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14 GUIDES · FAA KNOWLEDGE TESTS

Aviator IQ Study Guides & Knowledge Base

Long-form prep for every FAA airman knowledge test, from the private pilot written to the A&P powerplant exam. Each guide works the real formulas, charts, and regulations, then points you straight at the matching practice bank.

A private pilot at the controls of a single-engine airplaneFeatured guide
Private Pilot

How to Pass the Private Pilot Written Exam Under the New Digital PSI Format

The PAR is now delivered on a PSI computer with an on-screen figure supplement instead of the printed booklet. Here is how to read charts on a low-resolution window and keep your E6B math clean.

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14 guides

An FAA airman certificate and its Century of Flight mailer on a desk with a compass and penFAACertificates Explained

FAA Pilot Certificates and Ratings: Every Type, Explained

Certificate or rating? Sport or Private? Here is every FAA airman certificate in one place: what each lets you do, the age, medical, and flight time it takes, and where each written test fits.

9 min read · Sep 22, 2026
An FAA aeronautical chart showing airspace, frequencies, and terrainFIGTest Figures

How to Read FAA Test Figures: Weight and Balance and Performance Charts

Figure questions are mechanical, not conceptual. Learn the exact method to read FAA weight-and-balance graphs and performance charts, and to interpolate, with worked examples.

9 min read · Sep 23, 2026
A flight instructor and student pilot talking beside a Cessna on the rampPREPChoosing a Program

How to Choose an FAA Written-Test Prep Program

Memorize to pass, or study to understand? A fair comparison of the main FAA knowledge-test prep options, what each does best, and how to pick the one that fits you.

8 min read · Sep 23, 2026
A flight instructor and student pilot reviewing notes on a tablet in the cockpitCFIFlight Training

Should You Switch Flight Instructors? A Decision Guide

Frustrated with your flight instructor? How to tell whether it is time to switch, what to try first, and how to change CFIs gracefully without resetting your training.

6 min read · Sep 23, 2026
An instrument flight deck with the primary flight instruments in viewIRAInstrument Rating

Passing the Instrument Rating Written Exam: Bridging Test Prep to the Oral Checkride

Memorizing answers clears the IRA but stalls at the DPE oral. Build the logic behind holding entries, clearance shorthand, and enroute chart symbols so the same study serves both.

12 min read · Sep 14, 2026
A commercial pilot preparing an airplane for departureCAXCommercial & ATP

Commercial Pilot Written Exam: Tackling Weight-Shift & Complex Graph Calculations

Commercial applicants lose points on math, not theory: weight-shift, CG travel, and performance graphs at max gross. Here are the exact formulas with worked examples.

12 min read · Sep 14, 2026
A commercial drone in flight against a clear skyUAGDrone / Part 107

Part 107 Exam Guide: Reading Sectional Charts & METARs Without Prior Aviation Experience

Written for people with no cockpit time. Translate airspace floors and ceilings, MSL versus AGL, and raw METAR strings into plain rules that answer the Part 107 questions.

13 min read · Sep 14, 2026
A light-sport aircraft flying in day visual conditionsSPLSport Pilot

The Sport Pilot Knowledge Test: What to Study and What You Can Skip

The SPG bank overlaps the private pilot test but trims the deep performance math. Here is the boundary between the two, plus the LSA limits examiners test most.

9 min read · Sep 14, 2026
A flight instructor briefing a student before a lessonFOIFundamentals of Instructing

Demystifying the FAA FOI Exam: Educational Psychology for Flight Instructors

The FOI is abstract, not hard. Anchor each term (defense mechanisms, laws of learning, domains of learning) to a real cockpit scene and the multiple-choice logic falls into place.

10 min read · Sep 14, 2026
A certificated flight instructor in the right seat of a training airplaneFIAFlight Instructor

Surviving the CFI & CFII Written Exams: How to Beat FAA Trick Questions

At instructor level the distractors get plausible. Deep-dive the turning tendencies, spin mechanics, and instrument scan errors where two answers look right and only one is.

12 min read · Sep 14, 2026
A ground instructor teaching an aviation ground school classAGIGround Instructor

Build Aviation Credentials Fast: The AGI and IGI Ground Instructor Certificates

AGI and IGI are the only FAA instructor certificates with no practical test. Pass the writtens, apply through IACRA, and you can teach ground school and endorse knowledge tests legally.

9 min read · Sep 14, 2026
An aviation maintenance technician working on an aircraft airframeAMAA&P Mechanic

Ace Your FAA A&P General and Airframe Written Exams: Shop Logic vs Rote Prep

The General and Airframe banks are enormous. Build the electrical math, rivet geometry, and hydraulic formulas once, and the same knowledge carries into the Oral & Practical.

12 min read · Sep 14, 2026
An aircraft mechanic inspecting an aircraft engineAMPA&P Mechanic

Conquering the A&P Powerplant Written Exam: Turbine Theory, Ignition & Fuel Systems

Powerplant rewards system logic over memorized answers. Separate the Otto and Brayton cycles, magneto timing, and governor mechanics so troubleshooting questions read cleanly.

12 min read · Sep 14, 2026