FEAST Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield FEAST facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Five aircraft callsigns are read to you: KLM402, BAW7, EZY3441, RYR185, QFA9. After 20 seconds, you are asked which callsign was third in the list. → EZY3441
2. In ATC, what does 'NORDO' refer to? → An aircraft with no radio communication capability
3. In the vicinity of airports where they are located, airport traffic control towers (ATCT) offer both proactive and preventive control of VFR and IFR aircraft. → True
4. A groundspeed of 480 knots equals approximately how many nautical miles per minute? → 8 nm/min
5. How many miles apart are New York City and Cleveland if it takes N74985 (280 MPH) one hour and thirty minutes to fly between them? → 420
6. When a controller says 'resume own navigation,' the crew should: → Discontinue ATC radar vectors and navigate via their flight plan or clearance
7. A pilot reports fuel for 2 hours 15 minutes at a burn rate of 180 gallons per hour. How many gallons of fuel remain? → 405 gallons
8. Would an aircraft stay with the tower, go to departure, or proceed to approach if it missed the approach and had to go around? → Departure
9. A flight plan shows a total route distance of 1,260 nm. The aircraft averages 420 knots groundspeed. What is the estimated flight time in hours and minutes? → 3 hr 00 min
10. An aircraft is in a 30-degree banked turn. Compared to a level coordinated flight, the vertical component of lift in this turn is: → Reduced — in a banked turn, lift is tilted sideways, reducing its vertical component
11. To maintain proper processes or delegate airspace management, centers and towers employ letters of agreement (LOA). → True
12. A controller has 6 aircraft to sequence for landing, each requiring 3-minute spacing. The first aircraft lands at time 0. When does the last aircraft land? → 15 min
13. What is the FAA-defined purpose of a Terminal Radar Service Area (TRSA)? → To provide radar sequencing and separation for participating VFR and IFR traffic
14. Chunking in short-term memory refers to: → Grouping individual items into meaningful units to increase effective memory capacity
15. A departure sequence has aircraft launching every 90 seconds. How many aircraft depart in 12 minutes? → 9
16. What is the shortest distance that an airplane can be near another one when making an approach to the runway? → 4 miles
17. What distance from the center controller does an approach controller receive an aircraft? → 40 miles
18. A tower controller typically receives an airplane that is coming in from how many miles away? → 20 miles
19. Aircraft A is at FL350 descending at 1,500 ft/min. Aircraft B is at FL290 and level. How many minutes until the two aircraft are at the same altitude? → 4 min
20. What is the standard IFR separation minimum between aircraft at the same altitude in radar contact? → 3 nautical miles
21. A controller receives a TCAS RA notification from a pilot. The controller's correct response is: → Acknowledge the RA and do not issue any instruction that conflicts with the TCAS advisory
22. A controller who issues a 'short approach' instruction is asking the pilot to: → Reduce the length of the traffic pattern to land sooner
23. Which sentence uses the word 'vector' correctly in an ATC context? → The controller vectored the aircraft away from the developing storm.
24. An aircraft declares a MAYDAY emergency. What is the ATC's FIRST required action? → Acknowledge the emergency and ask the pilot's intentions
25. On a radar display, a primary radar return (skin paint) appears without an associated secondary radar return (transponder). This most likely indicates: → An aircraft with a non-functional or switched-off transponder
26. Which of the following tasks is a primary assessment of spatial orientation in the FEAST test? → Determining the relative position of an aircraft based on instrument readings.
27. An aircraft is flying heading 270 (westbound) at 450 kts. The wind is from the north (from 000) at 50 kts. The aircraft's actual track over the ground will be: → Slightly south of 270 — the northerly wind drifts the aircraft southward from its heading
28. Two parallel runways are 1.5 nm apart (laterally). Radar minimum separation for simultaneous approaches is 2 nm. Is simultaneous approach authorized and why? → No, 1.5 nm lateral spacing is less than the required 2 nm
29. Which weather phenomenon is most hazardous during takeoff and landing and is caused by a microburst? → Windshear
30. Can a ground controller give the go-ahead for takeoff on an aircraft? → No