Airframe Oral Exam: What to Expect
Expect an Airframe oral built from the ACS and your knowledge-test results. Use this guide to understand the selection process and find the right subject practice before your O&P; the subject links below contain the practice question sets.
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How many Airframe oral questions should I expect?
The minimum is four randomly generated Airframe questions, even after a 100 percent written score. Each different missed ACS code adds one oral question; several missed written questions under the same code add only one. The published maximum is 34 Airframe oral questions. An applicant who passed the written with 70 percent could receive that maximum. The 70 percent passing standard applies to the Airframe oral test as a whole, not subject by subject.
FAA Mechanic Test Generator FAQs, updated May 22, 2023, printed unnumbered, PDF 3 · FAA Mechanic Test Generator FAQs, updated May 22, 2023, printed unnumbered, PDF 4
Does the DME choose a few favorite topics?
The evaluator uses your Airman Knowledge Test Reports (AKTRs) to generate a complete test, with a planning sheet, from the FAA’s Mechanic Test Generator (MTG). Every item on the test has a corresponding ACS code, and the MTG includes oral questions from the ACS knowledge elements to retest the topics you missed on the knowledge test. All questions on the planning sheet must be asked; the DME does not pick and choose among them. You are not told the subject selections before testing begins. Prepare across the ACS rather than trying to predict a short list.
FAA-G-ACS-1, Changes 1 & 2, printed 21, PDF 21 · FAA Mechanic Test Generator FAQs, updated May 22, 2023, printed unnumbered, PDF 3 · FAA Mechanic Test Generator FAQs, updated May 22, 2023, printed unnumbered, PDF 4
Where do I practice the 15 Airframe subjects?
Airframe is Section II of the ACS. Use the subject name to choose a focused guide. Start with the subjects behind the ACS codes on your AKTR, then rotate through the other subjects as part of your study routine. To read those codes, see A&P ACS codes: know your codes before the oral. This is a study map, not a list of the questions assigned on test day.
| ACS subject | Focused study guide |
|---|---|
| AM.II.A | Metallic Structures |
| AM.II.B | Non-Metallic Structures |
| AM.II.C | Flight Controls |
| AM.II.D | Airframe Inspection |
| AM.II.E | Landing Gear Systems |
| AM.II.F | Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems |
| AM.II.G | Environmental Systems |
| AM.II.H | Aircraft Instrument Systems |
| AM.II.I | Communication and Navigation Systems |
| AM.II.J | Aircraft Fuel Systems |
| AM.II.K | Aircraft Electrical Systems |
| AM.II.L | Ice and Rain Control Systems |
| AM.II.M | Airframe Fire Protection Systems |
| AM.II.N | Rotorcraft Fundamentals |
| AM.II.O | Water and Waste Systems |
How do I use the subject map before the oral?
Choose one guide, read its source-backed answers, and close the page before explaining the topic out loud. Compare your explanation with the cited page, correct one missing point, and try again. Keep a separate list of topics that need more study. For sample Airframe oral questions with short answers, see Airframe oral exam questions: what a DME asks.
What if I am testing before the written under §65.80?
Under §65.80, an aviation maintenance technician school (AMTS) applicant who is authorized to test by the FAA may take the oral and practical tests before the required written tests. In that case the MTG operates as if the written score were 70 percent, so expect the maximum of 34 Airframe oral questions. For eligibility and paperwork, see A&P oral and practical before the written.
FAA Mechanic Test Generator FAQs, updated May 22, 2023, printed unnumbered, PDF 5
What else should I know?
Will the examiner test several applicants at the same time?
No. An evaluator conducts oral or practical tests with no more than one applicant at a time.
FAA-G-ACS-1, Changes 1 & 2, printed 20, PDF 20
Must I recite every parenthetical detail in the examiner’s answer key?
No. The parenthetical information is additional or clarifying information for the examiner; the applicant is not expected to recite all of it. That information is acceptable as an alternative to what is stated in the answer.
FAA-G-ACS-1, Changes 1 & 2, printed 22, PDF 22
May I open notes or a handbook while answering the oral questions?
No. Reference material is not allowed for answering the examiner’s oral questions. The practical portion is different: you may use reference materials to answer the practical questions asked during the projects.
How can I practice with DMEReady?
DMEReady is an AI voice examiner for the A&P oral in your phone or computer browser. You answer out loud, and it asks follow-up questions the way a DME would. You can also rehearse an oral built from the ACS codes on your Airman Knowledge Test Report (AKTR). After each session, the report shows what you covered, what you missed, what a complete answer includes, and where to read in the FAA handbooks. You can save it as a PDF study sheet and share a result image that never shows your answers or name. The first drill is free, with no sign-up. DMEReady is an AI examiner, not a human DME. It is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FAA; it does not predict or guarantee results.
Start your free drillWhich guide should I read next?
- Airframe Oral Exam Questions: What a DME Asks
- Airframe Inspection Oral Exam Questions and Answers
- Communication and Navigation Systems Oral Exam Questions and Answers
Which sources support this guide?
FAA PDF citations identify the printed and 1-based PDF pages.
Oral coming up soon? Try the full thing free for 30 days
We are running a small pilot before launch. If your oral and practical is in the next few weeks, you get every section of the voice mock oral free for 30 days, no card. In return, tell us honestly what helped and what didn’t.
Start the free pilotLimited spots. The pilot closes on November 30.
Passed a written? Get your oral study plan by email
Paste the ACS codes on your Airman Knowledge Test Report (AKTR). We’ll email you a study plan now, then two short tasks built from your codes: one on day 3, one on day 7. That’s all.
About this guide: drafted with AI from the FAA sources listed on this page and checked claim by claim against them. Not reviewed by an A&P mechanic or DME. How we make our guides
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