Study guide
This chapter builds the regulatory backbone every private pilot needs before turning a key: the federal rules that define your certificate privileges and currency, the right-of-way and weather-minimum rules that keep airplanes apart, and the airspace and airport procedures that let you operate safely at towered and non-towered fields alike. Treat these numbers as facts to memorize cold, since the knowledge test rewards precision over general understanding.
Part 61: Certificate Privileges and Currency
Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 61, governs how pilots are certificated and what they may do with that certificate. A private pilot may carry passengers and share operating expenses with them, but generally may not be paid to fly or carry passengers or property for compensation, with narrow exceptions such as charitable flights conducted under specific conditions. To act as pilot in command carrying passengers, 61.56 requires a flight review, commonly called a biennial flight review, completed within the preceding 24 calendar months; the review itself is at least one hour of flight training and one hour of ground training with a certificated flight instructor and has no pass or fail, only a logbook endorsement. Separately, 61.57 sets recent-experience limits: to carry passengers during the day, a pilot needs three takeoffs and three landings in an aircraft of the same category and class within the preceding 90 days; to carry passengers at night, defined here as one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise, the three takeoffs and landings must be to a full stop during that same night window. Consider a pilot named Renee who flew regularly all spring but took June off. Before she can take a friend flying in July, she needs to check her logbook against both the 90-day and, if it will be after dark, the night full-stop requirement. Instrument currency, medical certificate duration, and endorsements for specific aircraft categories layer on top of these baseline rules, so a careful pilot treats currency as something to verify before every flight, not just before a checkride.
Part 91: General Operating Rules and Right-of-Way
Part 91 contains the operating rules that apply in flight, and 91.113 establishes right-of-way priority when aircraft converge. The general rule is that the aircraft with the right-of-way holds its heading and speed while the other aircraft maneuvers to avoid it, though this never relieves either pilot of the responsibility to see and avoid. Among categories, less maneuverable aircraft generally have the right-of-way over more maneuverable ones: an aircraft in distress has priority over everything; balloons have right-of-way over gliders, airships, and airplanes; gliders have right-of-way over airships and airplanes; and airships have right-of-way over airplanes. Aircraft towing or refueling other aircraft have right-of-way over all other engine-driven aircraft. When aircraft of the same category converge at essentially the same altitude, the aircraft to the other's right has the right-of-way, much like the rule at a four-way stop. Aircraft approaching head-on must each alter course to the right. An aircraft overtaking another must pass to the right and stay clear of the aircraft being overtaken, since the overtaken aircraft has the right-of-way. When landing, aircraft on final approach or already landing have priority over aircraft in the air or on the ground, and when two aircraft are converging to land, the lower aircraft generally has right-of-way, though it must not cut in front of an aircraft on final or overtake it. Imagine two airplanes, one flown by Marcus and one by Dana, converging at the same altitude with Dana's airplane to Marcus's right; Marcus must give way.
VFR Weather Minimums by Airspace Class
Section 91.155 sets the basic visual flight rules weather minimums, and the exam expects exact numbers by airspace class. In Class B airspace, the minimum is 3 statute miles visibility and the aircraft must remain clear of clouds. In Class C and Class D airspace, and in Class E airspace below 10,000 feet MSL, the minimum is 3 statute miles visibility with cloud clearance of 500 feet below, 1,000 feet above, and 2,000 feet horizontal. At or above 10,000 feet MSL in Class E airspace, the minimums increase to 5 statute miles visibility with 1,000 feet below, 1,000 feet above, and 1 statute mile horizontal clearance from clouds, reflecting the higher closure speeds of aircraft operating there. Class G, uncontrolled airspace, has its own layered rules: below 1,200 feet AGL during the day, the minimum is just 1 statute mile visibility and clear of clouds; below 1,200 feet AGL at night, it rises to 3 statute miles with the standard 500/1,000/2,000 cloud clearances. Above 1,200 feet AGL but below 10,000 feet MSL in Class G, day minimums are 1 statute mile with 500/1,000/2,000 clearance, while night minimums match the Class E day standard of 3 statute miles with the same clearances. Class A airspace has no VFR minimums because VFR flight is not permitted there at all. A pilot named Owen planning a sunset departure from an uncontrolled field below 1,200 feet AGL needs to recognize that his visibility and cloud clearance requirements change the moment civil twilight ends.
Airspace Classification and Boundaries
The National Airspace System is divided into controlled and uncontrolled airspace, further split into classes A through E and G, with Class F not used in the United States. Class A extends from 18,000 feet MSL up to and including flight level 600 and requires an instrument rating; it is depicted on sectional charts only by a note, not a boundary line, since it blankets the country at that altitude band. Class B surrounds the nation's busiest airports, generally from the surface up to 10,000 feet MSL, shaped like an upside-down wedding cake with progressively wider rings at higher altitudes, and requires an explicit ATC clearance to enter along with specific pilot certification and equipment. Class C surrounds airports with an operating control tower and radar approach service, typically extending from the surface to 4,000 feet above airport elevation within a five-nautical-mile core and a shelf extending to ten nautical miles at higher altitudes; two-way radio communication must be established before entry. Class D surrounds smaller towered airports, generally from the surface to 2,500 feet above airport elevation within about four nautical miles, again requiring two-way radio contact before entry. Class E is controlled airspace that does not fit the other categories, often beginning at 700 or 1,200 feet AGL and extending up to but not including 18,000 feet MSL, providing IFR separation services without requiring two-way communication for VFR traffic. Class G is uncontrolled airspace, typically the layer nearest the ground where ATC provides no separation service at all. Special use airspace, such as restricted areas, prohibited areas, and military operations areas, imposes additional restrictions and is depicted with distinct hatched or blue-and-magenta boundaries on sectional charts.
Airport Operations, Markings, and Communication
Traffic patterns keep arriving and departing aircraft predictable. The standard pattern uses left turns at an altitude commonly 1,000 feet above ground level, consisting of upwind, crosswind, downwind, base, and final legs, though some airports publish right-traffic patterns instead, shown by segmented circle markings or charted notes. Runway markings use white paint: numbers indicate the magnetic heading rounded to the nearest ten degrees, a centerline provides alignment guidance, and threshold markings show the usable landing surface. Taxiway markings use yellow paint, including centerlines and edge markings, while a solid yellow hold-short line paired with a dashed line marks the boundary a pilot must not cross without clearance at a runway. Runway lighting includes edge lights that may be white or, near the far end, yellow to signal the last 2,000 feet, and approach lighting systems that help pilots transition from instrument to visual references at night or in reduced visibility. At a towered airport, a pilot must establish two-way radio communication with the tower before entering the airspace and must comply with all instructions unless doing so would compromise safety, in which case the pilot informs the tower of the deviation as soon as possible. At a non-towered airport, pilots self-announce position and intentions on the common traffic advisory frequency, typically on a five-call sequence covering ten miles out, entering downwind, turning base, turning final, and clearing the runway, so that other pilots in the pattern can build a mental picture of traffic without a controller's help.
Key terms
- Flight review
- — A required review under 14 CFR 61.56 of at least one hour of flight and one hour of ground instruction every 24 calendar months, needed to act as pilot in command.
- Recent flight experience
- — The 61.57 currency rule requiring three takeoffs and landings in 90 days to carry passengers, with full-stop night landings required for night passenger flights.
- Right-of-way
- — The priority one aircraft holds over another under 91.113, obligating the aircraft without right-of-way to maneuver to avoid a collision.
- Basic VFR weather minimums
- — The visibility and cloud clearance values in 91.155 that vary by airspace class and, in Class G, by time of day and altitude.
- Class B airspace
- — Controlled airspace around the busiest airports, generally surface to 10,000 feet MSL, requiring an explicit ATC clearance to enter.
- Class C airspace
- — Controlled airspace around towered airports with radar service, typically extending to 4,000 feet above airport elevation, requiring two-way radio contact before entry.
- Class D airspace
- — Controlled airspace around smaller towered airports, typically extending to 2,500 feet above airport elevation, requiring two-way radio contact before entry.
- Class E airspace
- — Controlled airspace not otherwise classified, often based at 700 or 1,200 feet AGL and extending up to but not including 18,000 feet MSL.
- Class G airspace
- — Uncontrolled airspace where ATC provides no separation service, with day and night VFR minimums that differ from controlled airspace.
- Traffic pattern
- — The standardized rectangular flight path of upwind, crosswind, downwind, base, and final legs used for arrivals and departures at an airport.
- Common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF)
- — The radio frequency pilots use to self-announce position and intentions at a non-towered airport.
- Special use airspace
- — Airspace such as restricted areas, prohibited areas, and military operations areas that imposes limits on non-participating aircraft.
Exam tips
- Memorize the 91.155 table in both directions: given an airspace class, state the minimums; given minimums, identify the airspace class.
- For right-of-way questions, work through the hierarchy in order: distress, then balloons over gliders/airships/airplanes, then gliders over airships/airplanes, then towing aircraft, then same-category convergence rules.
- Distinguish Part 61 (who may act as pilot and under what currency) from Part 91 (how the flight must be conducted) when a question blends the two.
- Note that Class E minimums change at exactly 10,000 feet MSL and Class G minimums change at exactly 1,200 feet AGL and at night — these thresholds are common test traps.
- When a scenario names a runway hold-short line or a CTAF call sequence, visualize the airport diagram described rather than memorizing isolated facts.