Test strategy

The Instrument Rating Knowledge Test (IRA): Format and What Changed

✓ Reviewed against current FAA sources on October 22, 2026

The instrument written is the test where candidates who are good at flying most often stumble, because it examines procedure and chart interpretation rather than aircraft handling.

The format

According to the FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, the IRA test is 60 questions, with 2 hours allotted and a minimum passing score of 70 percent. Validation questions may be included beyond the scored count, and the allotted time accounts for them.

What changed on October 26, 2026

The FAA announced that beginning October 26, 2026, the Instrument Rating Airplane and Unmanned Aircraft General - Small tests include image-based questions that are not found in the testing supplement. Previously every figure a candidate needed was in a printed booklet handed to them at the testing center.

The practical consequence is that memorizing supplement figures no longer suffices. You have to be able to read an approach plate, an en route chart or a weather product you have not seen before. We cover the wider change in what changes on the FAA knowledge tests.

Where the questions come from

The Instrument Rating Airman Certification Standards define the knowledge areas, and each question maps to an ACS code. A failed test report lists the codes you missed, which is the most useful study document you will ever be handed.

The areas that carry the weight

Procedure and regulation dominate. Approach charts, holding, departure and arrival procedures, instrument currency and the equipment requirements for IFR flight recur throughout. Weather appears mainly as interpretation of products rather than as theory.

Currency is examined, not just taught

Instrument currency under 14 CFR 61.57 (opens in a new tab) is a frequent subject, and it is one where the rule is stricter than the folklore. We set it out in instrument currency and the IPC.

How the IRA differs from the private pilot written

The private pilot test asks what a rule is. The instrument test asks what you would do. A large share of IRA questions present a scenario, a chart and a set of conditions, and ask which action is correct or which altitude applies. Recall alone does not carry you.

The second difference is chart density. An approach plate carries more information per square inch than any document in private pilot training, and the test assumes you can find a specific item on it quickly: the minimum safe altitude, the missed approach point, the category minimums, the required equipment note.

The areas candidates underestimate

Holding. Entry procedures, timing and wind correction appear repeatedly, and the geometry is the part people skip because it is uncomfortable.

Equipment and inspections. Section 91.411 (opens in a new tab) and Section 91.413 (opens in a new tab) govern the altimeter, static system and transponder inspections that make an aircraft legal for IFR. The intervals are examined directly.

Alternates. Section 91.167 (opens in a new tab) and Section 91.169 (opens in a new tab) set when an alternate is required and what weather it must have. The 1, 2, 3 rule is widely quoted and widely misapplied.

Lost communications. Section 91.185 (opens in a new tab) prescribes route and altitude when two-way radio communication fails. It is a short rule with a precise structure, and questions follow that structure closely.

How to practice for image-based questions

Work from current charts rather than from a booklet of familiar figures. Pull an approach plate you have never flown, cover the minimums, and reconstruct them from the rest of the plate. Do the same with an en route chart segment and a weather product. The skill being examined is reading an unfamiliar document under time pressure, so practice should be unfamiliar by design.

Sources: FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix; FAA Airman Testing notice, September 2026; Instrument Rating Airman Certification Standards.