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FAA Flight Instructor Glider (Added Rating) Knowledge Test Practice Test

The FAA Flight Instructor Glider (Added Rating) Knowledge Test practice material focuses on glider instruction and the judgments involved in safe soaring flight. Its questions sample teaching students to assess landing areas, manage tow situations, interpret flight instruments, respond to turbulence, and observe glider operating limitations.

Exam overview

Exam providerFederal Aviation Administration
Exam codeAFG
CategoryAviation

About the FAA Flight Instructor Glider (Added Rating) Knowledge Test Exam

Glider instruction calls for connecting aircraft behavior with clear explanations students can apply in flight. Practice topics include using a variometer to recognize vertical air movement, maintaining outside visual attention while entering a thermal, and explaining why compass indications can vary during a bank. Other questions address evaluating landing-area surface and surroundings as well as considering ballast security and aircraft configuration before flight. Tow scenarios prompt attention to the glider’s position and the towplane’s actions, while turbulence questions test sound control priorities. Reviewing operating data, placards, and maneuvering-speed limits helps instructors teach students to remain within the glider’s approved envelope. These scenarios are useful for practicing concise instructional reasoning: identify the relevant hazard or indication, explain its significance, and select a response appropriate to glider operations.

Sample Practice Questions

Review a selection from this exam's published US Practice Tests practice bank.

Question 1

When teaching a student to judge whether a landing area is suitable, which feature is important to assess in addition to its length?

  1. ASurface condition and obstacles that could affect the landing or rollout.
  2. BWhether the area is visually attractive from the cockpit.
  3. CThe number of clouds directly overhead, regardless of weather conditions.
  4. DThe direction the glider’s wings face while parked.
Show answerCorrect answer: A

A usable landing area must be evaluated for hazards such as rough or soft surfaces, slope, obstructions, and available rollout space. Length alone does not establish that a site is safe or suitable.

Question 2

A glider pilot encounters unexpected turbulence and the aircraft begins to experience abrupt changes in attitude. What is the sound general response?

  1. AMake abrupt control inputs to hold the exact original attitude
  2. BUse smooth, measured inputs and avoid attempting to force the aircraft against every movement
  3. CIncrease speed beyond the aircraft's limitations to pass through the turbulence
  4. DRelease the controls completely until the turbulence ends
Show answerCorrect answer: B

Smooth, measured control inputs help avoid overcontrolling and excessive structural loads. The pilot should maintain safe control and comply with the aircraft's operating limitations.

Question 3

What is the main reason a glider pilot should verify that required ballast is secured before takeoff?

  1. ALoose ballast can shift in flight and alter the aircraft's loading and controllability
  2. BBallast is needed to keep the variometer calibrated
  3. CBallast prevents all stall conditions
  4. DThe amount of ballast determines the towplane's engine power
Show answerCorrect answer: A

Ballast must be installed and secured as specified. If it shifts, the center of gravity or aircraft handling may change unexpectedly, creating a serious hazard.

Question 4

A student notices that the glider’s compass indication changes during a banked turn. What should the instructor explain?

  1. AA magnetic compass can show turning and acceleration errors, so its indication must be interpreted with awareness of those limitations.
  2. BThe compass is showing the exact direction of the glider’s lift vector.
  3. CThe compass should remain fixed during every turn if the airspeed is constant.
  4. DAny compass movement proves that the glider’s electrical system has failed.
Show answerCorrect answer: A

Magnetic compasses have characteristic errors during turns and acceleration, which vary with heading and conditions. Students should learn the instrument’s limitations rather than treating every transient indication as a precise heading change.

Question 5

For a glider using a self-launching engine, why should the instructor teach the student to verify that the engine is secured in its intended configuration before gliding flight?

  1. AAn improperly secured engine or propeller configuration can affect drag and aircraft safety
  2. BThe configuration determines the local altimeter setting
  3. CThe engine configuration controls the glider’s compass deviation
  4. DA secured engine eliminates the need to monitor airspeed
Show answerCorrect answer: A

Self-launching gliders have aircraft-specific procedures for engine and propeller configuration. Correct securing helps avoid unintended deployment, excess drag, or other hazards; follow the aircraft manual.

Question 6

A student tends to look inside the cockpit while entering a thermal. Which instructional emphasis is most appropriate?

  1. AUse outside visual references and maintain traffic awareness while making coordinated corrections
  2. BKeep eyes on the variometer until it shows a steady climb
  3. CMake abrupt bank changes so the glider centers the lift quickly
  4. DIgnore other aircraft once the glider is established in a turn
Show answerCorrect answer: A

Thermal entry and circling require attention to outside references, coordination, and traffic. Instruments can assist, but prolonged fixation or abrupt maneuvering can degrade control and collision awareness.

Question 7

A student asks why a glider's operating limitations and placards must be reviewed before flight. What is the best answer?

  1. AThey provide aircraft-specific limits and required information that support safe operation
  2. BThey are optional if the student has flown another glider model
  3. CThey apply only during maintenance inspections
  4. DThey replace the need for a preflight inspection
Show answerCorrect answer: A

Operating limitations and placards communicate aircraft-specific restrictions and information that pilots must consider. Experience in another model does not make them optional, and they do not replace a preflight inspection.

How to use this practice test

The free practice bank contains 50 questions. Each session presents up to 20 questions selected at random and shows results when the session ends. Use the results to identify which glider-instruction scenarios need another review, such as tow awareness, instrument interpretation, or preflight configuration checks.

Preparation tips

  • Practice explaining how a variometer indicates vertical motion, and distinguish that information from visual cues used to locate lift.
  • For tow scenarios, consider the glider’s position relative to the towplane and identify a response that preserves safe tow control.
  • When evaluating a landing area, assess more than length: consider the surface and obstacles or other conditions that affect the landing.
  • Review the glider’s operating data and placards, including ballast requirements, engine configuration where applicable, and maneuvering-speed limits.
  • Practice teaching students to maintain outside visual attention in thermals and to recognize that compass indications may change during a bank.
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