Comparison

Helicopter Pilot Checkride vs FlightReady Academy

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Helicopter Pilot Checkride

Prepare for your helicopter pilot practical exam with over 1700 questions and answers covering all essential topics. This app helps identify knowledge gaps and builds confidence for your checkride.

Highlights
  • Over 1700 questions and answers
  • Covers all checkride topics
  • Identifies strengths and weaknesses
  • Flag questions for further study
  • Based on FAA ACS standards
  • Includes FAA references
Features
Read full description

Using a question-and-answer format, Helicopter Pilot Checkride lists the questions most likely to be asked by examiners during the last step in the private pilot helicopter certification process – the Practical Exam – and provides succinct, ready responses. Applicants will find this App an indispensable tool in both planning for what to expect during the helicopter checkride, and mastering the subject matter. Instructors rate them as excellent preparation for students, as well as general refresher material. This Helicopter Pilot Checkride app is based on the popular Helicopter Pilot Oral Exam Guide book by Ryan Dale. It is designed for applicants training for a Private Pilot certificate with a helicopter rating. More than 1700 questions and responses ensure the subjects a helicopter pilot candidate will be tested on during checkrides and review flights are covered. Questions align with the knowledge topics, risk management, and skill tasks including scenario-based training elements in the Private Pilot for Helicopter Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-15) and include these topics: preflight preparation, preflight procedures, airport and helicopter operations, hovering manuevers, takeoffs, landings and go-around, performance maneuvers, navigation, emergency operations, night operations, and postflight procedures. Answers and explanations were researched using FAA documents (which are identified so pilots know where to go for further study) as well as interviewing FAA examiners. Questions are supported with the ACS code and FAA references, and can be marked for further study from any subject to build your own collection of flashcards. Compatible with iOS phones and tablets, this app teaches applicants not only what to expect, but also how to exhibit subject mastery and confidence when under the examiner’s scrutiny. It identifies candidates’ strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in their aeronautical knowledge, which increases study efficiency. App features: • More than 1700 questions are included with succinct, ready responses. • Questions from any subject can be flagged for further study into a separate group. • Includes all the questions and answers from the popular book, Helicopter Pilot Oral Exam Guide Third Edition, by Ryan Dale. • Brought to you by a trusted resource in aviation training and publishing, Aviation Supplies & Academics (ASA).

About

FlightReady Academy

Prepare for FAA pilot exams with comprehensive ground school courses and practice tests. Access a free basic test prep with hundreds of questions and simulated exams. Upgrade for full courses, instructor endorsements, and advanced study tools.

Highlights
  • FAA pilot exam preparation
  • Basic and premium test prep
  • Simulated FAA exams
  • Instructor endorsement
  • Detailed question explanations
  • SmartExam for weak areas
  • Progress tracking and statistics
Read full description

The #1 ground school for FAA Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, and Flight Instructor. Free access to Basic Test Prep. Upgrade to Premium Test Prep or the complete Ground School course via in-app purchase (free trial available). Free basic test prep includes: ▸ Basic question bank with hundreds of practice questions and explanations ▸ Practice sessions from missed questions, or review missed questions. ▸ Simulated FAA exams administered under the same rules and time constraints as the actual exam. Unlike other test prep apps, our exams present the correct proportion of questions from each knowledge area per the ACS. Upgrading to Ground School unlocks a complete ground school course that takes 15-35 hours to complete depending on the course. The course includes: ▸ An instructor endorsement after completing the course so that you can take the FAA exam. ▸ Hundreds of additional questions to ensure thorough preparation for the knowledge test ▸ View definitions of key terms and acronyms in lessons and answer explanations. ▸ Detailed explanations and references for all questions, many with high resolution images ▸ SmartExam zeroes in on your weak areas to ensure thorough preparation for the FAA exam. ▸ Sync your data and course progress across on all of your iOS devices ▸ View statistics and progress. Proficiency is tracked using an algorithm that assigns a mastery level to each question. Stop wasting time answering questions you've already mastered. ▸ Share reports via iMessage, AirDrop, e-mail, and more After you complete a course you can review all completed lessons and access all lesson questions. Unlike other ground school providers, we do not limit your access to one year, and all future updates are free. Ground School courses are available for: Private Pilot Instrument Rating Commercial Pilot Flight Instructor Airplane Flight Instructor Instrument Add-On ================================ Non-US citizens who can read, write, speak, and understand English may obtain a US pilot certificate per FAR 61.65, 61.103, and 61.123.

Screenshots

Helicopter Pilot Checkride4 screens
FlightReady Academy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: FlightReady Academy at Free against Helicopter Pilot Checkride's $9.99. FlightReady Academy also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.6) and review sentiment (60% vs 25%). Helicopter Pilot Checkride's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 17) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.1). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

FlightReady Academy is free to download; Helicopter Pilot Checkride costs $9.99 up front. FlightReady Academy sells 16 one-off in-app purchases. Helicopter Pilot Checkride asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FlightReady Academy holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FlightReady Academy has 894 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of Helicopter Pilot Checkride's written reviews are positive against 60% of FlightReady Academy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Helicopter Pilot Checkride ships an update every 37 months, FlightReady Academy fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Helicopter Pilot Checkride versus FlightReady Academy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHelicopter Pilot CheckrideFlightReady Academy
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating2.6 (5 ratings)4.7 (894 ratings) — better
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews59.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5894 — better
Update frequencyEvery 37 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.1
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB122 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperASAAeroapps Technology

Customer experience

Helicopter Pilot Checkride

All ratings5 ratings
Positive20.0%
Neutral40.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative50.0%

FlightReady Academy

All ratings893 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral1.3%
Negative5.7%
Written reviews62 reviews
Positive59.7%
Neutral3.2%
Negative37.1%

Bugs and requests

Helicopter Pilot Checkride

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

FlightReady Academy

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • The app installed correctly. But when you open the app. It wants you to download what course you are interested in. But it gets to 90% downloaded and stops
  • App glitches out of WiFi range and has to constantly redownload and sinc data which leads to a lot of time wasted
  • Whenever I click on "study questions" my app crashes and brings me back to my home screen

Requested features

3 requests
  • Charts, graphs and scales and not selectable with a pc or Android
  • Test scores are saved and not resettable, the final test cannot be taken multiple times
  • Explanations for the answers

In-app purchases

None

Helicopter Pilot Checkride

No in-app purchases

16 purchases

FlightReady Academy

One-time16
  • Instrument Rating TrialFree
  • Free Trial - CFII AddFree
  • Free Trial - Commercial PilotFree
Show 13 more
  • Free Trial - Private PilotFree
  • Free Trial - Flight InstructorFree
  • Remote Pilot Premium Test Prep$49.99
  • Private Pilot Test Prep$49.99
  • Instrument Rating Test Prep$49.99
  • Comm. Pilot Test Prep$49.99
  • Upgrade to Ground School$129.99
  • Drone Ground School$139.99
  • CFI Airplane Ground School$179.99
  • Commercial Ground School$179.99
  • CFII Ground School$179.99
  • Private Pilot Ground School2 variants$179.99
  • Instrument Ground School$179.99

Questions

Is Helicopter Pilot Checkride free?
Helicopter Pilot Checkride costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is FlightReady Academy free?
FlightReady Academy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Helicopter Pilot Checkride or FlightReady Academy?
FlightReady Academy is rated higher. Helicopter Pilot Checkride averages 2.6 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while FlightReady Academy averages 4.7 from 894 ratings.
Do Helicopter Pilot Checkride or FlightReady Academy have ads?
Neither Helicopter Pilot Checkride nor FlightReady Academy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Helicopter Pilot Checkride or FlightReady Academy?
Helicopter Pilot Checkride ships an update every 37 months, and FlightReady Academy fortnightly. Most recently, Helicopter Pilot Checkride was updated on October 22, 2026 and FlightReady Academy on October 24, 2026.

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