Training & Study
From your first paramotor flight to an ATP certificate — free study material, sample test questions, and a logbook hours tracker, all in one place.
What do you want to fly?
No certificate or exam required in the US for foot-launched paramotors, powered parachutes, and single-seat ultralights. But airspace, weather, and aerodynamics still matter. Start here for the essentials every pilot should know.
Required to fly a drone commercially. One written exam, no flight test, no medical. Covers airspace, weather, and FAA regulations. Most people pass in a few weeks of focused study.
Fly light-sport aircraft (including some powered parachutes and gyroplanes) without a medical certificate. Minimum 20 hours, written exam, practical test.
The foundation certificate for general aviation. Fly yourself and passengers, day or night, VFR. Minimum 40 hours. The starting point for most GA pilots.
Fly in clouds and low visibility by reference to instruments. Added on top of your PPL. Minimum 50 hours cross-country PIC time plus 40 hours instrument time.
Get paid to fly. Minimum 250 hours total time. Higher precision standards than private. The commercial practical test is a benchmark many pilots aim for regardless of whether they plan a flying career.
All free study material
Almost everything a student pilot needs is published free by the FAA. Almost none of it is easy to find. This page collects it, and tracks your logbook hours against the actual CFR requirements.
Arcade missions: dogfights, ground attacks, carrier landings, guided training. Click inside to capture keyboard focus.
Progress toward a certificate
Free study material
All of it public domain, all of it current, none of it behind a paywall. The handbooks are the source of the knowledge-test questions; the ACS is the document your checkride is conducted against, task by task.
What to read, in order
- Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge — the core text. Read it once end to end early, then use it as reference.
- The ACS for your certificate — read this second, not last. It tells you exactly what you will be tested on and to what tolerance, which makes everything else easier to prioritise.
- Airplane Flying Handbook — the manoeuvres, and why each one is flown the way it is.
- Aviation Weather Handbook and Risk Management Handbook — the two areas where accidents actually come from.
- Instrument Flying Handbook once you start the rating.
- 14 CFR part 61 and part 91 — dull, short, and the source of more checkride questions than anything else.
Searchable full text of several of these is in the troubleshooting search, which cites document and page.