Bristol Database! JAA's very soon!

[Pilot_x2009]

Hi, can anyone help me shine some light how useful bristol DB is? i've read some threads and seem to get a mixed view... What would be really helpfull is to hear from someone that has done exam recently and did they find bristol DB gave them a good lead into the questions they saw in the exam? Im shortly due for my exams & mostly intrested getting through Instruments, HP & systems...rest are ok. Cheers :)

[NickGooseBrady]

I got 98% average on my first 7 exams thanks (mostly) to the Bristol QB. I am due to take my next 7 shortly and yet again find myself shunning the course notes and now concentrating on the QB. It is dirt cheap for what you get. I know this view is controversial, but please guys, come on, what's more important, getting through the exams or trying to be mr super knowledgeable (with crap you will never use again)?

[Pilot_x2009]

Thanks for your reply, 98% wow! hope you went out to celebrate cause you owe it to your self! that gives me some faith in what i'm hearing about Bristol. I agree with your thoughts and just want to get through these 14 hoops! thanks again & all the best for your next set of JAA's.

[paco]

"come on, what's more important, getting through the exams or trying to be mr super knowledgeable"

Knowledge is what gets you through the interview.

Phil

[heli_port]

Hi, can anyone help me shine some light how useful bristol DB is?

99% average on phase 1 @ oxford. All questions except 1 on each paper seen before on bd...

:p

[Pilot_x2009]

Hi Parco, I agree to some level, but however i dont think the JAA seem to understand that to do 14 subjects in 6-7 months and pass with 75% is creating a 'mr knowledgeable'. The amount of stuff you need to know and retain to pass the exams are not tought for the long term but for short term...thats why the big schools just point you in the areas of intrest to the JAA exams. Really to fully understand & know the subjects it has to be done over a longer period so the knowledge becomes long term, thats why other skills like becoming a engineer or doctor take a long time.

[Pilot_x2009]

Thanks heli_port, all the best for 2nd phase. :)

[3bars]

99% average on phase 1 @ oxford. All questions except 1 on each paper seen before on bd...

Does that mean you got the one question you hadn't previously seen wrong every time?:E

[Whirlygig]

Pilot x2009, I'm surprised you've heard mixed views; I don't know anyone who wouldn't recommend the Bristol Question Bank.

Cheers

Whirls

[heli_port]

Does that mean you got the one question you hadn't previously seen wrong every time?:E

mmm maybe :eek: :E


Thanks heli_port, all the best for 2nd phase. http://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/smile.gif

Cheers all going well so far ;) Good luck to you too! :p

[Flying Squid]

Bristol DB is great. However I've always seen it as a supplement to my learning rather than a replacement to it (that's not meant to sound all 'holyer than thou', but you know what I mean). Although I'd be lying if I said I hadn't cast aside the text books in favour of the DB in the run up to the actual exams. There is a massive amount to learn in the time given so realistically getting through the exams without the DB would be rediculously difficult. I'm sure people have done it in the past but why bother making things harder than they need to be. So long as you learn as much as you can in the time given then use the DB to get you ready for the exams I don't think there's a problem. I know the CAA REALLY don't like the use of the DB but don't let that put you off. If they made some sort of effort to stream line the syllabus to cut out the hurrendous amounts of useless crap that currently sit's in the learning objectives then people wouldn't need it in the first place.

In short, DEFINITELY buy the database but don't replace the text books with it. As someone rightly said above, it will only spell problems when it comes to interview time!

Good luck fella.

FS :ok:

[Another TD]

Bristol have all the questions! Saw vast majority of them in my exams this year....too easy ,no harder than O levels.
Hope bristol do a medical exam QB also, always fancied myself as a Doctor but not the least bit interested in learning the subject just want to wear the uniform and pretend I'm an expert..

[CharlieLima]

anyone have a link to this bristol database, sounds like a must have.

[Whirlygig]

There's often an advert at the top of these pages for it; you can click on that (unless you have AdBlocker!). Alternatively, go to the Bristol.gs website and follow the links!

Cheers

Whirls

[EIPCW]

Recently signed up to the Bristol QB myself and it says upon entering to study database 2 as this is what the JAA are using for the exams. Is database 2 enough to get you through the exams (with the help of the textbooks of course) or is there a need to also go through database 1?

Cheers

[paco]

"to do 14 subjects in 6-7 months"

You have 18 months from the date of passing the first exam to complete all your studies, not including taking the exams. For modular distance learning at least.

I do appreciate that you need exam technique, because frankly the whole question databank idea is a dog's breakfast - Wing designers setting questions for pilots in POF are part of why the questions are so bad, leaving aside the use of English.

However, having said that, most of the subject matter will be relevant at some stage in your career, and students turning up at some schools for the refresher week without having taken the wrappings off their study material but instead have hit the data banks represents a potentially serious CRM problem! It's pretty much the same effort to learn the material as to learn that many questions, so why not do the job properly?

And what do you do when the question bank changes as it is scheduled to do?

“Pure book knowledge should be impeccable - every second of doubt about "what do I do now?" is worth 30% of workload. Mostly because the self-doubt and second-guessing are real time and mental capacity wasters. The more you know flat cold, the easier it is to fly under the gauges”

Nick Lappos (very senior helicopter person)

[Pilot_x2009]

Hi Nick, i 100% agree with your comments but most top flying schools are running these 6-7 month full time crash courses for 14 exams and just dont give the time to really study the material.... but the aviation industry seem to be ok with it! Your right and i think the exams should be set by real pilots and be more meaning full. Cheers

[cresta10]

Having passed all 14 with an avg 97% , I will give a large credit to Bristol QB….But remember that a good QB doesn’t mean that you consider yourself exempted from learning what’s all there in the manuals. They are important too!!!

You cant depend solely on QB especially for the subjects like Nav , Flt Planning , Performance , Mass& Balance and Met ( to some extent)….You need to know the subject matter as well……However for the rest of subjects , the QB mirrors the exams to a large extent…:D

As far as the knowledge is concerned, I have already forgotten most of the stuff that I learned 7 months back (module 1 )….I recently bought the ‘ Ace the Technical Pilot Interview’ and found it pretty handy. It has a gist of all 14 subjects and probably contains everything that we need to know… Its beyond our capacity (especially mine...) to retain all that massive amount of matter that we learned, therefore I found this book quite handy…

So guys, know your manuals well, do the QB and once passed, get any book that keeps your knowledge alive later on…..All the best :ok:

[Rj111]

What is the ratio of questions in the question bank, to the number of questions you get asked in the test?

I agree that you shouldn't rely on them. Learn to pass the exam, and use the questions to ace it.

[DarkSoldier]

What is the ratio of questions in the question bank, to the number of questions you get asked in the test?

Varies...for example the Met QB has over 1,000 questions and the exam has 90. Air Law on the other hand has over 400 in the QB and 75 in the exam...

[Pilot_x2009]

To all above,

I like to all thank you :ok: for posting your replys & thoughts and have been a great help. Using Bristol DB as a learning aid along with the books for stuff i didn't grasp has been of a great value. Lets hope i can pull of the pass marks i need this week for my JAA's! :confused:

Many thanks,
Pilot x2009