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tiram
2nd Jul 2004, 23:35
Got my first set of atpls in august and i'm really beginning to worry about them. Haven't failed a progress test at my college yet but still i'm f@cking worried about them. Was looking for some advice as to how to get through them. Obviously alot of study but whats the best way to do feedback. The college has given me a questions but i'm tempted by the oxford feedback cd, abacus, i wanna be a pilot.com, and this website
http://82.33.206.228/jaaonline/jalo/index.asp
it seems to have an affiliaion with bristol??????
Please help as i'm going mental with stress

VFE
3rd Jul 2004, 00:35
Chill out. Relax. Listen to your school.

Bristol have great feedback but it is possible to get feedback overload. Work through feedback a few times over until you a) understand the working behind the correct answer and b) can remember the correct answer even if you fail to understand the workings!

If you haven't failed a progress test so far I would imagine you're in good shape. I failed most progress tests (classic underachiever!) but still passed the real thing. What school are you at?

Put the hours in and reap the rewards.

Good luck,

VFE.

parris50
3rd Jul 2004, 06:25
I think we all worry a bit about those exams. It's unusual to pass all 14 at the frist attempt so it's not the end of the world if you fail one or two.

Yes, do as much feedback as you can but make sure you understand the principles behind the answers.

no sponsor
3rd Jul 2004, 08:27
Good advice from VFE. Most people have pangs of doubt as they approach the exams, often that period between finishing the syllabus and waiting to go on the 2 week crammer just before the exams.

I don't know if you are a distance learner or full time. I've done distance learning, and I can tell you that just before the 2 week crammer course, I passed all my progress tests, but when I looked at sample exam questions and papers, I couldn't answer the majority of the complex questions - Nav left me feeling pretty cold, so did Met. It's important that you understand the key concepts of the tough subjects: Nav, Instruments Met etc, but it is unlikely that you would be able to pass an exam before the two week sessions.

You are about to go into feeling miserable mode, but I wouldn't worry about it. Work hard on your crammer, and then you should be ok. (Be warned that while on the crammer you will still feel like failing all the difficult subjects...)

tiram
3rd Jul 2004, 09:13
Thanx for your replies. I'm doing a residential course at the glasgow nautical college. I honestly don't know how people can do this distance learning, if it wasn't for the fact that i'm getting things explained to me, i'd be in a hell of a state. From the feedback that i've seen so far some of the questions are fairly odd things to ask. Also with nav i've noticed that the whizz wheel answers can be slap bang in the middle of what i get.

no sponsor
3rd Jul 2004, 10:12
So my post has absolutely no benefit to you. Sorry about that. Where the wizz wheel comes up with the answer between the middle of two, then it normally means the CAA want you to apply the actual formula; this can happen in density questions, or even in mach number questions. Also, when you make a pin-prick on the wind side, make sure you have a very fine pen and mark the spot exactly: a round-about dot won't do.

tiram
3rd Jul 2004, 10:27
what my school has offered is that the residential class can come in for the distance learners brush up if they want so. In this respect i will be like a distance learner so your post was relevant :O I tend to find that it is wind questions that seem to get me bang in the middle of 2 answers. Looking at my technique, while probably not the best, is correct and should get me the answer. In these types of questions knowing the right answer is sometimes the only way to get the right answer, which is why i'm leaning towars one of the feedback providers, probably abacus. They are very pricey though

parris50
3rd Jul 2004, 12:09
The best advice I was given for wizz wheel questions was this:

Use a soluble fibre tip pen to mark a small but clear dot. Lubricate the moving parts of the wheel with a small quantity of talcum powder.

Results are clearer and more accurate.

CAT3C AUTOLAND
3rd Jul 2004, 12:20
Tiram,

Sound advice from above, and with most people it is human nature to worry about the unknown.

I wouldnt get too bogged down in trying to obtain every source of feedback and spending hundreds of pounds doing so. When I did my exams, I found feedback to be a handy tool to highlight the areas I was weak on. What ever you do don't learn feedback, you will most likely come unstuck.

As has already been said, work hard, try to understand the subject the best you can and take the exam, you will most likely do alot better than you think. I remember when I did my first set, I thought I had failed them all, and two weeks later when the CAA A4 envelope popped through the door I had a smile on my face from ear to ear :D, all the hard work had paid off.

Work your nuts off, and you will reap the rewards, good luck, and try not too worry!

tiram
3rd Jul 2004, 12:20
Have been using a cross with a pencil which works a treat for everything else. I'll try a dot and my map pens to see if that makes a difference cheers.
Any more thoughts on who has the best feedback?

Autoland, i'm the most nervous person in the world when it comes to exams, which is why i want feedback to give me a bit more confidence, in that i can pass the feedback questions i can pass the finals mentality. I think the wording in the questions could easily catch me out. Yes i know what they are asking but due to it being translated from another country or being gramatically incorrect, the wrong answer is crossed. I think the crossover from knowing the course to crossing the correct box is a leap, a leap bridged with feedback. Obviously i could be totally wrong having not sat any formal exams as of yet. I am not planning to learn the feedback but using the feedback to highlight areas of interest, unearthing obscure questions, and generally converting what i know into answers

flybynite747
3rd Jul 2004, 16:50
Tiram, My Oxford instructor told me that for the navigation general exam the examiners use the Pooleys CRP5 whizzwheel to set the questions. If you don't have one of these you will get the wrong answer (or the half and half) answer.

Oxford do (or did) a super whizzwheel interactive CD for the CRP5.

For the other exams, don't learn the feedback! Recently, the exam question banks have been changed and there are new questions. Advice I weas given is to try and work out what learning objectives the fedback questions concentrate on and make sure that you know these parts of the subjects. You can find the LOs on www.JAA.NL

six-sixty
4th Jul 2004, 20:19
Glad to hear I'm not the only neurotic one - I'm doing mine with Bristol and got mod 1 exams Aug. Though I've done the course and am very much in revision mode, doing feedback really bangs home the fact that you can quite conceivably know 90% of the subject really well AND STILL FAIL!! That's what terrifies me.

My revision has been a combo if reading and re-reading, using the Oxford "feedback" CD (they say they are ATPL "style" questions, so not sure if it's actual feedback or not) and the Bristol on-line feedback database. The Bristol questions are much harder. One minute I can score 85% the next 65% - it's absolutely toe-curling.

I can only take solace in the fact that loads of people seem to struggle with these things, and if I muff a couple I won't be the first or last.

In any case I wish you well!

S-S

tiram
4th Jul 2004, 21:14
66,
was wondering what you thought of the bristol exam bank on line? I have the oxford feedback cd, and am considering going with abacus for my feedback but 290 euro is alot

cheers

six-sixty
4th Jul 2004, 22:39
The Bristol bank is certainly value and for the 30 or so euro it costs I'd definitely recommend it. Be warned that some of the questions on there very, very tricky, mainly down to the phrasing of some of the questions particularly on instruments. I found my confidence getting knocked for six and when I asked about it apparently it's got European feedback in there as well, some of which has been directly translated, and thus wouldn't appear in the UK exams in that form.

Between that and the Ox CD you'll be hard pushed to run out of feedback.