CTO Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the CTO exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 CTO Exam Format at a Glance
📚 CTO Topics to Study (69)
✍️ Sample CTO Questions & Answers
1. The 'upwind leg' of the traffic pattern is defined as:
The upwind leg is flown parallel to and in the same direction as landing, typically after a touch-and-go or missed approach before the aircraft turns crosswind.
2. An aircraft declares a full emergency ('Mayday'). Which transponder code should the pilot squawk if not already assigned one?
Transponder code 7700 is the universal emergency code; pilots not already assigned a discrete code should squawk 7700 when declaring a Mayday.
3. Military Operations Areas (MOAs) are depicted on sectional charts with what color boundary?
MOAs are depicted on aeronautical charts with magenta dashed boundary lines and are labeled with the MOA name.
4. Which type of error is MOST associated with high workload conditions in tower operations?
Slips—unintended actions on an otherwise correct plan—spike in frequency during high-workload periods when attention is divided.
5. Which atmospheric condition is most conducive to wake vortex persistence near the ground?
Wake vortices persist longest in light wind, stable conditions because there is little mixing or dissipation of the vortex energy.
6. What information does a segmented circle system displayed at an airport provide?
The segmented circle system provides visual traffic pattern indicators showing the recommended direction of turns for each runway in use.