The written exam
The knowledge test is the least costly part of your certificate. You can start tonight at your kitchen table. This page gives the method we give our own students. You learn the subjects in our free ground school. You learn the questions in one low-cost app. The study rhythm makes the correct answer the answer you remember.
This guide is for the private pilot written test. Do you study for a different rating? See the note below.
Knowledge that you learn on the ground costs almost nothing. The same knowledge in the airplane costs $360 for each hour. Pass the written before you fly, and your flight lessons go to the flight, not to a lecture. The result is fewer total hours. Fewer hours is the largest saving that you control. This is rung two of the seven ways to pay for training without debt.
There is a second reason. The written shows you if you really want this. The ground work is the low-cost part. Complete the low-cost part first, before you spend real money on the costly part.
One time rule before you start. A passed knowledge test is valid for 24 calendar months. Your checkride must occur in that window. Take the test when your training plan is real, not three years too early. If you are not sure, talk to us about when to take it.
Know what you are up against
The FAA Private Pilot Airplane knowledge test is a multiple choice test. You do it on a computer at a testing center. You do not need a school, a medical certificate, or flight hours before you take it. You do need a sign-off. We tell you about the sign-off below.
| Format | 60 multiple choice questions, on a computer at a testing center |
| Score to pass | 70%. A higher score is better (see the note below) |
| Minimum age | 15 for the airplane test |
| Sign-off | An endorsement from an instructor, or a certificate from an approved ground school or home-study course |
| Result valid for | 24 calendar months. Your checkride must occur in this window |
| Cost | Approximately $175. The test vendor sets the fee. Make sure of the fee when you schedule the test |
Why a score above 70 is important. Your test report shows a code for each question that you missed. Your checkride examiner gets this report. The examiner will ask questions about these weak areas in your oral exam. A low score makes a longer and harder checkride. Study for a high score.
The method
You use two tools, and each tool has one job. Our ground school is free and open. Its job is to help you understand: why the airplane flies, why the rule exists, why the weather changes. The app below holds the question bank. Its job is to make sure that you know the correct answer on test day.
The app method uses the law of primacy: what you learn first stays the strongest. A wrong first impression is very hard to remove. So you see each question first as a flashcard, with only the question and the correct answer. The wrong choices never get into your memory first. Later, the same question comes with three wrong choices, and you know the correct answer immediately.
The FAA knows that some students only memorize. We know it also. The FAA changes and rewords the questions. Students who only memorized the letters fail these new questions. So do not skip the flashcards, but read the explanation when an answer is not clear to you. And do the ground school. You study to become a pilot who can think. The test only shows it first.
The tool we recommend
For the private written test we recommend one app: FAA Private Pilot Prep (GroundSchool) by Dauntless Aviation. You pay $69.99 one time on the App Store, for iPhone and iPad. Dauntless also makes versions for other systems. See their site.
Here is why we recommend it:
We are not connected with Dauntless Aviation. We receive nothing when you buy the app. For this step, you only pay for the app and for the test.
Do you study for a different written test? For instrument, commercial, CFI, and all other ratings after private, we recommend Sheppard Air. Note: Sheppard does not sell a private pilot course. They tell private students to keep their money at this stage. We agree.
The walkthrough
Download FAA Private Pilot Prep by Dauntless Aviation from the App Store. You pay $69.99 one time. There is no subscription.
When you open the app the first time, tap Check for Updated Content on the main menu. Then tap Check for updates now. The app gets the current questions, figures, and explanations from the Dauntless servers. Run the update again every one or two weeks. Run it again in the days before your real test.
Updates are free. You can run them as many times as you want.
On the main menu, select Prepare for Written Test. Then select Private Pilot Airplane (PAR). The app also has helicopter, glider, and balloon tests. Airplane is the test for our program.
Prepare for Written Test is at the top of the main menu.
The PAR question bank has 21 topics. Select only one topic to start, for example Federal Aviation Regulations (69 questions). Complete this topic fully before you go to another topic. One topic at a time gives knowledge that stays.
One topic selected, twenty topics to go.
Start the topic in the study mode Introduction to Material (Flashcards). Each card shows the question and only the correct answer. You do not answer anything yet. This is the law of primacy: the first thing you see is the correct answer.
Go through every card. If an answer is not clear to you, tap Read Explanation. Read the explanation before you continue. This habit changes memorization into knowledge.
The correct answer only. The explanation is one tap away.
Exit the flashcards. Start Learning and Practice on the same topic. Now the choices show without marks, and you give the answers. The mode shows the questions you missed again, until you know them. If you are not sure, read the explanation. Then continue.
The same questions, no marks. Now you make the answer.
Do the next study modes in sequence. Study I - Continuous Practice is harder and gives feedback after each question. Study II - Graded at End mixes the choices and gives feedback only at the end, like the real test. You can also do the pre-Test Check as one more gate. If you still miss questions in a mode, do not continue to the next mode.
The whole ladder on one screen, from flashcards to Simulated Test.
When you know almost all the questions in the topic, do a Simulated Test on it. If you pass, go back to step 4 and select your next topic. If you do not pass, the app shows the questions you missed. Study those questions and their explanations again. Then do the test again.
When you complete all the topics, select all 21 topics. Do full Simulated Tests that mix everything, like the real test. You are ready when you pass again and again with a good margin, not with 70.
You need an endorsement before you can take the test. If you train with us, or plan to, come see us. We will examine your practice scores, close the gaps, and give the endorsement. Students far from Salinas can also use a certificate from a home-study course.
Then schedule the test at a testing center. Bring a photo ID. Remember: your passed test is valid for 24 calendar months. Your checkride must occur in that window.
The rhythm that wins. Fifteen minutes of study almost every day is better than three hours one time each week. The app is in your pocket. A lunch break is a study session. Study a small quantity, study frequently, and study in sequence.
Learn the questions in the app. Learn the reasons in our free ground school. Then come fly with us at Salinas.
