PPL Theory before going abroad for PPL and Hours etc

[chris-squire]

Hi All,

I''m off to Canada in March to do my PPL, Night Rating and Hour Building but have a time constraint of 11 1/2 weeks to get it done in as I'm starting ATPL's on 7th July.

Given that the weather over there can be iffy at times I'm thinking of doing the theory exams in the 8 weeks I have between now and the time I go out there. This would allow me to concentrate on the flying when I get out there.

I know this is a fairly common way to ease the pressure so if someone provide a bit of advice???

Cheers

CS :)

[Whirlygig]

Absolutely definitely do at least four or five exams before you go. There are some subjects which make more sense once you have a bit of flying experience but if you can do the whole lot before you go, even better.

Pop along to your local flying school here and explain the situation, I'm sure they'll let you sit them there. They might charge however, since you're not learning with them. They should provide a results sheet for you to take to your school in Canada. In addition, let the school in Canada know what you're doing.

I assume they are all going to be JAA?

Cheers

Whirls

[chris-squire]

Ah well I am doing all of my training through Cabair. ATPL's, CPL, IR, ME, MCC and JOC will all be done @ CCAT.

I'm going to MFC, which is a satellite FTO of CCAT to do the PPL, NR and Hours so it would be good if they were to let me sit them there. Is it just a case of buying a PPL study pack and get reading?

Cheers

CS :ok:

[Whirlygig]

Yep! Pretty much! You have a choice of books; Trevor Thom (which I would personally recommend if you're going on to commercial) or Jeremy Pratt (which has more pictures than words). Off you go, get stuck in, don't pprune too much and good luck!

Cheers

Whirls

[chris-squire]

Cheers for that. Would you recommend making sure that I have done any particular exams subjects before I go out there or doesn't it really matter?

I would have thought getting subjects like Human Performance etc out of the way would be a good call but I could be completely wrong?

Cheers

CS :ok:

[Whirlygig]

I did a full-time PPL and this is the order in which I did the exams, with the first four taken in advance.

Air Law (there's a raging controversy going on in Private Flying at the moment if you want a laugh!), Human Factors, Met, Navigation, RT and, to an extent (depending how mechanically minded you are), principles of Flight and Aircraft technical. I found flight planning a bit of an odd subject so I did that last.

Cheers

Whirls

[HappyFran]

Hi Chris,
You will need to sit the exams with an FTO, maybe Cabair in UK can oblige. ?
I would lend you the books but borrowed them from BCFT. Didn't think it was worth buying as get superseded by ATPL.
Has Cabair got some you could borrow ? or try E-bay

Only comment on above posting is that you will need Nav. before they will let you go Solo, (Which you will be considering after ~15hrs training).

Clear night last night so went of around Dorset and finally completed NR :):):)

[chris-squire]

I've just bought the PPL Study pack from Transair. Should give me everything I need I rekon. Good call on the Nav...although Im working full time at the mo, I do have 7 1/2 weeks before I fly out so would you say that's a realistic time frame if studying at weekend and evenings?

I have a 5 day gap in between my last day at work and the day I leave so I could use a couple of days to go over to Cabair (if they'll let me) and finish them off (if possible)??

Thanks

CS :)

[HappyFran]

I found the PPL Confuser useful for exam preparation. If you haven't got one you are welcome to mine. If you have an address in the Bournemouth area and PM me I will drop it in.

I took 7 weeks to do my PPL (inc theory) in UK. As weather was variable and I was not in a rush. I was able to study between flight training and was not overly streached. I probably spent more time studying the theory than was strickly necessary as I took the view that it was good training for the ATPL theory.
As you are aware you can (maybe :ugh:) do the ppl complete in 21 days :\ so it comes down to how much time you are able to commit. If you are able, I would start reading the study books as soon as possible, even if not sitting the exams immediately, as they are interesting and worth the investment. (Possible exception AirLaw !!:bored: which is tediaous but necessary).

[chris-squire]

Cool, I can come and pick it up. I live in Wimborne so let me know and I'll drop by.

I have ordered a PPL Study pack this morning so will get cracking one that comes through. Im all to aware of the 21 day PPL in Florida etc but have opted for MFC in Canada. Ive got a 7 weeks before I fly out there so I'm hoping that will give me enough time to get everything done. :confused:

CS :ok:

[HappyFran]

Chris,
I've sent you a PM
:)

[thirtysomething]

Hi,

Do Air Law , Met and NAV .. in fact all if you can. I arrived at Fly in Spain with nothing done and it made it tough on myself. Not having studied in advance meant that I had little "reset" time . When i was finished flying i had to study. Also in FIS as in many other schools im sure there is ZERO support to help you study , so you really are on your own. The different modules take time. It is a major regret i have about the way i learned making the experience less enjoyable due to constant pressure to keep on working...

[chris-squire]

I definitely want to do all of them prior to getting out there if I can. Im hoping 7 weeks will be long enough to do a decent chunk if not all of the theory work???

CS :ok:

[matt85]

Definately get as many as possible done before you start, huge advantage for numerous reasons.