Sporty's Study Buddy prepares you for the FAA Instrument Rating knowledge test (the "written") with three ways to study: Study Questions, Flashcards and Practice Tests. Questions are organized by knowledge area, with explanations of the right and wrong answers developed by Sporty's team of Master CFIs, based on their experience preparing students for the Instrument Rating.
• STUDY QUESTIONS BY TOPIC •
Choose whole knowledge areas or individual topics to build your own study session. As soon as you answer, you'll see the correct answer, why it's right, and where to read more. Change your answer anytime, bookmark questions as you go, and jump to any question from the question list. Every study session is shuffled.
• REVIEW WITH FLASHCARDS •
Flashcards show just the question, so you answer from memory before revealing the correct answer and its explanation. Mark each card Know It or Still Learning, then start a new session from the cards you're still learning. On iPhone Duo, study a card with the phone open and close it to check the answer.
• TAKE PRACTICE TESTS •
Each Practice Test draws 60 questions at random from the full question bank, gives you 2 hours, and is graded at the FAA's 70% passing score. Afterward, see your score by topic, review every question or only the ones you missed, and turn your misses into a new study session.
• PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF •
Sessions save as you go. The History tab lets you resume any session in progress and review past results, including your scores by topic.
• EVERY FIGURE, OFFLINE •
The Figures tab includes the complete FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement for Instrument Rating, with every figure and legend listed by name and page. Swipe through the pages or open any one full screen. Questions show their figures right alongside, and you can study without a connection.
Designed for iPhone, iPhone Duo and iPad, with Dark Mode and support for larger text sizes.
The FAA does not publish its knowledge test questions, so the questions on your test won't necessarily appear in this app. Study Buddy is meant to complement your training, not to replace flight and ground instruction.
I failed my written exam after getting a 90% on Sporty’s instrument test prep. The private pilot course worked great for me, however the instrument one did not cover a lot of the questions that were on the exam. I failed my first try with a 68%. I know that other people that used shepherd air instead of sportys had better luck for the written exam for the instrument rating. However, the private pilot one worked great for me.
Nice idea, poor execution
Launch.Design.Repair
Not clear if Sporty’s is serious about this app. [Downgraded from two to one star because test supplement figures are poorly scanned and critical data often illegible.]The basics are here to review a question bank, but there’s no real integration in tracking progress across various modules, reviewing flagged questions, etc. Reviews written five years ago easily still apply in Dec 2017. You get a free iPad cleaning cloth from Sporty’s, but would have to pay $7 shipping to receive.It’s a decent enough way to answer a bunch of questions and see what subject areas are weakest, including taking a practice exam. Perhaps sporty’s doesn’t want to undercut its more expensive ground training apps, or stopped investing in improvements once the FAA stopped publishing the knowledge test bank.I’m a CFII circling back to take my AGI and IGI written ten years later (for gold seal), so it will serve my purpose of identifying if/where I need to bone up prior to dropping $140 on CATS. But this app probably isn’t too useful for any other purpose.
Save & Quit then Resume
Michael-M
The Save & Quit function is very helpful but finding the function to start where I left off wasn't where I expected. It's found in the Progress Reports/Resume Session on the app's Home page.It has a simple and friendly layout.
Passed mine on to the commercial written
Topray
My study way of studying was by section. Also I would just press finish test to see the answers right then & there so I don’t overwork my brain, while saving time. P.s if you pass the instrument written, take the CFII written too. It’s pretty much identical
Study Buddy 5.1 makes the most of iPhone Duo.
• Flashcards that fold: read the question on the outside, then open your phone to see the answer. Close it again to flip the card back.
• Open like a book, your cards are on the left and the current card on the right. Partly open, two-pane screens split evenly at the hinge.
• Controls in the side strip: Previous, Next, bookmarks, the question list and more sit in the strip beside the screen, leaving the display to your questions.
• Refined layouts for every way you hold iPhone Duo, closed or open.
• Also new: shuffled answers in every new session, better-balanced practice tests, and other improvements and fixes.
Version 5.1
The developer, Sporty's Pilot Shop, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Seller
Sporty's Pilot Shop
Size
95.7 MB
Category
Education
Compatibility
Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 17.0 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 14.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
