FAA-S-ACS-1 · SECTION III · AMP
The FAA A&P Powerplant knowledge test
100 questions, 2 hours, 70% to pass, drawn from the 13 Powerplant subject areas of the Airman Certification Standards. Passing it, with General, earns the Powerplant rating on your certificate. Reciprocating and turbine engines end to end: induction, ignition, fuel metering, lubrication, exhaust and inspection. It also covers propellers, which live here and not on the airframe.
Checked against the current regulations on 19 August 2026.
What the A&P Powerplant test is
- 100QUESTIONSscored
- 2 hALLOTTEDincluding validation items
- 70%TO PASS14 CFR § 65.17(c)
- AMPTEST CODEhow you register
The FAA’s own title for it is Aviation Mechanic Powerplant, and AMP is the code you register under. Every question is multiple choice with 3 options and one correct answer, and each question stands on its own. At about 72 seconds a question, this is one of the two tests where people fail on pacing no matter what they know.
The rules around all three tests (the 24 month window, retests, what you may take into the room) are on the knowledge tests page.
13 subject areas, and where each is tested
These are the ACS’s own subject areas, taken from its subject pages. Each one breaks into three kinds of elements, and the kind decides where that element shows up:
- K for Knowledge: the written test and the oral
- R for Risk Management: the oral and the practical
- S for Skill: the practical only
| Item | Subject area | ACS code |
|---|---|---|
| A | Reciprocating Engines | AM.III.A |
| B | Turbine Engines | AM.III.B |
| C | Engine Inspection | AM.III.C |
| D | Engine Instrument Systems | AM.III.D |
| E | Engine Fire Protection Systems | AM.III.E |
| F | Engine Electrical Systems | AM.III.F |
| G | Engine Lubrication Systems | AM.III.G |
| H | Ignition and Starting Systems | AM.III.H |
| I | Engine Fuel and Fuel Metering Systems | AM.III.I |
| J | Reciprocating Engine Induction and Cooling Systems | AM.III.J |
| K | Turbine Engine Air Systems | AM.III.K |
| L | Engine Exhaust and Reverser Systems | AM.III.L |
| M | Propellers | AM.III.M |
Those codes are not decoration. Every question you miss on the A&P written test is reported against its code, and the examiner reads those codes before your oral to decide what to ask you.
Our A&P Powerplant practice questions
3,450 questions across 11 subject banks. Every one is multiple choice with three options and a written explanation, and every question written from the FAA handbooks shows the chapter and page it came from. There are also fill-in-the-gap items in every subject. Those test recall instead of recognition, the same way the oral does.
Our banks are filed under their own headings, not the ACS’s, because they were written to study from, not to test from. Every ACS subject area is covered. Some are covered across more than one of our banks.
- Reciprocating and Turbine Engines426
- Engine Fuel and Fuel Metering Systems340
- Induction and Engine Airflow Systems245
- Engine Ignition and Electrical Systems533
- Engine Starting Systems161
- Lubrication and Cooling Systems317
- Propellers312
- Engine Removal and Replacement202
- Engine Fire Protection Systems173
- Engine Instrument, Inspection and Maintenance508
- Light-Sport Aircraft Engines233
What follows the A&P written
Passing this test earns you the right to be asked about it out loud. Powerplant carries 11 practical projects at the oral and practical, each graded pass or fail, with 2 examiner questions attached. The oral runs from 4 questions if your written was clean, up to 34 if you barely passed, because every code you missed adds one.
That is why a 70% here is not the finish line it looks like. The full picture is on the oral and practical page.
Questions people actually ask
Q.01How many questions are on the A&P Powerplant test?
100, with 2 hours allowed and 70% to pass. The test code is AMP. Unscored validation questions are added on top of that count. They do not affect your score, but the time allowed includes answering them, so you may see more questions on screen than 100.
Q.02What subjects are on the A&P Powerplant test?
13 subject areas, from Section III of FAA-S-ACS-1: Reciprocating Engines; Turbine Engines; Engine Inspection; Engine Instrument Systems; Engine Fire Protection Systems; Engine Electrical Systems; Engine Lubrication Systems; Ignition and Starting Systems; Engine Fuel and Fuel Metering Systems; Reciprocating Engine Induction and Cooling Systems; Turbine Engine Air Systems; Engine Exhaust and Reverser Systems; Propellers. That standard is incorporated into 14 CFR §§ 65.75 and 65.79 by reference, so it carries the force of the regulation instead of sitting beside it as guidance.
Q.03Does the A&P Powerplant test have an oral and practical too?
Yes, one of each. The oral and practical is six tests, not two: an oral and a practical for every section. Powerplant carries 11 practical projects, each graded pass or fail, with 2 examiner questions attached. The oral runs from 4 questions if your written was clean, up to 34 if you barely passed.
Q.04Are propellers on the A&P Airframe or the Powerplant test?
They are on the Powerplant test. Propellers are Section III subject M of the ACS, and the powerplant rating, not the airframe rating, is the one that carries the return to service privilege for them under § 65.87. It is the fact people mix up most often about the two ratings.
Read the documents, not us
Every fact on this page was read from these on 19 August 2026. They are the authority and we are the summary. If we and one of them disagree, they are right.
FREE PLAN · NO CARD · ALL 44 SUBJECTS OPEN
Practice every A&P Powerplant subject area, free.
The free plan opens all 44 subjects, which cover every ACS subject area, with 25 new questions a day in each. Each question has 3 answer choices, like the FAA A&P tests, with a written explanation behind every answer and, for every answer written from the FAA handbooks, the chapter it came from. It is a plan, not a trial, and it needs no card.
Start freeOr answer a few first. The free FAA A&P practice test runs on the page, with no account.