10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,060-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
The IRA exam has 65 questions and runs 2 hours.
These 10 free IRA questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Instrument Rating - Airplane (IRA) blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
A pilot in cruise at 6,000 ft encounters freezing drizzle and begins accumulating ice. Recalling that freezing rain implies a warm layer aloft, the pilot considers climbing to escape. In freezing drizzle specifically, this reasoning is:
Correct answer: C - Unreliable, as freezing drizzle can form with no warm layer aloft
A METAR reports: SCT008 BKN015 OVC030. The ceiling at this station is:
Correct answer: B - 1,500 ft, the lowest broken or overcast layer
A pilot receives a Convective SIGMET for a line of thunderstorms along the route. Beyond the convective activity itself, this advisory implies:
Correct answer: A - Severe or greater turbulence, severe icing, and low-level wind shear
On an ILS approach with published minimums of 200-1/2, the tower reports RVR 1800 (approximately 1/4 SM). Approaching DA, the pilot has the runway touchdown zone in sight and assesses the flight visibility as 1/2 SM. Under 14 CFR 91.175(c), the pilot:
Correct answer: B - May descend below DA, as flight visibility is the controlling criterion
On a night ILS approach, the pilot reaches DA with only the approach light system in sight and no other visual references. The pilot may descend:
Correct answer: C - To 100 ft above TDZE, and lower only if the red terminating bars or red side row bars are visible
A pilot files KRDU as an alternate based on its ILS, with the forecast at ETA showing 700 overcast and 2 SM. En route, the destination goes below minimums and the pilot diverts to KRDU, where conditions have since dropped to 300 overcast and 3/4 SM. The published ILS minimums at KRDU are 200-1/2. The pilot may:
Correct answer: A - Fly the ILS to the published 200-1/2 minimums
An aircraft is directly overhead a VOR/DME station at 12,000 ft AGL. The DME will indicate approximately:
Correct answer: B - 2.0 NM, as DME measures slant range rather than ground distance
A pilot experiences a two-way radio failure in IMC. The last assigned altitude was 5,000 ft. The MEA for the current route segment is 8,000 ft, and ATC had advised to expect 11,000 ft ten minutes after departure, a time which has now passed. The pilot should fly:
Correct answer: A - 11,000 ft, the altitude ATC advised to expect
An IFR en route low altitude chart shows an asterisk preceding the figure 3500 on an airway segment (*3500). Beyond 22 NM from the VOR, this altitude guarantees:
Correct answer: D - Obstacle clearance, but not acceptable navigation signal coverage
During climb in visible moisture, ice blocks both the pitot ram inlet and the pitot drain hole. The static port remains clear. As the aircraft continues to climb at a constant airspeed, the airspeed indicator will:
Correct answer: D - Read progressively higher, behaving like an altimeter
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