ZARHART

Free · open source · runs in your browser

ZARHART

Learn to fly before you fly. A flight simulator, ground-school links and FAA Private Pilot written-test prep, all in one cockpit.

Launch the simulatorStart written-test prep
LESSONS13 exam-linkedQUESTIONS175 with explanationsAIRCRAFTC172-classCOST$0 · no install

The name

Named for two record-setters.

1932

Amelia Earhart

First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic

On 20–21 May 1932 she flew a Lockheed Vega from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, to Northern Ireland, nonstop and alone. In 1937 she disappeared near Howland Island while the Coast Guard cutter Itasca waited for her.

2022

Zara Rutherford

Youngest woman to fly solo around the world

At 19, in a Shark ultralight, she flew around the world in 155 days and landed back in Belgium on 20 January 2022. She started with a private pilot license, which is where you're headed.

The Zarhart Valley carries their names: Lake Itasca, Atchison (Earhart's hometown), Harbour Grace, Electra Field, the town of Rutherford and the airspace P-19.

Three sims, one cockpit

The best of X-Plane, Flight Simulator and FlightGear.

Each desktop sim is great at one thing. Zarhart takes that one thing from each and adds what a student pilot actually needs for the written test.

From X-Plane 12

Procedures & physics

  • Flight model from real aerodynamics: stall, P-factor, ground effect, CG
  • Checklists that tick themselves when you do the step
  • VOR, DME and GPS navigation

From MSFS 2024

A world to fly over

  • Farms, forests, rivers, roads and towns for flying by landmarks
  • C172 with steam gauges or a G1000-style glass cockpit
  • Live weather, clouds and time of day

From FlightGear

Free & open

  • MIT-licensed, on GitHub
  • No install, no account, works on a school laptop
  • Keyboard, joystick, gamepad or touch

Only in Zarhart

It teaches the test

  • Lessons linked to written-test questions
  • A VFR minimums monitor that shows the cloud clearance you need
  • Failures that teach systems: pitot, static, vacuum, carb ice
  • Pilot-controlled lighting, light-gun signals, visible wake turbulence

Fly the questions

Lessons that teach the written test.

Each lesson sets up the scenario, checks your objectives live and debriefs you. The yellow codes open the matching test questions.

Your path

From zero to the written test, mostly free.

  1. Ground-school lessons

    FLY8MA free ground school: video lessons for every subject.

    Free · no written-test endorsement

  2. Study handbook

    The FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. Zarhart Prep lists the chapter for each topic.

    Free PDF

  3. Practice exams: start here

    Sporty's free practice tests: unlimited timed 60-question tests.

    Free account

  4. More practice questions

    King Schools free FAA test, plus the Zarhart practice exam.

    Free

  5. Get your endorsement

    A flight instructor or a home-study course must endorse you before you take the test.

    Required

  6. Get your FAA Tracking Number

    Register in FAA IACRA to get your FTN. Use your name exactly as it appears on your ID.

    Free

  7. Book the official written exam

    Schedule at a testing center through the FAA testing portal (PSI). Bring your ID and endorsement. 70% passes.

    $175 + applicable tax

Created by

Sophia Ramalli

Student pilot · Builder of Zarhart

Hi, I'm Sophia. I'm a student pilot working toward my Private Pilot certificate, and I built Zarhart while studying for the FAA written test.

I wanted one place where I could fly a maneuver, see the airport signs and lights for myself, and then drill the exact questions they show up in. So I put a flight simulator, my study questions and the free resources I was using into one site, and named it after Amelia Earhart and Zara Rutherford.

Zarhart is free and open source. If it helps you pass your written test, I'd love to hear about it on GitHub.

Status
Student pilot
Working toward
Private Pilot · Airplane
Built
Zarhart, 2026

Cleared for takeoff

Fly a pattern now. Study the question it teaches tonight.

Fly lesson 1Take a practice exam