The FAA private pilot airplane knowledge test — adaptive practice built from the FAA’s own public-domain handbooks, from the four forces to the FARs.
The FAA Private Pilot Airplane (PAR) knowledge test is 60 multiple-choice questions in 2.5 hours, passing at 70% — and unlike most licensing exams, its entire source material is public domain: the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, the Airplane Flying Handbook, the Aviation Weather handbook, the AIM, and 14 CFR Parts 61 and 91. The test spans aerodynamics, aircraft systems and instruments, airspace and sectional charts, airport operations, weather theory and the coded products (METARs and TAFs), performance and weight-and-balance, regulations, and aeromedical factors.
Keentune’s two aviation skills split it the way study should: aeronautical knowledge (how the airplane and the airspace work) and weather-plus-regulations (what the sky is doing and what the rules require) — with the meteorology skill underneath for the weather science. Adaptive drills push each area to test depth, and every explanation teaches the WHY (why load factor rises in a turn, why the altimeter lies when pressure falls) plus the rule of thumb pilots actually carry. Original questions from public FAA materials — never actual test-bank items. And the standing caveat every honest prep gives: this supplements ground school; your CFI and the current official publications govern.
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What’s on the Private Pilot (PAR) exam
Questions
60 multiple choice
Time
2 hours 30 minutes
Passing score
70%
Validity
24 calendar months (toward the practical test)
Source material
FAA handbooks & 14 CFR — all public domain
Aerodynamics, systems & instruments
How the airplane flies and what the gauges really measure.
Airspace, charts & airport operations
The map, the classes, and the procedures.
Weather theory & services
The sky’s behavior and the coded reports.
Regulations, performance & aeromedical
The FARs, W&B and performance, and the pilot’s own limits.
Structure from public FAA airman testing information. Reviewed 2026-07-17 — the current FAA testing supplement and ACS govern.
Practice by section
Aerodynamics & systems
The four forces, stalls and angle of attack, load factor, stability, engines and fuel, and the flight instruments with their errors.
Original practice authored from the FAA’s public-domain handbooks and regulations — never actual FAA test-bank items. Keentune is independent study practice, not affiliated with the FAA, and is NOT flight instruction: it supplements ground school and never replaces your CFI, the current FAR/AIM, or official FAA publications. A knowledge-test endorsement from an instructor or approved course is required to sit the real test.
Most CFIs say early-to-mid training — after enough flying that the concepts are concrete, but well before checkride crunch. The result is valid 24 calendar months toward your practical test, and you’ll need an instructor’s or course’s endorsement to sit it.
What are the highest-yield study areas?
Airspace (classes, entry requirements, VFR minimums — the test’s favorite), sectional chart reading, METAR/TAF decoding, weight-and-balance and performance calculations, and the regulation numbers (currency, fuel reserves, oxygen altitudes). These are dense, specific, and heavily represented — exactly what adaptive drilling fixes fastest.
Is this a substitute for ground school?
No — it’s the drilling layer on top. You still need instruction (a CFI or an approved home-study course) both to learn the integrated picture and to get the required endorsement. Use this practice to find and close your gaps before the real test.
All exam, test, and product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification and reference only. Keentune is independent study practice — not affiliated with, authorized, or endorsed by any of these organizations.