Flight Test X20

Bottom line: the business model works if you use as instructed. The interface on IPad was a little rocky- graphics didn’t always load immediately and striking the hit box for the “next” and “previous,” commands was weirdly difficult. Hard to argue with results though, 100% score. Worth the price.

I just passed my Instrument Rating Airplane knowledge test with a 100% score in a total time of 29 minutes. I am 52 and spent a good few months prepping and studying gone through two books, Gleims test prep, then Sheppard Air’s app. Yes you have to allocate some 25-30 hours to this and REALLY follow the methodology to review the 1100+ questions they have in the program. You will lean A LOT in the process (not rote) and this is the best weapon against those tricky questions that don’t test your knowledge and designed to just catch you out. They also flag many questions where the FAA answer is wrong, so you know which to pick. Zero, I mean Zero surprises in any of the 60 question I got. I recognized 6 that were on my “extra” review list. Also, one of the biggest differentiators is the unlimited support. I studied mostly late at night PT, and there was always someone to speak with (THANK YOU Dorothy) who was qualified to help me solve the problems I could not understand (again not a rote learning program). These guys are the BEST! And far cheaper than any of the other competitors.

I used Sheppard for the IRA and FII exams. I scored a 100% on both of those exams. I bought Sheppard again for CAX commercial airplane and scored another 100%! All I did was follow their study strategy and try to understand each question I was reading. Furthermore, this app is well designed. It has a few bugs and I hate how it resets every time you leave the app but it saves your place so you just resume studying. I prefer to have it on my iPad so it’s always with me, even when I’m waiting for an airplane prior to a lesson. This version is much better than the older version that’s also available on the App Store. I used that one for instrument, and it worked but this one is better optimized. Overall, highly recommend Sheppard. It’s gotten me three 100s so far out of the two courses I’ve bought and I’ll definitely be buying it again when it’s time for the FIA and FOI writtens.

Sheppard Air is an excellent resource for studying for your written exams, however, the app is a complete failure in simple programming. I’ve had to change my iPad’s sleep settings to never let me iPad go to sleep, just so that the app wouldn’t crash. If you accidentally touch a corner that switches app, the app will crash. If you overlay a note taking app or try to split screen, the app will crash. If you accidentally swipe up to take you back to the home screen, sometimes the app will crash. Resuming your studying is no big deal but in a practice test you have no choice but to start over. I have restarted more practice tests than I have completed due to the app crashing, about 70%. This has happened on all 3 separate exams preps I have bought from Sheppard Air. It has also been a while since the app itself has been updated and it is in desperate need of an update. Sheppard Air itself is great, but this app nosedives into awfulness worse than the MCAS incidents on the 737 MAX. The app is a waste of your precious time.

Sheppard Air is considered to be the gold standard for FAA knowledge test preparation by most pilots and instructors, and their newly redesigned Flight Test X20 app brings some welcome new features and improvements. The tried-and-tested Sheppard Air “study strategy” remains unchanged in this new app. What has changed, however, is the user experience while studying questions. The X20 app uses a new split-screen design, allowing you to simultaneously view the question/answer and the explanation or the relevant figure. I have found that this greatly improves studying efficiently, as you no longer have to click back and forth between the question, the figure, and the explanation to understand how to answer the question. Also new to this app is the ability to study with the iPad in landscape orientation. This is ideal for larger iPads, as it maximizes the available screen real estate. Having studied for knowledge tests using both the older Flight Test 5 and this new Flight Test X20 app, as well as other test prep books and software, I can confidently say that Sheppard Air’s X20 offers the best efficiency and value. It is without a doubt the best way to ace your next knowledge test.

I really enjoyed using the instrument airplane prep course. I studied the Sheppard Air study strategy intensely for just over two days, took the test, and got a 98%. Hands down the best customer support in the business, and very quick to help. I would highly recommend using Sheppard Air to get your studying done - for less $$ than most of its competitors. As a pilot, I appreciate their 24/7 phone line with knowledge assistance from flight instructors on problems you have a hard time with. Thanks Sheppard Air! The only thing I would suggest is updating the UI, but in terms of functionality, no issues.

Great update and very welcome with the new technologies implemented (split screen), no more going back and forth between question and figures. A few minor bugs still exist. You cannot share you’re results in landscape mode on iPad 11, but i have emailed shepperd. I have never tried a different test prep as ATP flight school swears by Shepperd air (and its free) and also for the CTP course ATP provides this for free. Following the study strategy helps a-lot, even though I employment my own habits as well. First time i took my ATP multi-engine practice test i got a 93% and have been scoring that since. Follow the guide!

I used the old app for Commercial and didn’t have many problems with it. However, since starting FOI and FIA, I’m having a ton of problems with the app reloading itself whenever I switch pages. I was almost through a practice test when I received a text. I replied to the text and came back to the app. The app reloaded itself and I lost my test. I even lost all the questions I had marked to review along the way. This happens a lot when going through the study materials but isn’t that annoying because it saves your progress. The tests don’t save your progress and are completely deleted once you are done. This is a major design flaw.

I want to make sure no one else gets the credit for this score ( not that anyone cares, I got a 98% and surprisingly nothing in the world changed) I have used other sites, and schools , but didn’t do good on practice exams. I followed their 5 step strategy, and scored 95 on the practice exam. Then I emailed them and they sent me a courtesy endorsement . You have to follow their 5 step strategy. It worked.

Utterly inexplicable that someone could put this app out there. Terrible app. Shuts down if you dare open another app, such as the PHAK. If you are in a practice test and open a different app, it will close you out, update for the 15th time in your study session, and you miss out on checking your answers. The questions are the identical to the ones on the writtens. Please please PLEASE update this app before I don’t need it anymore.

I used Sporty’s, Gleim, Jeppesen, and Sheppard Air throughout all my training up to CFII/MEI. Shep’s study method and app makes it incredibly easy to study for the material. I by no means study as often as I should and by using their study method and app I have never scored less than a 90. TLDR; study the way the say to. It works. It’s a drag, but the results speak for themselves.

Sheppard air is definitely the way to go when it comes down to studying for the FAA written.I have tried other apps before, but none come close to how accurate Sheppard air is. Sheppard air provides you with the confidence needed on the day of test taking. I will definitely come back for my cpl and atpl!

I just passed my commercial written to 94%. Study strategy which works. Thank you Sheppard. Please hire UX designer to fix app. Good interface does not require long explanation with steps, student should follow intuitive. Just don’t give lazy idiots to go to tests before learning steps.

I called the company and spoke with who says been the chief of instructors, and even after I explain that I didn’t do any Written test by FAA and didn’t finish any of the quizzes, he said that it wasn’t there fault and won’t refund and even change for another course before I would pay again! Obs: You have to do this by phone, they don’t have any form of fill the information online and you cannot request by Apple!

I like the explanations being auto populated on the bottom of the screen. I do not like swiping to see figures or how small the “next” button is.

This study system is proven to work. I just wish I could study on my iphone. Having one device seems like an over zealous bogarting of the software. Foreflight allows you to have a second device with an iphone; why not allow the same?

I have used the Sheppard Air app on my iPad mini to study for 3 FAA written exams. The updated app is much better than previous versions. I will definitely continue using this app to study for any written exams in the future!

This program helped me to ace my IRA exam. You will spend a lot of time going through the study process step by step but it is time well spent. Great customer support and very up to date. Thanks Sheppard Air!

I enjoy the features that the new app brings, and it uses a similar overall design to the old app. The test prep is the same proven formula as the past. There’s a reason everyone recommends these guys. No nonsense up to date question bank.

Uses actual source references to explain the answers. The most practically intuitive thorough and accurate prep I can find anywhere. I have become a prep connoisseur and have purchased several before arriving at this conclusion.

First, Sheppard Air is absolutely the way to go for FAA written tests. But this version of the app is an absolute train wreck. A bizarre swipe interface to get from questions to figures, answer explanations that you can’t turn off, and several bugs in landscape mode. The old version had warts and could certainly use an update, but this one feels QA step was completely skipped.

Shepherd air is great and their study method really works, but the app is clunky and outdated. Every time you go home or switch to another app is has to redownload the data and takes you to the main menu. It crashes every few questions, requiring you to do the same thing. The computer version works much better.

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Studied FIA for less than a week got a 95 first try. Super easy to use. Highly recommend to anyone for any test.

Firstly, Sheppard Air is a great tool for studying. This review is only about the app. Sadly, I am not happy with this app as it crashes very often making it quite frustrating when I’m studying and lose my place due to it crashing.

Follow their study strategy exactly as prescribed and you will succeed. I scored a 93% on the IRA exam. I am officially a Sheppard Air believer and will use them again for the rest of my written exams. Thank you SA!

Studied for about 6 hours just as the course outlined. Got a 100 on my test for MCN.

App crashes sometimes when rotating screen, and lags when zooming into figures. Pretty frustrating when 3 questions away from completing the practice exam…

I attended the IRA test and get 100%, 5/5 stars. The result explains everything

I have lost progress on many practice tests due to the app kicking me back to the login screen. For how much money I paid for the course I expect better.

Used Sheppard with king schools… aced commercial pilot airplane written with 98

This app is so poorly written it’s ridiculous. Not only is it like zero thought went into the user interface, it’s as if they were actively trying to think of ways to make it annoying. Constantly have to religion with fixed credentials you can’t change that are saved and displayed every time you open the app. But seriously I just accidentally rotate my iPad and it logs me out and I have to click like 15 times to get back where I was. Pop up messages everywhere all the time and they’re all useless because they repeat over and over and over so you NEVER look at any of them. If you’re reading this you’ve probably already bought a subscription because it seems to be the only way to get the real questions. But serious this app stabs you in the eyeball every time you launch it. Who thought it was a good idea to put notes in dark blue text against a nearly black background???!! Completely unreadable. Looking at figures is super annoying. Why can’t it just show them by default?? When would you ever NOT want to see the figure that’s going to be on the exam? Takes at least two clicks to show the question and the figure EVERY time and then you’re going to get immediately logged out and have to do it again. Seriously. I would fix so many of the stupid things in your user interface for free just so that I personally don’t have to experience the pain anymore. How about you make your app open source and just require a login to get access to the question database or something? Awful. SERIOUSLY AWFUL. But you will pass. Not going to help you with the oral since it is 100% focused on the written. But you’ll pass.