what subjects can you bristol and what subjects do you really have to know

[aslan1982]

ive just finished my first set of jaa exams
met
pop
hp
systems
instuments
vfr
ifr
i found bristol very helpful for these and in the exmas 90% of the q's i had seen before
Ive just started onto phase 2 subjects and some of them are just terrible to learn
I can see that you will really have to understand gen nav , flight planning and aircraft performance
can you just bristol
air law
radio nav
ops

havent started mob so dont know about that
any help is much appreciated

[ariel]

From my experience, (half way through), I'd say you could use the question bank exclusively for the following:

Both comms papers
Airlaw
HPL

Make sure you understand the principles of Instruments, M&B, Flight Planning and Met, then use the question bank.

Make sure you REALLY understand the principles of Gen Nav, then use question bank.

Having not yet gone for the mod 2 brush up, my own personal jury is still out on mod 2 subjects such as POF, Performance, Radio Nav, AGK and OPs. I've heard that most of these can be done just on the QB alone, but I'm not really in a position to comment - yet -

[Grasscarp]

I notice a new verb has come into the English language - to bristol.

[captain_rossco]

use bristol for everything if you want, but you'll be :mad: when it comes to interviews.

[Alex Whittingham]

If you're asking about passing the exams Ariel is about right, except that Performance, in my view, needs to be understood to pass it, as do elements of Radio Nav.

If you're asking a more general question I side with captain_rossco, if you take short cuts your sins will find you out. You should do the best you can to understand all of it. It's not just about exams, it's about passing interviews, about passing type ratings and, most of all, even though the syllabus is arguably flawed, it's about having a sound technical basis for your future career.

[Dick_Dasterdly]

Read through every book and subject, but do not dwell too long on them, i spent 1 week reading each subject, and took notes, then i spent the rest of the weeks doing Bristol and various other question banks. Once you have a basic knowledge of the subject, from the reading phase, you really set your self up for the questions. This worked for me, i averaged in the high 90's. You will also find having read through teh subjects you also have an excellent knowledge of the subjects, whiles it not indepth, its enough to get you through the ATPL's and any interviews, as they do not look for experts in hydraulics or aerodynamics, just basic solid knowledge!:ok:

exceptions to this above method include;
AirLaw (cause its written in crazy language), but focus on chapters to do with seperation, minimums etc

[ali1986]

Id say you could probably use bristol to get an idea of the type of questions that they ask and to practice them is a very good idea but in the real exam there WILL be ones that are not on there so dont rely on it or you will be screwed. Also bristol has mistakes in it so beware of that.

And if you get a non-standard failure in flight thats not in the checklists or manual and you only relied on Bristol then you will be f:mad:d if you never understood it, remember you and your passengers are relying on your knowledge and skills as a pilot.

:ok:

[mcgoo]

Yes, your passengers will be mortified if they knew you had forgotten the height of the registration marks of a hot air balloon. :E

[GIZZAJOB]

Yeh and think of the terror in their faces when your flying an islander across to the IOW and they realise you dont know how many fire extinguishers there are on an aircraft with 701 seats

This could go on !! In fact Im gonna start a thread

[captain_rossco]

Bristol will do exactly what it says on the tin, rest assured, there is no doubt that you will pass the JARs with Bristol alone if you have the mental capacity to remember the questions.
The question bank has been very well put together and is kept up to date, it will prove a valuable resource alongside a bit of hard graft. It is fair to assume that most ATPL students (myself very much included), develop at least a slight reliance on the feedback questions in order to guarantee good first time passes.
However, using the feedback questions alone to pass these exams is a dangerous game as you will, without doubt, come unstuck.

Regards

CR

[zuluflyer]

hang on a minute i dont think they will ask u at an interview can u tell us where the hydraulic fluid is located i.e type specific questions. it will be more about safety what do u do in a decompression and this will be covered again in type courses.

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

Having been airline flying for a few years now, Im with Alex and Rossco on this. Yes use all means necessary to pass the exams, but Id recommend understanding it from the start.

With an interview coming up, I am as we speak trawling through Alex's Performance manual..by God Im rusty, but it's all there in the back of my head and it is just a matter of freshening up rather than trying to understand it from scratch.

If you don't understand subjects like Perf when you're doing the exams, don't rate your chances at tech interviews.

[mech500]

Some say to use the Bristol database for the exams and use ''Ace Pilot Technical Interview (and other similar books) for the interview'' ...... what do people think?

Personallly i try my very best to understand all the underlying principles but 3 months later i find that i've forgotten it all... and it seems to be the same for others in my class. So i do ask myself, is it worth spending all the extra time studying when i will inevitably forget it :ugh:

With regards to the comment above regarding experiencing a failure in flight:-
I think most people will be f:mad: if they have to resort to their ATPL theory when faced with ''a non standard failure''
I would suggest that you learn each and every system on your specific aircraft when you get a job.... and concentrate more on bristol to pass the exams.

[Rj111]

Do the JAR not take a dim view of Bristol publishing all the questions/answers? Seems a bit unethical in a way.

[Alex Whittingham]

They don't seem to mind, no-one's said anything. Mind you, some of their questions are so bad I don't know how you'd answer them unless you'd seen them before.

[JD02FLY]

Lets face it, both Oxford and Bristol will get you through the exam part to the start of your flying career , after all its just a loop you have to jump thru, and they are excellent at giving you a peg up.

The real test of your ability starts at the IR stage, if you can't fly you won't progress.

Good luck.