Test strategy

The Commercial Pilot Knowledge Test (CAX): What to Expect

✓ Reviewed against current FAA sources on October 22, 2026

The commercial written is longer than the private and the instrument tests, and its subject matter shifts toward the rules that govern flying for compensation.

The format

The FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix lists the CAX test as 100 questions with 2.5 hours allotted and a minimum passing score of 70 percent. That is 40 more questions than the private pilot test in only 30 additional minutes, so pace matters more than it did.

What the extra questions cover

Three areas expand noticeably at the commercial level:

• Operating rules for compensation or hire, including the limits on what a commercial pilot may and may not do without an air carrier certificate;
• Performance and weight and balance, worked in more depth and with less tolerance for approximation; and
• Aerodynamics and systems, including high performance and complex aircraft characteristics.

The regulation that defines the certificate

Section 61.133 (opens in a new tab) sets out commercial pilot privileges and limitations, and it is the section candidates most often paraphrase incorrectly. Read the text rather than a summary of it, because the distinction between carrying persons or property for compensation and holding out as a common carrier is examined.

Preparing for a longer sitting

One hundred questions in 150 minutes is 90 seconds per question. Most candidates who run short of time do so because they spent five minutes on a performance computation early on. Flag the long ones, finish the test, then return.

What the commercial certificate actually permits

Section 61.133 (opens in a new tab) is the section to read closely. A commercial pilot may act as pilot in command of an aircraft carrying persons or property for compensation or hire, and may be paid to fly. What the certificate does not do is authorize the holder to hold out to the public as a common carrier, which requires an operating certificate under Part 119 and operations under Part 121 or Part 135.

The test examines that boundary with scenarios rather than definitions. A pilot flying a company aircraft for the company's own purposes, a pilot conducting sightseeing within defined limits, and a pilot carrying a paying passenger on a route of the passenger's choosing are treated differently, and knowing which is which is the point.

Performance, worked rather than estimated

At the commercial level, performance questions expect a number rather than a judgment. Takeoff and landing distance charts, climb performance, cruise power settings and weight and balance computations all appear, often with an interpolation step. A candidate who has always rounded to the nearest convenient value will lose points that recall cannot recover.

Aerodynamics beyond the basics

Load factor and maneuvering speed, stability and controllability, high performance and complex aircraft systems, retractable landing gear, constant speed propellers and turbocharging all enter at this level. The underlying physics is the same as the private pilot course; the depth is not.

A note on pacing

One hundred questions in two and a half hours gives 90 seconds each. The arithmetic questions take longer than that and the recall questions take less, so the test rewards a deliberate two-pass approach: answer everything you know on the first pass, flag the computations, and spend the remaining time on them.

Sources: FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix; 14 CFR 61.133 (opens in a new tab); Commercial Pilot Airman Certification Standards.