# FAA Writtens — Study Plans from Official FAA Handbooks

Study plans for the FAA airman knowledge tests built from the free public-domain FAA handbooks: instrument (IRA), commercial (CAX), and the instructor writtens (FOI, FIA).

Canonical URL: https://exclam.ai/faa/

FAA airman knowledge tests

·

Updated August 2026

Start with official FAA handbooks, including the PHAK, Instrument Flying Handbook, and Aviation Instructor's Handbook. exclam.ai pairs selected readings with quizzes that trace back to the page. Follow the ACS references for the additional regulations, charts, and aircraft material your test requires.

## Pick your test

Question counts and times from the FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix; volumes and pass rates from the FAA CY2025 AKT Volume Report.

[FOI — Fundamentals of Instructing 50 questions · 1.5 hours · CY2025 pass rate 99.07% · 14,846 tests 3 free FAA source documents · ~25h weighted plan](https://exclam.ai/faa/foi/index.md)

[IRA — Instrument Rating — Airplane 60 questions · 2.0 hours · CY2025 pass rate 94.38% · 27,143 tests 5 free FAA source documents · ~66h weighted plan](https://exclam.ai/faa/ira/index.md)

[CAX — Commercial Pilot — Airplane 100 questions · 2.5 hours · CY2025 pass rate 99.17% · 20,530 tests 5 free FAA source documents · ~55h weighted plan](https://exclam.ai/faa/cax/index.md)

[FIA — Flight Instructor — Airplane 100 questions · 2.5 hours · CY2025 pass rate 95.35% · 14,736 tests 5 free FAA source documents · ~65h weighted plan](https://exclam.ai/faa/fia/index.md)

Preparing for the private written (PAR)? The same handbooks apply — upload the PHAK and Airplane Flying Handbook and exclam.ai builds the plan; a dedicated PAR page is coming.

## The corpus is free. The plan is the hard part.

### Public-domain sources

FAA handbooks and the ACS are free to download and study. Complete your source list with the regulations, charts, and aircraft references identified by the applicable ACS.

### Overlap-aware plans

Commercial and private ACS elements share substantial wording. Instrument and instructor learning topics require separate study. Text overlap helps compare topics; it does not measure exam weighting.

### Traceable practice

Generated quizzes cite the handbook page they come from. No mystery question banks — when you miss, you read the source.

## FAA written questions

Which FAA written should I take first?

Pilots climb PAR → IRA → CAX. Instructor candidates add FOI and FIA, usually together — the FOI is the short learning-theory test and the FIA re-tests commercial airplane knowledge from the teaching seat.

Are the FAA handbooks really enough to pass?

The handbooks provide a foundation. The ACS also references regulations, the AIM, advisory circulars, charts, and aircraft-specific POH/AFM material. Use the applicable references for your test; the handbook list alone does not establish complete coverage.

How much do the writtens overlap?

Our ACS text comparison found matches in PAR for about 86% of CAX elements and 38% of IRA elements. About 62% of IRA elements had no PAR match. FOI had little overlap with pilot elements. These are approximate text matches, not percentages of exam questions or study time.

What score do I need?

PAR, IRA, CAX, FOI, and FIA require 70%. The FAA testing matrix lists 24 calendar months of result validity for these tests. Other tests can differ; ATM has a 60-calendar-month period. Check the current matrix for your test.

## Other exclam.ai study systems

Preparing for more than one exam? exclam.ai works across every major professional credential. Your flashcard history, spaced repetition data, and study preferences carry across verticals in a single account.

[CFA Level 1/2/3 Topic weights + duration plans Open](https://exclam.ai/cfa/index.md)

[Actuarial (SOA) P, FM, FAM, SRM, PA, ALTAM, ASTAM Open](https://exclam.ai/actuarial/index.md)

[PMP 2026 ECO ready · domain breakdowns Open](https://exclam.ai/pmp/index.md)

[AWS · Azure · GCP 19 cloud certifications + SAA calculator Open](https://exclam.ai/cloud-certs/index.md)

[NCLEX-RN / PN NCSBN Test Plan + NGN format guide Open](https://exclam.ai/nclex/index.md)

[CPA Exam AICPA Blueprints · Core + Discipline Open](https://exclam.ai/cpa/index.md)

[EA (Enrolled Agent) Free IRS corpus · Parts 1, 2, 3 Open](https://exclam.ai/ea/index.md)

[AWS SAA SAA-C03 · official AWS docs, sequenced Open](https://exclam.ai/saa/index.md)

[Patent Bar MPEP corpus · chapter-map training Open](https://exclam.ai/patent-bar/index.md)