Commercial Pilot — Airplane Single-Engine Land practical test (checkride) prep
Get ready for the commercial ASEL checkride — the scenario-based oral, chandelles, lazy eights, eights on pylons, the steep spiral and the power-off 180 flown to commercial tolerances.
About the exam
The commercial pilot certificate lets you fly for compensation or hire — the step from flying for yourself to flying as a professional. The practical test (checkride) is conducted by a designated pilot examiner (DPE) or an FAA inspector and graded against the Commercial Pilot Airplane ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B). It starts with a scenario-based oral exam — often built around a charter-style trip where you decide what you may legally carry and for whom — then a flight test of every ASEL task, from short- and soft-field work and the power-off 180° accuracy landing to steep turns, the steep spiral, chandelles, lazy eights and eights on pylons. The result is satisfactory or unsatisfactory, task by task.
It's for private pilots who have built to the 61.129 experience — 250 hours, 100 PIC, the long cross-country and night requirements, 10 hours of instrument training and 10 hours in a complex, turbine or technically advanced airplane (TAA) — and passed the commercial knowledge test. A complex airplane is no longer required for the checkride itself, but examiners still expect you to know the systems of whatever you fly: constant-speed propeller, retractable gear if fitted, and the PFD, MFD and autopilot of a TAA.
This hub gives you scenario-based mock-oral questions mapped to the ACS, oral flashcards and mock checkride scenarios, illustrated guides to every commercial maneuver with its exact tolerances, a checklists & flows trainer, a panel trainer with both the analog six-pack and a glass PFD, the Radio & callouts drill, and checkride-day prep. These are study aids: your airplane's POH/AFM checklists and your instructor's procedures always govern.
How we track your progress
Every blueprint domain moves through five levels as you study:
- Not startedNo questions answered in this domain yet.
- Getting startedFirst questions answered — not enough yet to judge.
- DevelopingAt least 5 answered and 50% or better on your recent questions.
- ProficientAt least 15 answered and 70% or better on your recent questions.
- Exam readyAt least 25 answered, 80% or better recently, and holding up on hard questions.
The exam blueprint
FAA-S-ACS-7B Commercial Pilot for Airplane Category ACS (effective May 31, 2024) — Preflight preparation, preflight procedures, airport operations, takeoffs and landings (including the power-off 180), performance and ground reference maneuvers, navigation, slow flight and stalls, high-altitude, emergency and postflight operations — ASEL tasks. Tap a domain to see its topics.
1 Pilot Qualifications and Airworthiness ACS Area I (Tasks A–B) of the exam
24 practice questions in this domain so far
2 Weather Information ACS Area I (Task C) of the exam
16 practice questions in this domain so far
3 Cross-Country Planning, Airspace and Navigation ACS Areas I (Tasks D–E) and VI of the exam
20 practice questions in this domain so far
4 Performance, Limitations and Systems ACS Area I (Tasks F–G) of the exam
20 practice questions in this domain so far
5 Human Factors and High-Altitude Operations ACS Areas I (Task H) and VIII of the exam
12 practice questions in this domain so far
6 Preflight Procedures and Airport Operations ACS Areas II–III of the exam
12 practice questions in this domain so far
7 Takeoffs, Landings and Go-Arounds ACS Area IV of the exam
16 practice questions in this domain so far
8 Performance and Ground Reference Maneuvers ACS Area V of the exam
20 practice questions in this domain so far
9 Slow Flight and Stalls ACS Area VII of the exam
12 practice questions in this domain so far
10 Emergency and Postflight Operations ACS Areas IX and XI of the exam
8 practice questions in this domain so far
What you get when you access this exam
Free with your QuizMe account.
Scenario-based oral practice
Original three-choice questions built on the Commercial Airplane ACS — for-hire legality, systems, performance and decision-making — with adaptive practice and a timed 40-question mock oral.
Maneuvers & tolerances guides
Illustrated guides to chandelles, lazy eights, eights on pylons, the steep spiral, steep turns and the power-off 180, each with the exact ACS-7B standards.
Checklists & flows trainer
Practice generic preflight, before-takeoff, landing and emergency flows in order — including gear, prop and mixture for a complex or TAA airplane.
Panel trainer
Read and set both an analog six-pack and a glass PFD — airspeed tape, attitude, altitude, heading and the autopilot modes you'll use in a TAA.
Radio & callouts drill
Hear ATIS, ground, tower, approach and CTAF calls, then pick the right readback, call or action, with the correct transmission played back after each answer.
Mock checkrides and oral flashcards
Work through complete examiner-style scenarios from the charter-trip oral to the flight, and drill the regulations and numbers with flashcards.
Test at home or at a center
When your instructor signs you off, start your application in IACRA and schedule with a designated pilot examiner (DPE) — DPE availability varies, so many applicants book weeks ahead.
Before you book
- Meet the 61.129(a) experience, including 10 hours of training in a complex, turbine-powered or technically advanced airplane and the 3 hours of checkride prep within the preceding 2 calendar months.
- Get your instructor's endorsements: 61.39 readiness, review of the knowledge-test deficiencies, and the aeronautical knowledge and flight proficiency endorsements of 61.123.
- Make sure your Commercial Pilot Airplane (CAX) knowledge test report is within 24 calendar months.
- Complete FAA Form 8710-1 in IACRA and have your instructor sign it electronically.
Finding an examiner
- Find a DPE through the FAA's Designee Locator, your flight school or your local FSDO; some areas also use the FAA's DPE scheduling tools.
- DPEs set their own fees — confirm the fee, payment method and retest policy when you book.
- Ask what the examiner wants in advance: the cross-country assignment, weight and balance and performance for the day's conditions.
- Confirm your airplane is suitable: airworthy, with the documents and maintenance records ready, and with the equipment the tasks need (a complex airplane isn't required).
Exam-day game plan
How to walk in ready — and how to pace 40-question mock oral in 60 minutes.
Pacing checkpoints
Our mock oral is 40 questions in 60 minutes as one block of single-answer, three-choice questions. The real oral is a conversation with the examiner, untimed and not multiple choice — use the mock oral to find gaps, then practice explaining answers out loud.
The week before
- Take a full mock oral 4–7 days out and review every miss against the ACS knowledge and risk-management elements.
- Fly the commercial maneuvers with your instructor to the ACS-7B standards — especially lazy eights, eights on pylons and the power-off 180.
- Plan the examiner's cross-country, including weight and balance, performance, weather and fuel.
- Rehearse 61.133 privileges and limitations, holding out and when Part 119/135 applies.
- Check the airplane's records: annual, 100-hour if used for hire, ADs, ELT, transponder and pitot-static as applicable.
- Confirm the IACRA application, endorsements, knowledge test report and appointment time.
Checkride day — bring
- Government photo ID, your pilot certificate and your medical certificate
- Logbook with the 61.39 and 61.123 endorsements and your 61.129 experience totaled
- Airman Knowledge Test Report and your IACRA username and password
- Airplane documents: airworthiness and registration certificates, POH/AFM, weight and balance
- Aircraft maintenance records with inspections and AD compliance tabbed
- Charts or EFB, flight plan, weather briefing and performance calculations
- The examiner's fee (DPEs set their own fees)
During the checkride
- Answer the oral like a professional pilot: say what you'd do and cite the reference when you can — the POH, 14 CFR or the AIM.
- Use your checklists and brief each maneuver aloud: entry altitude, airspeed and the tolerances you're flying to.
- Clear the area before every maneuver and fly the ground reference maneuvers no lower than the ACS minimum altitudes.
- If a maneuver drifts out of tolerance, correct promptly — the examiner grades recognition and correction too.
- Ask the examiner to repeat or clarify any instruction you're unsure about.
- If weather, maintenance or illness intervene, a discontinuance keeps credit for completed tasks for 60 days.
After the checkride
- Pass, and the examiner issues a temporary airman certificate through IACRA, valid for 120 days while the FAA mails your plastic commercial certificate.
- If any task is unsatisfactory you receive a notice of disapproval listing the failed tasks; after additional training and a new instructor endorsement you retest, and tasks you passed are credited for 60 days.
- A letter of discontinuance (weather, maintenance, illness) keeps credit for completed tasks for 60 days.
- Without an instrument rating, your certificate prohibits carrying passengers for hire on cross-country flights of more than 50 NM or at night — add the instrument rating to remove it.
- Common next steps: CFI (Airplane), a multiengine rating, or building time toward the ATP — and remember that most for-hire flying also needs a Part 119/135 operator or another legal exception.
Official sources and further reading
- Commercial Pilot Airplane ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B) ↗Official areas of operation, tasks, knowledge, risk management and skill standards.
- ACS Companion Guide for Pilots (FAA-G-ACS-2) ↗Practical-test policy: special emphasis areas, aircraft requirements, discontinuance and retesting.
- Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C) ↗Performance maneuvers, ground reference maneuvers and accuracy landings explained.
- 14 CFR Part 61 (eCFR) ↗Commercial eligibility, experience and privileges — 61.123, 61.129 and 61.133.
- IACRA ↗Start your FAA Form 8710-1 application and get your temporary certificate.
- Airman Certification Standards (FAA) ↗Index of current ACS documents and upcoming changes.
Ready to start?
160 questions and scenarios across the blueprint — and growing.
QuizMe is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FAA. Practice content is original and summarizes FAA sources (ACS, handbooks, 14 CFR, AIM). Checklists and flows are generic training aids — always use your aircraft's POH/AFM and your instructor's procedures. Rules change — confirm at faa.gov.