IFR Cross-Country Flight Planning practice questions

Answer: D) Simplify arrival clearances

• AIncorrect. STARs are IFR procedures.
• BIncorrect. That is an ODP.
• CIncorrect. Approaches are separate.
• DCorrect. STARs simplify clearance delivery from en route to the terminal area.

Answer: C) About 4 minutes

• AIncorrect. That is too long.
• BIncorrect. Each leg alone is 1 minute.
• CCorrect. Two 1-minute legs plus two 1-minute turns.
• DIncorrect. That is too short.

Answer: B) Its alternate minimums

• AIncorrect. Alternate minimums apply.
• BCorrect. The forecast must meet the alternate minimums (standard or published).
• CIncorrect. Alternate minimums are higher.
• DIncorrect. Minimums apply.

Answer: B) To keep a margin for experience and proficiency

• AIncorrect. Published minimums are legal.
• BCorrect. They help with consistent go/no-go decisions.
• CIncorrect. Personal minimums don't replace alternate rules.
• DIncorrect. ATC doesn't set personal minimums.

Answer: B) Increase the published visibility minimum by 1/4 statute mile and keep the DA unchanged

Pilots must adjust published minimums for inoperative visual aids. With a MALSR out, ILS visibility goes up by 1/4 mile and the DA does not change. Nonprecision minima go up by 1/2 mile.

• AIncorrect. The table adjusts visibility, not the decision altitude, when approach lights are inoperative.
• BCorrect. For ILS, PAR, LPV and GLS minima, the table raises visibility by 1/4 mile when an ALSF 1 & 2, MALSR or SSALR is inoperative. The DA stays the same.
• CIncorrect. The 1/2-mile increase applies to nonprecision minima with these lighting systems inoperative. For ILS minima the increase is 1/4 mile.
• DIncorrect. Approach lights are a visual aid, not part of the glideslope. With the glideslope working, ILS minimums still apply after the visibility increase.

Answer: A) An alternate must be listed, because no report or forecast shows at least 2,000 ft and 3 SM from 1 hour before to 1 hour after ETA

Under 14 CFR 91.169(b), you can omit an alternate only when the destination has an instrument approach AND reports or forecasts show at least 2,000 ft and 3 SM from 1 hour before to 1 hour after ETA. With no forecast, that can't be shown, so an alternate is required.

• ACorrect. The 91.169(b) exception needs both a published approach and weather reports or forecasts showing at least a 2,000 ft ceiling and 3 SM visibility from 1 hour before to 1 hour after ETA. With no forecast, the weather condition can't be shown, so you must list an alternate.
• BIncorrect. A published approach is only one of the two conditions in 91.169(b). The weather condition must also be shown by reports or forecasts.
• CIncorrect. A current observation three hours before arrival doesn't show what conditions will be from 1 hour before to 1 hour after ETA. The rule needs reports or forecasts that cover that time window.
• DIncorrect. The approach type affects the alternate airport's weather minimums in 91.169(c) (600-2 for precision, 800-2 for nonprecision). It doesn't decide whether an alternate must be filed.

Answer: A) That the airplane can sustain a climb of at least 300 feet per nautical mile up to 3,000 feet MSL

ODP obstacle protection assumes the published climb gradient, standard 200 ft/NM or higher if specified, is met. The pilot must confirm the airplane can achieve it at the expected groundspeed.

• ACorrect. Obstacle clearance on the ODP depends on meeting the published gradient, which is higher than the standard 200 ft/NM. The pilot must confirm, by converting the gradient to feet per minute at the expected groundspeed, that the airplane can achieve it, or else use another published option such as alternative takeoff minimums.
• BIncorrect. This mixes up the units. ODP gradients are in feet per nautical mile. The rate of climb in feet per minute that meets 300 ft/NM depends on groundspeed, and at typical climb speeds it is much higher than 300 fpm.
• CIncorrect. Departure obstacle criteria assume the airplane crosses the departure end of the runway at least 35 feet above its elevation. 400 feet above DER elevation is the minimum height before the initial turn.
• DIncorrect. Departure criteria assume the airplane climbs to at least 400 feet above DER elevation before making the initial turn, unless the procedure says otherwise.

Answer: B) 6,000 feet MSL, above the MEA and below the freezing level

To limit icing exposure on an IFR route, compare the freezing level with the minimum IFR altitudes. Choose an altitude that is at or above the MEA and still in above-freezing air.

• AIncorrect. 4,000 feet is below the 5,000-foot MEA, and no MOCA is published. Under 14 CFR 91.177 you may not operate below the applicable minimum IFR altitude.
• BCorrect. This altitude meets the minimum IFR altitude and stays in above-freezing air inside the clouds, so it avoids the icing layer.
• CIncorrect. In cloud and rain just above the freezing level, temperatures are only a few degrees below freezing. That is where the heaviest structural icing is usually found.
• DIncorrect. 10,000 feet is still inside the clouds and well above the freezing level, so the airplane would be in icing conditions without reaching the tops.

Answer: B) Takeoff to destination

• AIncorrect. That is block time.
• BCorrect. For IFR it is the time to the destination airport.
• CIncorrect. It ends at the destination.
• DIncorrect. This is not ETE.

Answer: B) En route low altitude chart

IFR en route low altitude charts cover IFR flight below 18,000 feet MSL. They show Victor airways with their MEAs and MOCAs. High altitude charts show jet routes.

• AIncorrect. High altitude charts are for flight at or above 18,000 feet MSL. They show the jet route (J) structure, not Victor airways.
• BCorrect. Low altitude en route charts are for IFR flight below 18,000 feet MSL. They show Victor airways, MEAs, MOCAs, airway distances and reporting points.
• CIncorrect. Sectional charts are VFR charts. They do show Victor airway centerlines, but not IFR data such as MEAs and MOCAs.
• DIncorrect. Approach charts show the procedure for one airport, from the feeder or initial fixes to the missed approach. They do not show the en route Victor airway system.