Let's start with the Oral portion of testing. You have passed your knowledge tests, so now it's just a matter of reviewing the items you missed on your written tests. Look at your written test results (AKTR) and find the codes of the subject material you got wrong. Use those codes, which correspond directly to the subject material, to find the material in the ACS book. The subjects match up directly to the FAA textbooks you studied, so hopefully, you still have them. If you don’t, they are free at FAA.GOV. Read the material and get a good understanding of the material. You probably memorized the questions and answers for your written tests, but now you need to understand them better. The FAA doesn’t want you to learn a bunch of Q and A’s; they want you to know what you are talking about! Imagine that! 

The better you do on your writtens, the fewer oral questions your DME will ask, so pass the written tests with the highest score possible!

Next comes the practical portion of testing, which consists of projects: nine for general, eleven for airframe, and eleven for powerplant.

Again, all of the possible projects are in the ACS book. The test generator randomly selects the projects, so having a good handle on the projects listed in the ACS will help you a lot. Along with the project, you will have two oral questions associated with that specific project. The good news is that you can use reference material to answer those questions. Even though you can use reference material on the questions, it will help you to know where to find the information in the FAA textbooks.

Remember, as with all FAA testing, you will need at least 70% to pass each section of your O’s and P’s.

Now for some inside info.

Most problems I see in oral testing are caused by applicants only studying prep material. Prep material is a good start, but it is not enough to pass your test. So, get into your textbooks, specifically the fundamentals of electricity and electronics, weight and balance, aircraft materials, hardware and processes, and everybody’s favorite regulations, maintenance forms, records, and publications.

You probably covered these subjects a while ago, and they are not the most exciting subjects. However, they are a significant part of testing, so get back into those books!

With the practical projects, I find problems with Applicants not finding the answers to the practical questions, so re-familiarize yourself with the FAA textbooks, including general, airframe, powerplant, AC 43.13, and the FARs.

To sum it up, You have worked hard and put in a lot of time to finish your schooling and pass your written tests. You have had some great Instructors and Administrators with a lot of experience guide you through the process. The final piece of the puzzle is your Oral and Practical testing. The testing process is not easy, but you have been through everything you will be tested on, so it’s just a matter of getting back into those books and refreshing your memory. We all want to see you succeed and be rewarded by becoming an essential part of the aviation industry.