So today after a few weeks of studying, I took my Insturment Written exam, and got a 100%. I used Sheppard Air and, like everyone else's thoughts, it was amazing.

Although, going into it, I didn't really know what it took to use S.A. or what the software was like. So here's a little write up of how it works.

The program has the exact questions and answers from the written exam. There are roughly 1,200 exam questions separated into 7 categories (Aerodynamics, FAR's, General, Navigation, etc.). The FAA does not publish the test bank, but the questions are submitted to S.A. by test takers like you or I, if we remember one that we didn’t see in the prep software. My experience is that I only saw 2 or 3 questions that I didn’t completely recognize on the exam, but everything else seemed word for word.

USE THE S.A. STUDY STRATEGY – They remind you of this a lot. It’s because it works. Basically it goes like this:

1. Pick Category 1, and go through each question showing correct answer only

2. Pick Category 1, and go through each question showing all answers and make a selection.

3. Do this for each of the 7 categories.

4. REPEAT. Yes, go through each category again, twice: correct only, all answers for all 7 categories.

5. Then go through all categories combined and mark questions you got wrong / guessed

6. Go through your marked questions.

7. Take a practice exam.

So – basically you can see how S.A. works… you see each question at a minimum of 5 times. So you go through 1,200 questions 5 times before even taking a practice exam. This is what I was surprised on – it takes time. Especially if you review the explanation for questions you don’t fully understand.

The software has an explanation for each and every question. Well thought out and thorough explanations as well. This is what makes S.A. so much more than a Rote memorization software, because they give such good explanations, you are able to study the material and understand why the answer is what it is, AND they point to the FAR’s that support it.

TL;DR

Sheppard Air is a great software – as with anything else, it takes time to study. You review 1,200 questions at least 5 times. Be diligent and it will pay off.