Flight Controls and Rigging Oral Exam Questions and Answers

October 14, 2026 · Based on FAA-S-ACS-1 and FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe · Updated October 18, 2026

Practice describing the component, the adjustment, and the measurement as three separate parts of an answer. These ten prompts focus on flight controls and rigging, with FAA handbook references beside each answer.

What should my answer explain?

Start with the hardware: explain what a cable designation tells you, how a guide works, and what kind of motion a rod or torque tube transmits. Then move to the rigging questions. Give the requested relationship or principle before discussing an aircraft-specific adjustment.

Keep the handbook’s own qualifiers in your answer: there are usually two sets of stops, and push rods should be straight unless designed otherwise. Know the difference between checking balance after a repaint and rebalancing after a repair that adds weight, and between a tensiometer’s dial reading and the cable tension in pounds.

FAA-S-ACS-1, AM.II.C, p. 23

For the wider exam, read the Airframe oral questions overview. Use the ACS codes guide when reviewing the ACS codes on your Airman Knowledge Test Report (AKTR).

Which ACS elements do these questions practice?

The table identifies the elements used for the practice questions below. It is not a prediction of your assigned questions.

Which oral exam questions can I practice?

These practice questions are built from ACS elements; they are not actual FAA test questions. The short explanations are study answers, not complete aircraft maintenance procedures.

1. What do the designations 7 × 19 and 7 × 7 tell you about a control cable?

ACS: AM.II.C.K1

They identify strands and wires per strand. A 7 × 19 cable has seven strands of 19 wires each and is very flexible, used in primary controls and where pulley operation is frequent. A 7 × 7 cable has seven strands of seven wires, has medium flexibility, and is used for trim-tab, engine, and indicator controls.

FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-39

2. Which cable locations need particular attention for corrosion, and what may be difficult to see?

ACS: AM.II.C.K2

The handbook singles out cables passing through battery compartments, lavatories, and wheel wells as prime corrosion areas. Wire or strand breakage is easy to recognize visually, but wear, corrosion, and distortion are not easily seen. Give special attention to critical fatigue areas too: anywhere the cable runs over, under, or around a pulley, sleeve, or through a fairlead, or where it is flexed, rubbed, or within 1 foot of a swaged-on fitting. Rubbing a rag along the cable there finds broken strands, because the rag snags. For areas that may be corroded or indicate fatigue failure, the handbook describes loosening or removing and bending the cable to reveal internal broken strands.

FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-41

3. How do pulleys, fairleads, and pressure seals guide or accommodate control cables?

ACS: AM.II.C.K4

Pulleys guide cables and change their direction. Fairleads encircle cables where they pass through bulkheads or other metal parts, guiding them in a straight line through or between structural members. Pressure seals accommodate cables or rods at pressure bulkheads: they grip tightly enough to prevent excess air-pressure loss without hindering cable movement. A fairlead should never deflect a cable’s alignment more than 3° from a straight line.

FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-41 · FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-42

4. How are control-surface stops and flight-deck stops usually related?

ACS: AM.II.C.K5

Usually, each main control surface has two sets of stops: one at the surface and one at the flight-deck control. Either may serve as the actual limit stop, though the surface stops usually do. The other stops normally remain separated, with a definite clearance at full surface travel, and act as override stops to prevent stretching of cables and damage to the control system during violent maneuvers. The adjustment sequence comes from the applicable maintenance manual.

FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-52

5. What does a push rod do, and what should you check when one is installed?

ACS: AM.II.C.K6

A push rod provides push-pull motion between flight-control system parts. It consists of a tube with threaded rod ends; a tightened checknut prevents the rod end or clevis from loosening. The rods should be straight unless designed otherwise. The installed assembly should be checked for correct alignment and free movement.

FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-44

6. When is a torque tube used in a flight-control system?

ACS: AM.II.C.K7

A torque tube is installed where a control system needs an angular or twisting motion. The handbook’s figure shows one transmitting motion in opposite directions, and simple flap systems are usually operated manually by cables and/or torque tubes.

FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-46 · FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-39

7. What balance checks follow control-surface repairs or aircraft repainting?

ACS: AM.II.C.K9

The handbook requires rebalancing when a control-surface repair adds weight fore or aft of the hinge centerline. After aircraft repainting, it requires checking the balance of the control surfaces. Balance matters because an out-of-balance control surface is unstable and does not stay streamlined in normal flight; in extreme cases, flutter and buffeting could cause complete loss of the aircraft. The specific balancing instructions come from the manufacturer’s service and overhaul manuals and must be followed closely.

FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-36

8. What three general stages does the handbook describe for rigging control-surface travel?

ACS: AM.II.C.K10

The handbook's general outline is to lock the flight-deck control, bellcranks, and surfaces in neutral; adjust cable tension while keeping the surfaces neutral; and adjust the stops to the travel dimensions for that aircraft. These are general steps, not the procedure for a particular aircraft; the handbook says to always follow the procedures and methods specified by the aircraft manufacturer. If rig pins are used and the system is correctly aligned and adjusted, they should withdraw easily; undue tightness indicates incorrect tensioning or misalignment.

FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-51 · FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-46 · FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-52

9. How do you interpret a tensiometer reading without confusing dial units with cable tension?

ACS: AM.II.C.R5

A tensiometer measures the force needed to make an offset in the cable between two hardened steel blocks called anvils. On the handbook’s tensiometer, the dial number is not the tension: you convert it to pounds with the conversion chart that comes with the instrument, using the riser number and the cable size. In the handbook’s example, a No. 2 riser on a 5/32-inch cable reads 30, and the chart gives 70 pounds. The chart also shows the instrument’s limits: that tensiometer is not designed for 7/32- or 1/4-inch cable, so the chart shows no values for them. Operate it following the manufacturer’s instructions and keep it calibrated; the handbook says a properly maintained tensiometer is 98 percent accurate.

FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-50

10. Why must cable size and temperature be considered when interpreting a cable rigging chart?

ACS: AM.II.C.R1

The aluminum aircraft structure and the steel control cables expand by considerably different amounts with temperature, and cables can slacken as temperature varies. That is why the handbook says the ambient temperature of the cable and the aircraft must be taken into account when adjusting cable tension, and why cable rigging charts are used to compensate. Cable size matters because each size has its own curve on the chart. Find the cable size and the ambient air temperature, follow the temperature line up to that cable’s curve, and read the rigging load in pounds at the right edge. In the handbook’s example, a 1/8-inch 7 × 19 cable at 85 °F gives 70 pounds; on a real aircraft, follow the procedures and methods specified by the aircraft manufacturer.

FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-50 · FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-44 · FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-42 · FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe, p. 2-46

How do I answer it out loud?

Use three rehearsal groups: cable construction and inspection; guides, stops, rods, and torque tubes; then balance, rigging stages, and tension interpretation. After each answer, compare the explanation with the cited page. Note separately whether you left out a part, dropped a word such as “usually” or “should,” or misread a value, so your next attempt fixes that gap.

How should I check my practice answer?

Draw a two-column review sheet. In one column write the question; in the other, write the distinction you need to preserve: strands versus wires, surface stops versus override stops, checking versus rebalancing, or dial reading versus tension. Answer aloud without the sheet, then check the source. Repeat the weakest question, keeping the handbook’s “usually” and “should” where it uses them.

Check the explanation in the handbook during study, then close it for the spoken rehearsal. The ACS states that reference material is not allowed for answering oral questions.

“the applicant is not allowed to use any reference material to answer the oral questions asked by the examiner.”

FAA-S-ACS-1, Appendix 1, p. A-1

Which guide should I read next?

• Aircraft Electrical Systems Oral Exam Questions
• Aircraft Fuel Systems Oral Exam Questions

Which sources support these answers?

References show the printed handbook pages. The links open the corresponding PDF pages.

• FAA-H-8083-31B, Airframe
• FAA-S-ACS-1, AM.II.C and Appendix 1

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