JAA PPL theory, best way to get it sorted?

[king rooney]

Hi all,

Am currently set to begin a modular ATPL training route and will be starting my PPL in the US at the beginning of February. I have been advised to learn as much of the theory as possible before I go, an idea which I think is a good one.
Can anyone therefore give me some advice on this, such as:

How much volume of stuff is there to learn and how many hours of study do you think is required, bearning in mind that I want to learn it all properly, not just to scrape through the exams?

As far as I can make out there are two sets of books which one can use, the AFE ones and the ones by Trevor Thom. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using each of these?

Also, I am a bit concerned, as for example with the Thom books, there are 7 of them, all about 250-300 pages long. This seems like an awful lot of stuff to read, how much of the text is actually essential to know and how much of it is crap that u dont need to read?

Cheers all, look forward to some interesting responses.

[wbryce]

I figure your talking about the PPL books? I actually prefered the AFE ones when doing my PPL....I felt their diagrams and the way they worded the material was better suited to my learning style.

The material isn't hard for the PPL, nor is it complicated to learn, most of it is quite easy! You obviously haven't seen the amount of pages in the ATPL books then? and guess what...theres 14 of them! :E

The quicker your heads are in the books the faster you can get the exams done! Its a good learning curve and some of the material can be quite interesting.

[king rooney]

Yeh, the AFE books are a load cheaper as well.

[wbryce]

thats the true spirit....of a modular student! :E

[Send Clowns]

The Thom books are a little more detailed, going beyond the PPL syllabus - hence the size and price. Good start for the ATPL though, and I personally think better-written than the Pratt ones, although those are also good.

[ifleeplanes]

If you think 250-300 pages is alot wait until you start the ATPLs!! Any 'extra' knowledge now will ease your way in the longrun.

[ant000]

Im also heading out to Florida at the beginning of february to do my ppl!

I have the Trevor Thom books and i would appreciate any specific advice on what subjects and how much i should study before leaving.

Thanks a lot

[jerezflyer]

What I found extremely useful during my PPL ground shcool phase (all passed now I'm glad to say!!) was the Oxford Aviation PPL CD-ROM collection - in my opinion a fantastic study aid for the PPL ground exams.

jerezflyer

[Blinkz]

What I found extremely useful during my PPL ground shcool phase (all passed now I'm glad to say!!) was the Oxford Aviation PPL CD-ROM collection - in my opinion a fantastic study aid for the PPL ground exams.

jerezflyer


oooo careful mentioning Oxford Aviation in front of King Rooney :E :D

[p1lot]

Also, I am a bit concerned, as for example with the Thom books, there are 7 of them, all about 250-300 pages long. This seems like an awful lot of stuff to read, how much of the text is actually essential to know and how much of it is crap that u dont need to read?



Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!!

[Confabulous]

KR,

The ATPLs... hmmm... let me put it like this:

Airframe & Systems section: 1200 pages

The rest (14 in all? I've lost count) average 600 pages each. The PPL barely covers the basics (at least for me, although i confess to being too interested for my own good).

An ATPL friend of mine says that all the knowledge in the ATPLs are needed all the time - any of it could save your life.

[BEagle]

Yes indeed! It is utterly vital for every ATPL holder to know how to spot illegally moored airships, or to be able to assess whether the streamers attached to a kite are of the regulation size.....:rolleyes:

[TractorBoy]

The Thom books are more than satisfactory - however, I found there were small snippits of information which were required in the exams which are not covered in the books. My advice is to read each book at least twice, then buy and inwardly digest the PPL Confuser - it's an absolute must-have.

BTW - for a PPL, you don't need to read the grey book on Instrument Flying (to pass the theory exams, that is !!)

[Confabulous]

Yes indeed! It is utterly vital for every ATPL holder to know how to spot illegally moored airships, or to be able to assess whether the streamers attached to a kite are of the regulation size.....:rolleyes:

Ok... maybe not ALL of it is vital - although I'll be watching for your illegally moored airship in future :p :E

[High Wing Drifter]

King Rooney,
There are lots of pages, but they are small and there's lots of diagrams :) The books aren't hard to whizz through and the advice to get the PPL Confuser is pure gold. Actually, all I did was read once, do the Confuser questions and re-read the bits where I didn't score so well. Seemed quite efficient with good results. For each subject, I tended to give myself a couple of days to do the reading before the exam.

All the info in the Thom books is relevant, don't skimp because the exams aren't so comprehensive that simply passing them means that you have enough knowledge!!

BEagle,
Yes indeed! It is utterly vital for every ATPL holder to know how to spot illegally moored airships, or to be able to assess whether the streamers attached to a kite are of the regulation size
Is that the new question bank :confused: However, not forgetting such classics like lateral seperation minima on parallel runways! Actually, much of the ATPL sillybus was actually quite fascinating :8 I learn't (and forgotten probably) an awfull lot of stuff that I always wanted to know but never got around to...with the exception of Air Law and Ops Procs :zzz:

[markflyer6580]

I would get all the subjects learnt and passed before you go.Some of it makes more sense after some flying but if you are doing an intensive course you won't have time!

The PPL confuser although containg a few mistakes is a good way to learn the subjects quickly,and to agree with other posts,the amount I learnt to pass my exams hasn't helped much towards ATPL studies,I used the trevor thom books,I think that was more down to me scraping through em in a rush though not the books which I still refer to now for GA issues that are not covered in the atpl books:ok:

[18greens]

Theres a chap near Bournemouth that will coach you through the exams on a residential one per day basis. He advertises in the back of Pilot and other magazines. This could be a way of sorting all of the exams out before you get out there. I found the theory quite fun to learn and I would say that 99% of the content is useful (I've never seen light signals used)


But lets face it do you think the CAA lets any lemon fly. Its hard work it takes dedication, commitment and cash. Getting a pilot licence without lots of all three is difficult. Thats why in a country of 50 million plus people over half of them can drive but less than 0.1% can fly a plane. And if you do pass into the master race and get to do some flying you don't want to be up there with someone who doesn't understand the basic rules of aviation (and there are lots of them)

Have fun.