-go airworthiness determination for each flight belongs to the PIC. Examiners love this distinction; answer 'me' first and then explain the supporting cast.

Q2. How do you actually verify the annual inspection?

Answer: Open the maintenance logbooks and find the inspection entry: it must state the date, aircraft total time, a description ('I certify that this aircraft has been inspected in accordance with an annual inspection and was determined to be in airworthy condition'), and the signature and certificate number of an IA. Bring the logbooks to your checkride tabbed — physically showing the entries is part of the test.

Q3. Is a 100-hour inspection required for your checkride flight?

Answer: Generally no for a typical rental checkride: the 100-hour applies when carrying persons for hire, or when giving flight instruction for hire in an aircraft the instructor provides. A DPE administering a practical test is not flight instruction for hire. The deeper point: an annual can substitute for a 100-hour, but a 100-hour cannot substitute for an annual.

Q4. The aircraft's clock is inoperative. Can you fly day VFR?

Answer: Run 91.213: a clock is not required for day VFR under 91.205 for non-IFR flight, so if it's not on the type certificate's required list, the equipment list as required, or an AD, you may fly after the clock is deactivated/removed and placarded INOPERATIVE. (Under IFR, a clock with sweep-second or digital presentation is required by 91.205(d), so the same failure grounds an IFR flight.) Walking the flow out loud is exactly what the examiner wants to hear.

Q5. What is an airworthiness directive, and can you fly if one hasn't been complied with?

Answer: An AD is a legally enforceable rule issued by the FAA to correct an unsafe condition in a product. Compliance is mandatory within the time/cycle limits in the AD — flying with an overdue AD makes the aircraft unairworthy. Some ADs are one-time, some recurring; the owner must track them, and you should be able to show the AD compliance record in the logbooks.

Q6. Your ELT battery was used for an unknown duration during a search last month. What's the rule?

Answer: 91.207: the ELT battery must be replaced (or recharged, if rechargeable) when the transmitter has been in use for more than one cumulative hour, or when 50 percent of the battery's useful life has expired. If you can't establish that cumulative use stayed under an hour, replace it. Also know the ELT inspection is every 12 calendar months.

Q7. What does 'calendar months' actually mean for these inspections?

Answer: The interval runs through the last day of the month. An annual signed off June 12, 2025 is valid through June 30, 2026. This one-line definition shows up constantly — get it wrong and the examiner will start pulling on the thread of every other interval you quoted.

Common mistakes to avoid

Bringing an aircraft to the checkride without personally finding the annual, transponder, altimeter/static, and AD entries in the logbooks. DPEs fail applicants on this before engine start.
Reciting ARROW but not knowing the registration's actual expiration date — examiners open the certificate and check.
Saying 'the mechanic determines airworthiness.' The PIC does, every flight (91.7).
Skipping the placard/deactivation step in the 91.213 flow — 'it's not required, so we can just go' is an incomplete (failing) answer.
Confusing what the 100-hour applies to, or claiming a 100-hour can substitute for an annual (it's the other way around).
Forgetting recurring ADs exist. 'Annual's current, so ADs are fine' is not true — some ADs come due every 25 or 50 hours.

Educational study material only — not a substitute for the current FAR/AIM, the Airman Certification Standards, your aircraft's POH/RFM, or instruction from your CFI. Regulations and procedures change: always verify against current FAA publications and your examiner's expectations before checkride day.