If you have already taken a knowledge test you know that the building anticipation and pressure to score 70% or higher is stressful. My biggest fear, besides failing it, was just barely scraping by with a 70%. I had heard horror stories of DPE’s (Designated Pilot Examiners) raking applicants over the coals because of low scores. Or making the check ride harder because it looks like you don’t know your stuff. Take a deep breath and relax, because it’s not that big of a deal. I know from experience that putting off taking the knowledge test can slow down your progress and cause unnecessary stress later.
First, what is the knowledge, or “written” test? Well, we can stop calling it the “written” because it is now administered via computers. I am not old enough to remember anyone taking the test with paper and pencil so it is definitely not a written anymore. The knowledge test is a selection of questions from a large bank of questions, given to test your knowledge of subjects pertaining to the airmen certification you are pursuing.
The knowledge test is administered by authorized testing facilities around the country. Likely one of your local flight schools are able to administer the test. You can find testing centers
here. All you have to do is call your local testing center to schedule a test. Although I should mention that you need an endorsement from your flight instructor to take the test. Find a flight school near you
here.
Test Prep
Preparation is key to success in these tests. You have to spend the time reading and studying the material to do well. We have all heard stories of people that didn’t study, just walked in and winged it, and scored 98%. I don’t buy it. Nobody is born with this knowledge in their head! It all has to be learned one way or another.
So, what study materials should you use? There are several companies that sell test prep books, software, and even seminars you can attend. They are all high quality products, I have used almost every product from every company out there, and it is all good. But before you spend any money I want to make sure you know about the free study guide the FAA put together. This is the PDF put together by the FAA for the
Private Pilot-Airplane (PAR)
There are other free resources out there so search them out before you buy the expensive bundle that comes with a flight bag and ball cap, you may not need all that stuff.
My personal favorite for test prep is from a company called
Dauntless Aviation. They are my go to because I can use their smartphone app to study when I’m away from my books. My favorite feature is the “question stack”, which helps separate the ones you know from the ones you need to study. Their question database is updated frequently and all updates are free after a one time purchase.
Dauntless also has a list of
“Aviation Freebies” you should check out at the bottom of their products page.
Another great source of quality study materials is
Rod Machado. He has been teaching pilots since 1973, and has over 10,000 hours of instructing students. He was even asked by Microsoft to design the lessons and be CFI voice for
MS Flight Simulator. Needless to say, not many people have more experience that Rod in teaching people how to fly. He has written many
books on the subject and also gives away some good
free resources.
Check out our Resources page for more.
Study
Once you have found the study materials that suit you, put in the time to really study the information. I recommend setting aside a portion of your day, everyday, until you are ready to take the test. Even if you can only carve out ten minutes in a day, make sure you do it.
If you struggle to find the time during the day, you will have to be organized to keep from studying the same page every day. Here are some ideas to keep you organized:
- Put together a binder with tabs in it. You can organize your study into subjects to keep you on track.
- Use sticky notes on the pages of your books to keep your place. Leave yourself a note for tomorrow about what you read today.
- Use a smart phone app that feeds you questions, then gives explanations if you get one wrong. Dauntless is my favorite.
- Find an audio book that you can listen to in the car.
- There are courses meant for your tablet, laptop, or desktop if that is more your speed.
Studying for the knowledge test is an important step for aspiring pilots. This is how the FAA weeds out those that want to watch videos of airplanes from the those that want to be in the cockpit. Get to work!