As soon as I received access to Sheppard Air’s study software, I spent about three days prepping hard for the IRA written. As soon as I took the test, I prepped for the IGI and the FII, which are pretty much the exact same test. Took both tests two days later and aced them both. A day later I jumped right into prep for the Commercial written. It was one of the tougher exams, but Sheppard Air’s study strategy is fantastic. Three days later I took and passed the exam and then moved to the CFI written.
You will find that there is a good amount of carry over between written exams. You still want to put in time to study for each one individually, but to me, it makes the most sense to knock out the exams asap, because the info is fresh in your mind. Not saying it works for everybody, but I got all my exams done in three weeks. Sheppard Air was a big key to success though.
The question bank for the Commercial test is quite large. Therefore, it takes more time to master all the possible questions. If I remember correctly, there are a bunch of tricky aerodynamic questions, as well as tedious flight planning/weight and balance q’s. My electronic E6B was a lifesaver. It really helped to eliminate the “human error” factor while testing. Some of the problems require you to do quite a bit of math on paper. Being off by just a bit can throw your answer way off track. You still need to know what you’re doing, even while using an electronic e6b, but it helps to ensure you don’t make any goofy mathematical mistakes.
If I manage to get my ira and FIA done this week, will that help towards starting next week? If you are ahead will that help to take ahead of time other tests like the commercial? I’m starting next Monday and I haven’t been able to do all test as I planned.
Thanks
Enrico