Martin,
Actually the free app is fine. The course is a full ground school course which you don’t need. The writtens are good for 24mos which means you need to take the associated practical within that time.
Adam
Hey Thomas -
I took the IRA and FII a couple months back and had purchased both courses to be “safe” - however it was definitely not needed and would recommend actually just taking both on the same day as the test banks were basically identical
Andrew
Andrew,
The FOI is a completely different exam. It’s the FIA that’s close to the CAX. It’s been a while since I took both so I’m reluctant to advise if it’s still the same?
Adam
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I was using the free app but now it says I’m out of study questions or whatever.
Good to know!
Andrew,
Chiming in a few days later here, but I would not purchase both the IRA and FII test bank, the IRA is sufficient enough. The FOI, FIA and CAX are their own test bank and I highly recommending purchasing those individually. There is speculation that the IGI test bank is the same as the IRA/FII, but I don’t want to make any promises on that. Maybe someone that recently took the IRA/FII/IGI can vouch.
Brady
UPDATE!
Just passed My PAR this week using sportys app private pilot test prep from the apple App Store [https://apps.apple.com/app/id414141811] . Like @Adam Mentioned before its is totally worth getting your writers out of the way and focus on flying, learn from my mistake and the that out of the way before you start.
Best of luck,
Sergio A.
Nice job Sergio!
I was just passing down the wisdom given me.
Adam
Sergio,
Nice work, now onto the next one!
Chris
Sergio,
Congrats on passing the PAR! We don’t love to recommend taking any writtens before starting the program for nothing. 
Brady
How similar are the questions on the PAR to the practice/study questions on Sportys?
Denver,
The database gets updated fairly regularly so I’d imagine pretty darn close! I’m sure someone who has recently used the app and taken the PAR can chime in to confirm. You can also cross reference with the ASA study prep app. Between the two you’d probably hit most of the questions!
Hannah
Denver,
I just took the PAR last weekend and the questions are very close. There were a couple that I’d never seen, but with the foundation you get through Sporty’s you can probably logic your way into the right answer. And the FAA mixes in five ungraded questions that they’re just testing out anyway. To give you an idea, my lowest practice test score was a 95%, and I ended up getting a 93% on the actual PAR. Which means I only missed one more question than in practice. So, I wouldn’t stress. As the Mentors here have said over and over, just follow the program and you’ll get the results.
Eli
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Hi Everyone! I’m starting in April ‘24 and eager to get the writtens out of the way. It seems that Sporty’s has done away with their Study Buddy app and only offer their $299 Sporty’s Pilot Training app. Can anyone else confirm this? If the Study Buddy app is gone, are there other comparable free or budget-friendly apps/programs that are recommended? Thank you!
Micah
Micah,
Interesting… time to do some research on our ends to find out if this is a glitch in the market, or they discontinued the application. I see on the Google Play store, it’s available for $14.99, but that defeats the purpose for Apple users. There is a chance they’re in the process of updating, I’ll see what I can find out. In the meantime, I recommend reaching out to Sporty’s directly to inquire.
Currently referencing this link from ATP:
Brady
Micah,
Seems like you might be right. I couldn’t find the Sportys Study Buddy on my apple App Store. However, I prefer ASA anyway! I checked and that app is still available. Only $9.99. After private, we recommend you use Sheppard air anyway.
Hannah
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Thanks for the responses, @Brady, & thank you for the study app recommendation, @Hannah!
Upon closer look, I’m wondering if Sporty’s rolled their Study Buddy test prep into their Pilot Training app under the Learn To Fly course (which includes Private, Sport, and Recreational courses)? You can still log in for free and under the Learn to Fly course option there appears to be two “Pass FAA Test” links (also free) that lead to banks of multiple-choice questions in the following categories:
- Airport Operations
- Emergency Operations
- Navigation
- Night Operations
- Performance and Ground Reference Maneuvers
- Preflight Preparation
- Preflight Procedures
- Slow Flight and Stalls
- Takeoffs, Landings, and Go-Arounds
Are these the categories covered in the PAR? If any of you (or anyone else familiar with the PAR test who may be reading) have some time to log in and peek at the questions, I’d love to hear if these are from the old Study Buddy app and worth utilizing for practice. Thank you!
Micah
Micah,
Everything you need to know about the “magical blueprint” to the exam is right in the Airman Certification Standards (Appendix 1):
Brady