Middling difficulty with a sting: the gyro and pitot-static theory needs real understanding, and question banks alone won’t carry you.
Last updated
Exam
60 questions
In 90 minutes, at the standard 75% pass mark.
Study load
middle
Of the rough 40–80 h/subject planning range — it is a range, not a promise.
Sit alongside
Flexible
Affinity guidance below — matched to our in-app planner.
Flashcards in the exam
Not typical
No authority-published allowance we track for this subject.
Pitot-static instruments, altimeters, ASI, VSI, gyroscopic instruments, ADI, HSI, magnetism and compasses, navigation systems, and warnings and recorders.
A mix of physics (how the instruments work) and systems knowledge (what the aircraft does with them).
For the full topic-by-topic syllabus breakdown, see the Instrumentation subject guide.
Any single number here would be false precision, so we won’t give one. As a rough planning figure, most self-study candidates allocate 40–80 hours per subject, and students report Instrumentation typically sitting toward the middle of that range. A mid-sized exam (60 questions, 90 minutes) mixing theory and systems recall.
Your own figure depends on background, maths comfort and whether you are studying full-time — treat the range as a budget to adjust, not a target to hit.
Instrument errors — pitot-static errors, compass turning and acceleration errors, gyro drift — follow from the physics. Learn the mechanism and the error questions answer themselves; memorise outcomes without the mechanism and every reworded question is a coin flip.
“I would not recommend to memorize answers without understanding the minimum theory even if they are banky”— a student in our community, on General Navigation, Radio Navigation and Instrumentation
Instrumentation is not part of our seeded affinity groups. Students often place it near the navigation pair (061+062) for the shared instrument-and-systems flavour, but it works as a standalone block.
How the pairings fit into a full plan — and why order matters — is covered in the recommended order of study, with the sitting mechanics in sittings & limits.
Important: Exam question counts and durations are set per authority and periodically revised, and difficulty reports are exactly that — student reports, not guarantees. Confirm current exam details with your ATO and authority before planning.
Middling difficulty with a sting: the gyro and pitot-static theory needs real understanding, and question banks alone won’t carry you.
Instrument errors — pitot-static errors, compass turning and acceleration errors, gyro drift — follow from the physics. Learn the mechanism and the error questions answer themselves; memorise outcomes without the mechanism and every reworded question is a coin flip.
It is a range, and it genuinely varies by background — as a rough planning figure, most self-study candidates allocate 40–80 hours per subject, and students report Instrumentation typically sits toward the middle of that range. A mid-sized exam (60 questions, 90 minutes) mixing theory and systems recall.
Instrumentation is not part of our seeded affinity groups. Students often place it near the navigation pair (061+062) for the shared instrument-and-systems flavour, but it works as a standalone block.
Drill Instrumentation (022) questions with per-topic mastery tracking, spaced-repetition review, and timed mock exams at the real 75% pass mark.
