How To Pass The Final Exams

As real world pilots, we have all been through the stages needed to become a competent and successful career pilot. We wanted to make this as easy as possible, and with our tips we can guarantee successful completion of all the FAA exams.

First and foremost make sure you set a time line to write the exam.  It is very important that you do not take long breaks when trying to study.  Within 2 days you will have remembered 70% of what you have learned. We strongly suggest you complete all the exams in each section. Continuously revise until the examination date.  This will make sure you have reviewed and not lost the information needed.

We suggest that you complete EVERY exam related to the licence or rating.

These exams are extremely similar to the FAA exams so you must go through all of them to make sure you know where you are in your studies and what areas you are lacking knowledge. We have references and also as a student you can use all the resources online to gain a clearer understanding.  Google and YouTube are amazing resources, don’t forget them!

Make a list as you are studying and put down the areas you need to review as you are going through the exams on this site. Do not go over areas you are knowledgeable in and do not get distracted: Concentrate on the task in hand. Make notes as you study! This will save trying to finding the information at a later date and if the rating lapses. You may need to revisit information so have everything handy! It also helps to make a cheat sheet but do not cheat!! Those sheets condense the knowledge to a manageable size.

Remember, we have every question they could ask, your responsibility is to try to understand the areas we have highlighted in our exams. There is no need to cram right before an exam, because it will confuse you just before you’re ready to write. Give yourself a free day before your exam, this will calm you down. Enjoy something fun. 

How to complete the actual FAA Knowledge Test

In order to write the Knowledge test you must book a time slot at a testing centre. This can be found on https://faa.psiexams.com. The website is the official testing website and you will have to make an account first and then you can navigate to find a testing centre near you. There is also a frequently asked questions section. The FAA uses multiple choice questions in their examinations. They use something called “distracters” which are similar in the actual answer. They use this technique to identify a person who does not have the required knowledge. Some questions may confuse you as they are very similar. Pick the one that is most appropriate or more correct.

You MUST read the questions slowly and carefully, and then read it again! Draw a diagram if needed to help visualize the problem. Understand what exactly is being asked and check for key words. And try to answer the question without looking at the answers. This will help with your first response to the question. Remember depending on what calculator or E6B you use the answers may differ slightly.

Do not forget reserves on certain questions, the FAA expects you to add this as a legal requirement! Pretend you are actually doing the flight. You would always add the reserves in case of an emergency. If you do not know it straight away, the exam lets you make a bookmark to try again later. I really suggest moving on as your mind may work this out later on its own or a question after jogs your memory.

You have differing time limits depending on the exam you are writing, so do not spend too much time on one question. You will get 2 hours for most examinations because there has been a recent change from June 2023. The time limit has been reduced by 30 minutes. There are now 5 pre-test questions before you start the exam, those will not be marked. They are just used for FAA analysis and statistics. 

You may ask the invigilator for help understanding something; they will not give you an answer but can clarify an issue. For example the map was faded and you couldn’t see particular airport in the question. The invigilator can point to where it is or fix the issue by replacing the map. At the end of the exam go through the bookmarked questions and complete every question. You don’t get anything if you do not answer. If you have time at the end, check every answer.  Do not second guess, generally your first answer is correct. Go with your gut instinct. Our exams will prepare you!!!

We suggest that when you have gone through all the references and have a good knowledge base, that you try to complete the exams in the allotted time frame. This will help you time manage in the real exam. You will enter the exam room, before you start the exam, get set up. The exam does not start until you select the start exam button. So use this time to get familiar with the maps, legend, table, charts etc. Make sure you can read everything as they use photocopies at FAA and they may be faded. Get another one! Write down anything you may need to remember on the paper provided, equations or anything you think you may forget.

I know this may be hard but try to relax, your mind works much more effectively when you are not under stress.  Once the exam is completed, you will be given your mark very quickly. You have now passed your knowledge test and you are one step closer to achieving your aviation dream!