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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/comm-complex-def

Which three features make an airplane 'complex' under the FAA definition?

Retractable gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller.

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  1. Retractable landing gear, flaps, and an engine over 200 horsepower
  2. Flaps, turbocharging, and a pressurized cabin
  3. Retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller ✔

Why: A complex airplane has retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller. A seaplane qualifies with flaps and a controllable pitch propeller. Engine power above 200 horsepower is a different category called high performance.

Huh, didn't know that: A digital engine and prop control system, such as FADEC, can stand in for a conventional prop control.

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What do you call it when a giraffe swallows a toy jet? A plane in the neck.
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Answer: Retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller. A complex airplane has retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller. A seaplane qualifies with flaps and a controllable pitch propeller. Engine power above 200 horsepower is a different category called high performance.

  1. 14 CFR 61.1 Applicability and definitions (Cornell LII eCFR mirror) www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/61.1
    Complex airplane means an airplane that has a retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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