Avielevate / DGCA CPL papers / Air Regulations
DGCA CPL Air Regulations — question bank and syllabus
The rules you fly under: ICAO Annexes and conventions, the Rules of the Air, CARs on licensing, airworthiness and operations, air traffic services and airspace, and accident investigation and security.
What is in this paper
Every chapter we cover for Air Regulations, with how many questions sit behind each one.
These counts come straight out of the question bank and are regenerated whenever it changes —
they are not a claim, they are what is there today.
Sample questions, answered and explained
A few real questions from this paper, with the answer marked and the reasoning
written out — the same explanations you get inside the app. Everything else is behind a free
account.
010011 · Rules of the Air
Which signal does a pilot give a marshaller to mean "brakes applied"?
- AClench the fist in front of the face, then extend the fingers
- BCross the hands in front of the face with palms facing outward, then move the arms apart
- CHold the right arm and hand, fingers extended, in front of the face, then clench the fist
- DArms crossed above the head, then extended downwards to the sides
Why that is the answer
ICAO Annex 2 (and the standard marshalling signal tables reproduced in the Aeronautical Information Publication) prescribe a fixed set of visual signals exchanged between an aircraft and a marshaller, including pilot-to-marshaller signals such as brakes applied/released and chocks inserted/removed. The signal for "brakes applied" is given as the right arm and hand raised with fingers extended in front of the face, then the fingers are closed into a clenched fist — the closing motion visually represents the brakes engaging/gripping. Option A reverses this motion (fist opening to extended fingers), which is the signal for the opposite action, "brakes released". Option B (hands crossed then moved outward) is unrelated arm movement used for a different instruction. Only the described extended-fingers-to-fist motion matches the standard chart. Following the verified key, the correct answer is C.
- Identify this as a standard pilot-to-marshaller visual signal question from Annex 2/AIP signal tables.
- Recall that brake signals use a hand gesture transitioning between an open hand and a clenched fist.
- The closing action (fingers extended to clenched fist) represents brakes being applied/engaged.
- Option A describes the reverse motion, which corresponds to brakes released, not applied.
- Option B describes an unrelated crossed-arm signal, eliminating it.
- The correct answer is C.
010019 · ICAO Annexes and Conventions
On lighter-than-air aircraft, other than unmanned free balloons, the height of the marks must be at least:
- A60 centimetres
- B50 centimetres
- C1 metre
- DAt least 40 centimetres
Why that is the answer
Annex 7 sets a distinct minimum mark height for lighter-than-air aircraft (such as airships and manned balloons), separate from the heavier-than-air aircraft standard. For these aircraft, excluding unmanned free balloons (which have their own separate marking provisions), the minimum required height of the marks is 50 centimetres, matching the same figure used for under-wing marks on heavier-than-air aircraft. 60 cm and 1 metre are not the prescribed values for this category. The verified correct answer is B.
- Identify the topic: minimum mark height for lighter-than-air aircraft (excluding unmanned free balloons).
- Recall Annex 7 sets this figure separately from the heavier-than-air fuselage/tail requirement.
- Recall the prescribed minimum is 50 centimetres for this aircraft category.
- Eliminate A (60 cm, incorrect figure) and C (1 metre, incorrect figure).
- Conclude the correct answer is B.
010026 · Investigation, Security and Human Performance
The main and most trustworthy sense used for spatial orientation is ___, while the balance sensors located in the ___ provide a secondary system.
- AEar, Eyesight.
- BEyesight, ear.
- CVestibular apparatus, Somatosensory system.
- DVestibular apparatus, eyesight.
Why that is the answer
Among the three systems humans use for spatial orientation — vision, the vestibular apparatus (inner ear balance organs), and the somatosensory ('seat of the pants') system — vision is universally taught as the primary and most reliable, because it provides continuous, accurate reference to the true horizon and surroundings, especially critical in flight where the other senses are easily fooled by sustained accelerations. The vestibular apparatus, housed in the inner ear (semicircular canals and otoliths), acts as a secondary balance-sensing system, but it is prone to illusions (the leans, Coriolis illusion, graveyard spiral) particularly without visual reference in IMC. Option A reverses the order, and option C substitutes different (though related) terminology that does not match the ear/eyesight pairing asked for. Per the verified key, the correct answer is B: eyesight is primary, the ear (vestibular apparatus) is the secondary balance system.
- Identify the concept: the hierarchy of human spatial orientation senses.
- Recall the three senses involved: vision, vestibular (inner ear), and somatosensory.
- Recall that vision is taught as the primary, most reliable sense; the inner ear provides a secondary balance system.
- Eliminate A (reverses primary/secondary) and C (uses non-matching terminology for this blank pairing).
- Conclude the correct answer is B: Eyesight, ear.
010029 · Rules of the Air
A radial is best described as:
- AA magnetic bearing measured either to or from a VOR station, depending on whether the aircraft is flying inbound or outbound
- BA magnetic bearing measured toward a VOR station
- CA magnetic bearing measured outward from a VOR station
- DA true bearing extending from a VOR station
Why that is the answer
A VOR radial is, by definition, a magnetic bearing line extending outward FROM the VOR station, one of 360 possible courses radiating from the facility. It is always described as a direction away from the station, regardless of whether the aircraft is flying toward or away from it — an aircraft tracking inbound on the 090 radial is still said to be on the 090 radial, which is measured outward from the VOR. This makes option A incorrect, since a radial does not switch meaning based on direction of flight, and option B incorrect because a bearing 'to' the station is not how a radial is defined. The verified answer is C.
- Recall the formal ICAO/ATC definition of a VOR radial.
- Note that a radial is fixed as a bearing extending outward from the station.
- Reject A, which wrongly makes the radial direction-dependent on aircraft track.
- Reject B, which describes a bearing TO the station, the opposite of a radial.
- Correct answer is C: a magnetic bearing extending from a VOR station.
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