CPL Study Guide 2026

Everything you need to pass the CPL exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.

📋 CPL Exam Format at a Glance

100

Questions

180 min

Time Limit

70%

Passing Score

Take a Full CPL Exam Simulation →

📚 CPL Topics to Study (69)

See all 69 topics as flashcards →

✍️ Sample CPL Questions & Answers

1. The FAA can issue an emergency revocation of a pilot certificate under which authority?

✓ 49 U.S.C. 44709

49 U.S.C. 44709 grants the FAA Administrator authority to re-examine certificate holders and reissue, amend, modify, suspend, or revoke certificates.

2. Which atmospheric condition causes the most significant reduction in aircraft climb performance?

✓ High temperature and high elevation (high density altitude)

High temperature combined with high elevation produces a high density altitude, dramatically reducing engine power output and propeller/wing efficiency, severely limiting climb performance.

3. Transponder Mode C provides ATC with which information?

✓ Aircraft identification code and pressure altitude

Mode C transponders reply with the assigned 4096 squawk code plus encoded pressure altitude, enabling ATC to display both identity and altitude on radar.

4. What is the purpose of a 'squat switch' (weight-on-wheels switch) in aircraft systems?

✓ To sense whether the aircraft is on the ground and enable or inhibit certain systems accordingly

Squat switches sense ground contact through compression of the landing gear oleo struts, enabling ground-only systems and inhibiting air-only systems to prevent inadvertent operation.

5. A NOTAM reports an ILS glideslope 'out of service' for your destination. Which approach type becomes the most appropriate precision substitute?

✓ LOC approach using localizer-only minimums

When the glideslope is out of service, the ILS degrades to a localizer (LOC) approach, which uses only the lateral guidance with higher published minimums.

6. What is the primary advantage of a constant-speed propeller over a fixed-pitch propeller?

✓ It maintains an optimal blade pitch angle to match engine RPM to changing flight conditions, maximizing efficiency

A constant-speed propeller uses a governor to automatically vary blade pitch, keeping engine RPM constant and allowing the propeller to operate at its most efficient angle throughout the flight envelope.

🎯 Free CPL Practice Tests

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📖 CPL Guides & Articles

Your CPL Study Path

1. Learn with Flashcards → 2. Drill Practice Tests → 3. Take the Full Exam Simulation

🃏 CPL Flashcards (475)🏆 CPL Exam Simulation

What Practice Test Geeks adds beyond an AI chat for CPL

An AI chatbot can quiz you, but it can't reproduce the exam conditions or keep your record. Here you get:

A timed, full-length CPL mock exam — 100 questions in 180 minutes with a 70% pass mark, modeled on the official exam's question count and time limit, followed by a score report broken down by exam domain.
A fixed CPL question bank: the same test every attempt, so your score is comparable from one try to the next instead of changing with every regenerated quiz.
Progress saved on your device: completed tests, scores and missed questions stay in My Progress, so you can retake only what you got wrong.
A printable CPL cheat sheet you can print or save as a PDF.
CPL flashcards built from the same question bank.
Free CPL practice tests with the correct answer shown after each question.

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