ACS, PTS & Oral Exam Guides

ACS, PTS, and oral exam guides: your complete checkride prep toolkit

Passing a checkride comes down to two things: knowing the standard you will be measured against and rehearsing how a designated pilot examiner asks about it. The standard is either the FAA Airman Certification Standards (ACS), which now governs most certificates and ratings, or the older Practical Test Standards (PTS), still in force for a handful of ratings during the conversion. An oral exam guide from ASA or Gleim then turns that standard into the specific question-and-answer format you will hear in the room. Pair the two and you study the right material in the right shape. This collection covers checkride prep for the Private, Instrument, Commercial, Flight Instructor, Multi-Engine, and Aircraft Dispatcher certificates.

Compare checkride prep guides at a glance

Types of checkride prep material

FAA Airman Certification Standards (ACS)

The ACS is the FAA document your examiner grades you against on most certificates and ratings today. For every task it spells out the Knowledge, Risk Management, and Skills elements you must demonstrate, which makes it the primary roadmap for both the oral and the flight portions of the test. Our FAA ACS guides for the Private, Instrument, Commercial, and Flight Instructor certificates each include the FAA-G-ACS-2 companion guide.

Practical Test Standards (PTS)

The PTS is the older format the ACS replaced. It defines the flight-proficiency performance metrics for a task but does not break out the Knowledge and Risk Management elements the way the ACS does. A few ratings still operate under the PTS during the conversion, including the Flight Instructor Instrument PTS (FAA-S-8081-9E), so check which document your specific rating uses before you study.

Oral Exam Guides

Oral exam guides from ASA and Gleim take the standard and reframe it as the questions a designated pilot examiner is likely to ask, with concise answers and references back to the regulations. ASA publishes a dedicated guide for each certificate level, while Gleim combines the standard and the oral guide into a single book. They are the fastest way to practice answering aloud the way you will on test day.

Brands we carry

Our checkride prep titles come from three trusted sources. ASA publishes the long-running Oral Exam Guide series covering every certificate level from Private through CFI, Multi-Engine, and Aircraft Dispatcher. Gleim combines the ACS and an oral exam guide into one volume, a popular choice for students who want a single study book. Pilot Mall also stocks the current FAA ACS and PTS documents, bundled with the FAA-G-ACS-2 companion guide where applicable.

How to choose the right checkride prep guide

Start with your certificate or rating, then confirm whether it uses the ACS or the PTS, since most certificates have moved to the ACS but a few still run under the PTS. Buy that standard first and treat it as your line-by-line roadmap; a common best practice is being able to discuss each element for two to three minutes. Next, add the matching oral exam guide so you can rehearse the question-and-answer format your examiner will use. If you prefer one book, the Gleim combined ACS and Oral Exam Guide pairs the standard and the Q-and-A together. Round out your prep with the current FAR/AIM and the rest of our flight training and ground school materials, and shop by stage with our Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, and CFI collections. If you are working toward a drone certificate instead, see our Remote Pilot (Part 107) study materials. For step-by-step strategy, read our guide on how to pass your private pilot checkride.

Why buy from Pilot Mall

• Aviation only: we sell pilot gear and training material and nothing else, so our team knows checkride prep.
• Current editions: we stock the FAA ACS and PTS documents along with the latest ASA and Gleim oral exam guides.
• Trusted for 25-plus years: thousands of pilots and flight schools rely on Pilot Mall for study material.
• Free U.S. shipping over $100: stock up on your full checkride prep library and ship free.
• Expert guidance: talk to people who fly and have been through the checkride before you buy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between the ACS and the PTS?

The Airman Certification Standards (ACS) adds Knowledge, Risk Management, and Skills elements to every task, while the older Practical Test Standards (PTS) only defines flight-proficiency performance metrics. The ACS has replaced the PTS for most certificates, though a few ratings still operate under the PTS during the conversion.

Do I need both the ACS and an oral exam guide?

Most pilots use both. The ACS is the FAA standard your examiner grades you against and serves as your line-by-line roadmap, while an oral exam guide from ASA or Gleim reframes that standard as the questions a designated pilot examiner is likely to ask, so you can rehearse your answers aloud.

What is the FAA-G-ACS-2 companion guide?

The FAA-G-ACS-2 is the FAA companion document that explains how the Airman Certification Standards are organized and applied across certificates and ratings. It is bundled with our current FAA ACS guides for the Private, Instrument, Commercial, and Flight Instructor certificates so you have the standard and its explanation together.

How do I study for the oral portion of my checkride?

Work through the ACS task by task and be ready to discuss each element for two to three minutes, then use a matching oral exam guide to practice the question-and-answer format. Many pilots also run a mock oral with a neutral instructor to surface weak areas before the real checkride.

How hard is the CFI oral exam compared to other checkrides?

The initial CFI checkride is widely considered the hardest oral. A Private Pilot oral often runs about one and a half to two hours, while an initial CFI oral can run three to five hours because you must teach and defend each subject, not just answer questions, which demands much deeper knowledge.

What should I bring to my checkride oral exam?

Bring the current ACS or PTS for your rating, a FAR/AIM, current weather and NOTAMs, your logbook with endorsements, your aircraft documents, and a completed cross-country flight plan if required. Confirm the exact list with your examiner ahead of time, since requirements vary by certificate and aircraft.