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EASA A2 Certificate of Competency practice test

A2 is the certificate that lets you fly closer to people than A3 allows, and the exam concentrates on three subjects: ground risk, meteorology and how the aircraft behaves. These ten questions are spread across all three.

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Ten questions

Pick an answer and the page tells you straight away whether it was right, then shows the reasoning and the rule. There is no sign-up and no score to keep, so you can start over as often as you like.

1. 1Before an A2 flight, why should a remote pilot specifically look for schools, hospitals or other locations likely to have many uninvolved people nearby, not just count the number of people visible at that moment?

   1. ABecause such locations are permanently closed to all UAS operations, whatever the subcategory being flown
   2. BBecause such locations can have people arriving, leaving or moving into the flight area at short notice, changing the risk picture quickly
   3. CBecause the presence of a school or a hospital raises the permitted height for that flight from 120 m to 150 m
   4. DBecause only industrial and commercial buildings count towards the ground risk, while schools and hospitals are treated as residential areas
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   B. Because such locations can have people arriving, leaving or moving into the flight area at short notice, changing the risk picture quickly

   Locations such as schools and hospitals can go from quiet to busy very quickly, for example at arrival or departure times, so a snapshot count at one moment can understate the real risk. A thorough area assessment considers how a location is used over time, not only the situation observed at the moment of planning.

   Regulation (EU) 2019/947, UAS.OPEN.030

2. 2As a simple ground risk mitigation rule of thumb taught for A2 operations, the '1 to 1 rule' suggests setting the horizontal ground risk buffer at approximately:

   1. AA fixed distance of 150 m, whatever height the aircraft is flown at
   2. BA distance roughly equal to the height the aircraft is flying above the ground
   3. CA distance in metres equal to twice the aircraft's take-off mass in kilograms
   4. DA fixed distance of 30 m, which is the separation an A2 flight keeps from uninvolved people
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   B. A distance roughly equal to the height the aircraft is flying above the ground

   The 1 to 1 rule is a simple planning convention used to teach ground risk mitigation, setting the buffer distance roughly equal to the height being flown. It is a quick, conservative starting point rather than a precise engineering calculation for any specific aircraft.

   Regulation (EU) 2019/947, UAS.OPEN.030

3. 3After an in-flight problem is safely resolved and the aircraft has landed, what practice helps prevent a similar problem in future flights?

   1. AImmediately repeating the same flight in the same way, to see whether it happens again
   2. BAssuming the problem was random, and that it has nothing to teach about any future flight
   3. CDisposing of the aircraft whatever the cause turns out to have been, and replacing it with a new airframe of the same type
   4. DReviewing what happened, including its likely cause, and adjusting procedures or equipment checks accordingly
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   D. Reviewing what happened, including its likely cause, and adjusting procedures or equipment checks accordingly

   Taking time to review what happened and why helps identify whether the cause was a equipment fault, an environmental factor or a procedural gap, and that understanding can then be used to adjust checks or procedures before the next flight. Treating each incident as a learning opportunity is part of operating responsibly over time.

   Regulation (EU) 2019/947, UAS.OPEN.050

4. 4In the lowest layers of the atmosphere, wind speed typically changes with height above the ground mainly because of:

   1. AFriction between the moving air and the ground surface
   2. BThe Coriolis effect turning the wind in the lowest layer
   3. CThe daily cycle of air temperature at the cloud base
   4. DThe pressure gradient between the coast and inland
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   A. Friction between the moving air and the ground surface

   Surface friction slows the air close to the ground, so wind speed generally increases with height through the lowest few hundred metres of the atmosphere. A small UAS climbing from the surface to 120 m can therefore meet noticeably stronger wind than the pilot feels at ground level.

   Regulation (EU) 2019/947, UAS.OPEN.030

5. 5All else being equal, how does increasing a multirotor UAS's total flying mass affect its hover endurance?

   1. AMore power is needed to generate the extra lift, which increases current draw and reduces flight time
   2. BEndurance improves, because the extra mass raises disc loading and lets the rotors work at a more efficient point
   3. CHover power is set by the motor and propeller combination, so total mass makes no difference to it
   4. DEndurance is fixed by the battery's rated capacity in mAh, so it is unchanged by what the aircraft carries
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   A. More power is needed to generate the extra lift, which increases current draw and reduces flight time

   Producing more lift to support a heavier aircraft requires more power, which increases the current drawn from the battery and shortens the available flight time. This is why keeping total flying mass as low as practical helps maximise endurance.

   Regulation (EU) 2019/947, UAS.OPEN.030

6. 6A UAS is to be flown along the length of a narrow valley. How can the surrounding terrain typically modify the general wind reported for the wider region?

   1. AThe valley walls have no effect on the regional wind, which flows over the terrain unchanged
   2. BThe valley shelters the airflow so completely that the wind along its floor is calm
   3. CThe valley turns the wind through 90 degrees, so it always crosses the ridge lines
   4. DThe valley can channel the wind along its length, increasing local speed compared with the open regional forecast
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   D. The valley can channel the wind along its length, increasing local speed compared with the open regional forecast

   Terrain such as a valley can funnel airflow along its axis, similar to the effect seen between buildings, so wind measured along the valley floor can be notably stronger than a generalised regional forecast suggests. Local observation is important whenever terrain features are capable of channelling the flow.

   Regulation (EU) 2019/947, UAS.OPEN.030

7. 7A remote pilot's flight logs show shorter flight times on hot summer afternoons than on cool mornings, using the same aircraft and battery. What is the most likely explanation consistent with basic meteorology?

   1. AThe battery's own chemistry behaves in a different way during the warmer summer months of the year
   2. BSummer air holds more oxygen, which lowers the efficiency of both the motors and the propellers
   3. CThe difference is a coincidence in the logbook, since neither the air temperature nor the air density has any bearing on endurance
   4. DLower air density in the heat requires more power to produce the same lift, increasing current draw and reducing endurance
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   D. Lower air density in the heat requires more power to produce the same lift, increasing current draw and reducing endurance

   Higher temperature reduces air density, so the propellers must work harder, and draw more current, to generate the same amount of lift. This higher average current draw shortens the time available before the battery reaches its low charge threshold.

   Regulation (EU) 2019/947, UAS.OPEN.030

8. 8Why do lithium-polymer battery manufacturers specify a minimum safe discharge voltage per cell that should not be exceeded in normal use?

   1. ADischarging a cell below this voltage can cause permanent damage to the battery and unpredictable performance or safety risks on future flights
   2. BThe figure applies to long term storage only, and has no bearing at all on how far a pack may be discharged during a flight
   3. CTaking a cell below the minimum voltage helps balance the pack and improves the charge cycle that follows it
   4. DThe limit exists to protect the charger, since the charging current is derived from the resting voltage of the cell
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   A. Discharging a cell below this voltage can cause permanent damage to the battery and unpredictable performance or safety risks on future flights

   Discharging a lithium-polymer cell below its specified minimum voltage can cause permanent internal damage, reducing capacity and making the cell's future behaviour, including its voltage under load, less predictable. Respecting the low voltage threshold and landing before it is reached protects both the battery and the safety of future flights.

   Regulation (EU) 2019/947, UAS.OPEN.030

9. 9Compared with a four propeller multirotor, what is a key propulsion related advantage of a six or eight propeller design?

   1. AIt doubles the flight time available from the same battery, since each motor carries a lighter share
   2. BIt removes the need for propeller balance checks, since the extra rotors average out any vibration
   3. CIt can provide some redundancy, potentially allowing continued, degraded flight if a single motor fails
   4. DIt makes the aircraft immune to wind, because opposing rotors cancel any gust that reaches them
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   C. It can provide some redundancy, potentially allowing continued, degraded flight if a single motor fails

   With six or eight motors, the loss of a single motor leaves the remaining motors able to keep the aircraft airborne in a degraded state, which is generally not possible on a standard four motor design. This redundancy is a key reason some professional operations choose a higher motor count.

   Regulation (EU) 2019/947, UAS.OPEN.030

10. 10Why is ground effect generally less predictable when hovering low over long grass or uneven ground compared with a smooth, hard surface?

    1. AGround effect exists over hard, paved surfaces only, since long grass and soft ground absorb the rotor downwash instead of reflecting it
    2. BRough ground raises the lift benefit by a fixed amount that the pilot is able to plan for in advance
    3. CAn irregular surface disturbs the downwash unevenly, making the resulting lift benefit less consistent than over a flat, hard surface
    4. DGround effect depends on rotor diameter alone, so the surface below makes no difference to how it forms
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    C. An irregular surface disturbs the downwash unevenly, making the resulting lift benefit less consistent than over a flat, hard surface

    Ground effect depends on the rotor downwash interacting cleanly with the surface below, and an irregular surface such as long grass or rough ground disturbs that airflow unevenly. This makes the lift benefit less consistent and harder to predict than over a smooth, hard surface.

    Regulation (EU) 2019/947, UAS.OPEN.030

Where the EASA A2 Certificate of Competency questions come from

The bank behind this page holds 150 questions on this track, written against the published syllabus and spread over the subject areas below. Every one of them names the paragraph it tests. The whole track was last checked against its source on 2026-08-06.

You take A2 at a body your national authority recognises, after the A1/A3 test and a period of self practice you declare yourself.

Questions people ask

Is this EASA A2 Certificate of Competency test free?

Yes, and there is nothing to sign up for. The ten questions, the explanations and the citations are all on this page.

Are these the real exam questions?

No. Nobody may publish the live question bank, and any site that claims to have it is either wrong or breaking the rules. Every question here is written against the published syllabus, and each one names the rule it tests so you can verify it.

How many questions does the real exam have?

30 questions, and you need 75% to pass.

What happens if I want more than ten questions?

The app carries 150 questions on this track, all of them free, with the same explanations and citations. One payment adds the full mock exams at the real length and clock.

The rest of the bank is in the app, and it is free

Every one of the 150 questions on this track is free in the app, with the same worked explanation and the same citation. One payment of 24.99 adds the full mock exams, at the real length and the real clock, on all seven tracks at once. It does not renew.

The other six tracks

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