The private pilot knowledge test (PAR): format, weighting and how to prepare

Format and scoring

The test has 60 scored questions plus 5 unscored validation questions the FAA uses to trial new items; they are not identified. You have 120 minutes, and the passing score is 70 percent. Every question has three answer choices.

Many questions refer to a figure in the Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement, FAA-CT-8080-2H: sectional chart excerpts, performance charts, weather products, instruments and airport diagrams. The testing center provides it, so practising with those exact figures matters.

What it covers, and how much

Questions are allocated by the Areas of Operation of the Private Pilot Airplane Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-6C). Preflight Preparation, covering regulations, airworthiness, weather, airspace, performance, charts, systems and human factors, is the largest share.

• Preflight Preparation: 22%
• Takeoffs, Landings and Go-Arounds: 20%
• Preflight Procedures: 13%
• Navigation: 8%; Slow Flight and Stalls: 8%
• Airport Operations, Basic Instrument Maneuvers, Emergency Operations: 7% each
• Performance and Ground Reference Maneuvers, Night Operations: 3% each; Postflight Procedures: 2%

Before test day

You may take the test from age 15. You need authorization, usually an endorsement from an authorized instructor certifying that you completed a ground training or home-study course and are prepared, under 14 CFR 61.35 and 61.103. Bring identification with your photograph, signature, date of birth and residential address.

Your Airman Knowledge Test Report lists your score and the ACS codes of the areas where you missed questions. Keep it: you present it at the practical test, which must be completed within the 24 calendar months following the month you passed, and your instructor reviews the missed areas with you first.