Officer Candidate / Aptitude tests (AFOQT) Aviation and Aircrew Knowledge Syllabus

Aviation and Aircrew Knowledge syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Aviation and Aircrew Knowledge in Officer Candidate / Aptitude tests (AFOQT), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Aerodynamics and Principles of Flight

   4 topics

   • Four Forces of Flight
     • Lift, weight, thrust, and drag relationships
     • Bernoulli's principle and airfoil behavior
     • Angle of attack and stalls
   • Flight Controls and Axes
     • Pitch, roll, and yaw
     • Ailerons, elevators, and rudder
     • Primary versus secondary controls
   • Aircraft Structures and Systems
     • Fuselage, wing, and empennage components
     • Powerplant, fuel, and electrical basics
   • Stability and Maneuvering
     • Load factor and turns
     • Center of gravity effects
2. 2

   Flight Instruments and Navigation

   4 topics

   • Pitot-Static Instruments
     • Airspeed indicator, altimeter, vertical speed indicator
   • Gyroscopic Instruments
     • Attitude indicator, heading indicator, turn coordinator
   • Reading the Instrument Panel
     • Interpreting attitude and altitude from a panel image
   • Navigation Basics
     • Headings, bearings, and the compass rose
     • Magnetic versus true north
3. 3

   Airport, Airspace, and Regulations

   3 topics

   • Airport Operations
     • Runway numbering and markings
     • Traffic pattern legs
   • Airspace Classes
     • Controlled and uncontrolled airspace
   • Communication and Procedures
     • Basic radio phraseology and the phonetic alphabet

Aviation and Aircrew Knowledge flashcards for Officer Candidate / Aptitude tests (AFOQT)

25 of 50 cards from the Aviation and Aircrew Knowledge deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the four forces of flight acting on an aircraft?

   Lift, weight (gravity), thrust, and drag.

2. In steady, unaccelerated level flight, how do the four forces relate?

   Lift equals weight and thrust equals drag (all forces are in equilibrium).

3. What produces lift on a wing according to Bernoulli's principle?

   Air moving faster over the curved upper surface creates lower pressure than the slower air below, and the pressure difference produces upward lift.

4. What is the angle of attack?

   The angle between the wing's chord line and the relative wind (oncoming airflow).

5. What is an aerodynamic stall?

   A loss of lift that occurs when the wing exceeds its critical angle of attack and airflow separates from the upper surface.

6. What are the two main types of drag?

   Parasite drag (form, skin friction, interference) and induced drag (the byproduct of producing lift).

7. How does induced drag change with airspeed?

   Induced drag increases as airspeed decreases (high at low speeds), while parasite drag increases with airspeed.

8. Name the three primary flight control surfaces and the axis each controls.

   Ailerons control roll (longitudinal axis), elevator controls pitch (lateral axis), and rudder controls yaw (vertical axis).

9. Around which axis does an aircraft roll, and what controls it?

   The longitudinal axis (nose-to-tail); controlled by the ailerons.

10. Around which axis does an aircraft pitch, and what controls it?

    The lateral axis (wingtip-to-wingtip); controlled by the elevator.

11. Around which axis does an aircraft yaw, and what controls it?

    The vertical axis (top-to-bottom through the center); controlled by the rudder.

12. What is the purpose of flaps?

    To increase lift and drag at low speeds, allowing slower, steeper approaches and shorter takeoff/landing distances.

13. What is the function of trim tabs?

    To relieve control pressures by holding a control surface in a set position, reducing pilot workload.

14. What are the main structural components of an airplane?

    Fuselage, wings, empennage (tail), landing gear, and powerplant.

15. What components make up the empennage?

    The vertical stabilizer with rudder and the horizontal stabilizer with elevator (the tail assembly).

16. What is adverse yaw and how is it counteracted?

    The tendency of the nose to yaw away from a turn due to differential aileron drag; counteracted by coordinated rudder input.

17. What is the difference between static stability and dynamic stability?

    Static stability is the initial tendency to return to equilibrium after a disturbance; dynamic stability describes the motion over time (oscillations damping out, staying constant, or increasing).

18. What is positive static stability?

    The aircraft's initial tendency to return to its original attitude after being disturbed.

19. In a coordinated standard-rate turn, what is the turn rate?

    3 degrees per second, completing a 360-degree turn in 2 minutes.

20. How does load factor change in a level turn?

    Load factor (G-force) increases as bank angle increases because more lift is required to maintain altitude.

21. What four instruments operate on the pitot-static system?

    The airspeed indicator, altimeter, and vertical speed indicator (airspeed uses both pitot and static; altimeter and VSI use static only).

22. Which pressure sources does the airspeed indicator use?

    Both ram (pitot) pressure and static pressure; it measures the difference between them.

23. Which instruments use only static pressure?

    The altimeter and the vertical speed indicator (VSI).

24. What happens to the airspeed indicator if the pitot tube becomes blocked but the drain hole is open?

    The airspeed indicator reads zero because ram pressure can no longer enter.

25. What does a blocked static port do to the altimeter?

    The altimeter freezes at the altitude where the blockage occurred and no longer responds to altitude changes.

See more Aviation and Aircrew Knowledge flashcards →

Planning Aviation and Aircrew Knowledge for Officer Candidate / Aptitude tests (AFOQT)

Aviation and Aircrew Knowledge (Officer Candidate / Aptitude tests (AFOQT)) FAQ