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FAQ > GroundSchool FAA Knowledge Test Prep
Which FAA Tests Can I study For? How Many questions are there?

Our GroundSchool series of FAA knowledge test preps are divided into individual app titles. Each app title includes a number of related, individual tests. For example, our GroundSchool FAA Private Pilot test apps contain study material for the Private Pilot Airplane, Private Pilot Helicopter, Private Pilot Glider, and other tests. Some questions in a given title are common to most or all of the tests in that title while some are unique to specific tests. When you start any of our titles, you are given the option to select exactly which test you want to study and then you are presented with only those questions which our editors have deemed correspond to that test - nothing more and nothing less.

Most people only ever take one test in a given group. For example, you might take the private pilot helicopter test and never need the private pilot glider test - or vice versa. Exceptions to this include the instructor test banks where a typical candidate will take both the initial instructor test plus the fundamentals of instruction tests. It doesn't make sense for us to create an individual product for each test. Rather, we group them as we do for mutual convenience. That said, once you have one of our products, you can switch to whichever test you want within a title as often if you'd like.

Our FAA knowledge test prep apps also feature an (optional purchase) audio mode where questions and answers are read by a human narrator.The audio mode does not cover all of the questions for a given test - specifically, questions with a large calculative or visual element are not included. Additionally, the audio modes generally do not include explanations for the material and as such won't prepare you well to actually learning the material deeply so that you'll be prepared for new and variant FAA questions. With those caveats out of the way, the audio prep is an extremely effective complementary mode to help familiarize you with questions and answers which you can listen to, for example, in your car. We regularly get feedback from people who love the audio mode and tell us how much time it saved them and how much it helped them learn.

It's in your best interest to be very skeptical of test prep products which try to lure you in with various claims of "how many questions" you need to study to pass your actual FAA tests and who claim some too-cool-for-school test-hack methods such as memorizing keywords in correct answers. The FAA is well aware of such nonsense and is taking active measures to make such educationally useless test cram strategies failing ones. Your goal is not just to pass the test, but to emerge a smart, safe, and capable pilot/mechanic/instructor. Our preps feature a realistic set of questions plus the best-in-the-business explanations and supplementary materials to really help you learn and be ready for whatever unpublished questions the FAA is increasingly including in actual tests. Additionally, Designated Pilot Examiners and Designated Mechanic Examiners are under increased emphasis to make sure that pilots actually know the knowledge material. There are no "cheat" shortcuts to learning the stuff, but our apps are designed for a smooth experience to make the legitimate learning process as fast and efficient as possible. Our results speak for themselves - year after year for decades, the overwhelming majority of our users pass with high scores and leading aviation educational institutions rely on us for test prep.

The list below contains the number of questions per title, per test, and in the audio mode for each. These totals are regularly changing as our editors update the material.

Total Questions: 13151 (10369 in audio version)

Recreational and Private Pilot (PVT) : 1538 (1159 in audio version)
  • Private Pilot Airplane : 1149 (849 in audio version)
  • Private Pilot Rotorcraft Helicopter : 1018 (774 in audio version)
  • Private Pilot Glider : 869 (653 in audio version)
  • Private Pilot Balloon - Hot Air : 693 (538 in audio version)
  • Private Pilot Balloon - Gas : 675 (522 in audio version)
  • Private Pilot Lighter-Than-Air (Airship) : 736 (564 in audio version)
  • Private Pilot Rotorcraft Gyroplane : 1029 (769 in audio version)
  • Private Pilot Airplane/Recreational Pilot - Transition : 1101 (811 in audio version)
  • Private Pilot Helicopter/Rec. Pilot - Transition : 1001 (760 in audio version)
  • Private Pilot Gyroplane/Recreational Pilot - Transition : 1014 (756 in audio version)
  • Recreational Pilot Airplane : 1150 (855 in audio version)
  • Recreational Pilot Helicopter : 1035 (794 in audio version)
  • Recreational Pilot Gyroplane : 1052 (793 in audio version)
  • Private Pilot Powered Parachute : 805 (629 in audio version)
  • Private Pilot Weight Shift Control : 854 (666 in audio version)
  • Private Pilot Canadian Conversion (Airplane) : 569 (449 in audio version)
  • Private Pilot Canadian Conversion (Helicopter) : 575 (462 in audio version)
  • Private Pilot EU Part - FCL Conversion (Airplane) : 569 (449 in audio version)
Instrument Rating (IFR) : 1392 (953 in audio version)
  • Instrument Rating Airplane : 1305 (889 in audio version)
  • Instrument Rating Helicopter : 1231 (831 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Instrument (CFII) Airplane : 1327 (910 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Instrument (CFII) Airplane (added rating) : 1314 (903 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Instrument (CFII) Helicopter : 1263 (859 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Instrument (CFII) Helicopter (added rating) : 1228 (840 in audio version)
  • Ground Instructor Instrument : 1330 (903 in audio version)
  • Instrument Rating Foreign Pilot : 1241 (835 in audio version)
  • Instrument Rating Canadian Conversion (Airplane) : 800 (507 in audio version)
  • Instrument Rating Canadian Conversion (Helicopter) : 807 (502 in audio version)
  • Instrument Rating EU Part - FCL Conversion (Airplane) : 800 (507 in audio version)
Commercial Pilot (COM) : 2023 (1753 in audio version)
  • Commercial Pilot Airplane : 1045 (838 in audio version)
  • Commercial Pilot Rotorcraft Helicopter : 860 (744 in audio version)
  • Commercial Pilot Glider : 723 (629 in audio version)
  • Commercial Pilot Rotorcraft Gyroplane : 771 (656 in audio version)
  • Commercial Pilot Balloon - Hot Air : 1090 (1018 in audio version)
  • Commercial Pilot Balloon - Gas : 1080 (1006 in audio version)
  • Commercial Pilot Lighter-Than-Air (Airship) : 1135 (1043 in audio version)
  • Military Competence Non-Category : 433 (373 in audio version)
  • Military Competence Airplane : 555 (475 in audio version)
  • Military Competence Helicopter : 484 (418 in audio version)
  • Commercial Pilot Canadian Conversion (Airplane) : 504 (413 in audio version)
  • Commercial Pilot Canadian Conversion (Helicopter) : 505 (423 in audio version)
Flight and Ground Instructor (CFI) : 2530 (2191 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Airplane : 1401 (1102 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Airplane (added rating) : 1379 (1093 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Rotorcraft Helicopter : 1136 (920 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Helicopter (added rating) : 1004 (819 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Glider (added rating) : 986 (783 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Glider : 1016 (789 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Rotorcraft Gyroplane : 1081 (838 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Gyroplane (added rating) : 957 (747 in audio version)
  • Ground Instructor Basic : 1386 (1087 in audio version)
  • Ground Instructor Advanced : 1423 (1123 in audio version)
  • Fundamentals of Instruction : 526 (512 in audio version)
  • Military Competence - Instructor : 1227 (1178 in audio version)
Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) : 2856 (2013 in audio version)
  • Airline Transport Pilot Multiengine Airplane : 1655 (1245 in audio version)
  • Airline Transport Pilot Single Engine Airplane : 1553 (1152 in audio version)
  • Airline Transport Pilot Helicopter : 1181 (879 in audio version)
  • Airline Transport Pilot Helicopter (Added Rating) : 1172 (871 in audio version)
  • Aircraft Dispatcher : 1788 (1207 in audio version)
  • Airline Transport Pilot Airplane (121 and ATM) : 1926 (1243 in audio version)
  • Airline Transport Pilot Airplane (135) : 1875 (1194 in audio version)
  • Airline Transport Pilot Airplane (135) (Added Rating) : 1806 (1178 in audio version)
  • Airline Transport Pilot Canadian Conversion Airplane : 726 (627 in audio version)
  • Airline Transport Pilot Canadian Conversion Multiengine Airplane : 787 (667 in audio version)
  • Airline Transport Pilot Canadian Conversion Single-engine Airplane : 1048 (809 in audio version)
  • Airline Transport Pilot Canadian Conversion Helicoper : 689 (569 in audio version)
  • Control Tower Operator : 529 (529 in audio version)
Flight Engineer (FLE) : 890 (649 in audio version)
  • Flight Engineer Turbojet/Basic : 753 (560 in audio version)
  • Flight Engineer Turboprop/Basic : 724 (538 in audio version)
  • Flight Engineer Reciprocating Engine/Basic : 645 (507 in audio version)
  • Flight Engineer Turbojet (added rating) : 754 (560 in audio version)
  • Flight Engineer Turboprop (added rating) : 721 (535 in audio version)
  • Flight Engineer Reciprocating Engine (added rating) : 638 (502 in audio version)
Aviation Mechanic - General (AMG) : 752 (578 in audio version)
  • Aviation Mechanic General : 752 (578 in audio version)
  • Designated Mechanic Examiner : 686 (519 in audio version)
Aviation Mechanic - Airframe (AMA) : 1177 (1110 in audio version)
Aviation Mechanic - Powerplant (AMP) : 1069 (1048 in audio version)
Parachute Rigger (PAR) : 324 (309 in audio version)
  • Parachute Rigger Senior : 316 (301 in audio version)
  • Parachute Rigger Master : 298 (283 in audio version)
  • Parachute Rigger Military Competence : 321 (306 in audio version)
  • Designated Parachute Rigger Examiner : 321 (306 in audio version)
Sport Pilot - General (SPG) : 1258 (960 in audio version)
  • Sport Pilot General : 669 (522 in audio version)
  • Sport Pilot Airplane : 975 (741 in audio version)
  • Sport Pilot Glider : 803 (622 in audio version)
  • Sport Pilot Gyroplane : 894 (686 in audio version)
  • Sport Pilot Powered Parachute : 679 (541 in audio version)
  • Sport Pilot Weight-Shift-Control : 733 (581 in audio version)
  • Sport Pilot Lighter-Than-Air (Balloon) : 686 (544 in audio version)
  • Sport Pilot Lighter-Than-Air (Airship) : 699 (557 in audio version)
Sport Pilot - Instructor and Examiner (SPI) : 1792 (1618 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Sport Airplane : 971 (828 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Sport Balloon : 632 (560 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Sport Glider : 833 (722 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Sport Lighter-than-Air : 672 (593 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Sport Powered Parachute : 654 (582 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Sport Weight-Shift-Control : 732 (640 in audio version)
  • Flight Instructor Sport Gyroplane : 863 (755 in audio version)
  • Pilot Examiner Sport Airplane : 966 (825 in audio version)
  • Pilot Examiner Sport Balloon : 665 (593 in audio version)
  • Pilot Examiner Sport Glider : 834 (723 in audio version)
  • Pilot Examiner Sport Lighter-than-Air : 706 (627 in audio version)
  • Pilot Examiner Sport Powered Parachute : 665 (593 in audio version)
  • Pilot Examiner Sport Weight-Shift-Control : 729 (637 in audio version)
  • Pilot Examiner Sport Gyroplane : 862 (754 in audio version)
  • Fundamentals of Instruction : 526 (512 in audio version)
Remote / Drone Pilot (RDP) : 779 (671 in audio version)
  • Small UAS Remote Pilot in Command (Initial) : 779 (671 in audio version)
  • Small UAS Remote Pilot in Command (Recurrent) : 630 (546 in audio version)

If the totals above don't match what you see in the app:

  • Very important: Use the update feature from the main menu of the app to update your installed content to the latest available. Please check for updates regularly when studying. This is important!
  • Make sure you have no 'filtering' conditions set. For example:
    • Make sure all chapters / study areas are selected
    • Make sure all 'question stacks' are selected
    • Make sure you don't have any search term typed in the search box
    • etc.

Our test preps can help you pass nearly every FAA knowledge test. However, we cannot help you with career/legal type questions as to "which test should I study for?"
  • Speaking generally, most people start their aviation experience with the Private Pilot test for the aircraft type of their choice - for example, Private Pilot Airplane. If your goal is to be a pilot, that is usually a good place to start and you can start studying right now, even before you've ever been to an airport or flight school if you have the motivation and vision to do so.
  • If you're a Canadian Pilot seeking to transition to an FAA certificate or rating, please read the related issue below
  • If you're not sure what test to take given your mix of experience and prior certificates and ratings, then your best course of action is to consult with your local instructor or, for an even better "bankable" answer, contact your local FAA FSDO. They can be reached via the phone and it is their job to give you official answers that you can trust and fall back on. This is by far the best course of action compared to asking any private entity for such advice.
It is vitally important that as soon as you get our test prep app, the very first thing you do is to start it up and click on "check for updates" (or similar) from the main menu. This will update the learning content to the latest and greatest. It's really critical that you do this, especially for mobile app versions. Our editorial team is hard at work updating the content regularly through 2023, 2024 and beyond, so check for updates regularly as you study.
Related Issues
Converting Transport Canada Pilot Licenses to USA/FAA or vice versa
Military Competence (Military to Civilian) Test Prep
Instructor Add-On / Added Rating Tests
Instrument Flight Instructor (CFII) and Ground Instructor (IGI)?
FAA Flight Engineer Test
Sport Pilot, Sport Pilot Instructor (Sport-CFI), Sport Pilot Examiner
Which ATP Test?
Switching between tests or test groups