Which Question Bank?

[Muddy Boots]

Dear Gang,

Until two days ago I thought there was only one question bank and was about to lay down my credit card and pay the 50 quid for the next 90 days with Bristol.gs. However a post on PPRUNE by Pilot 200009 looking for a question bank app for his iPhone alerted me to FlyingExam.com which is offering for the month of Feb 100 days for a tenner!

Worried about being penny wise and pound foolish can anybody advise me which way to go? Do they have the same number of questions to practice with?

Is there another question bank I have missed?

Thank you in advance,

Muddy Boots

[paco]

There are these:

Aviation Tire (free)
atpls.org (free)
Bristol Ground School (recommended for UK exams)
Aviation Exam
easy-atpl
Dauntless

The reason why Bristol is recommended for UK exams is because the UK questions have been modified for logic and correctness, and Bristol follow it very closely.

Phil

[welliewanger]

^^^I agree with Paco^^^
I used numerous question banks for the ATPL, Bristol was the most accurate.

[XL319]

Bristol by a long mile

[tigermagicjohn]

BRISTOL by a hundred miles. The others are not as accurate! At least in the UK!

[Muddy Boots]

Thank you all for your replies. I think at the end of the day you get what you pay for and why skimp on a couple of pounds vs. the cost of the exams...

Thank you again.

Muddy Boots

[Rodders the great]

As usual, a complete load of crap being talked about these question banks. The fact is that they are all the same, and draw mainly from the big load of Italian feedback that was released a few years ago.

People say that Bristol is very accurate, true, but so are all the others. I used Bristol and FlyingExam when I was doing my exams last year, and found them to be very similar, both in numbers of questions and content. Prefered FlyingExam in the end as they have divided the question bank into different topic areas for each subject, the Bristol question bank lumps them all into one category.

[welliewanger]

Thank you Rodders for your eloquent and courteous input.

[tigermagicjohn]

I think whatever works for you. However Bristol search is very easy, you want questions about Separation in Air Law, your write Separation and you get most questions within that subject.

Also advantage with Bristol, they have many of the new questions in their V3 - and even though they say only study this if you have time, study them, because they will come up.
In Gen Nav, Rad Nav and Instruments we had many new V3 questions this last exams!

Bristol I way ahead, regardless of what others say. Some banks have many questions, but not the right or relevant questions.

[Trolle]

I used Aviation Exam and found it sufficient. My main reason for going that route rather than Bristol was that I could purchase a CD for off-line testing, which synced with my online test history. Plus, it was less expensive.

I found the questions to be more or less accurate. Can't memorize all the answers anyway, and the tests are much easier when you understand the material. Although, it certainly helps to get a feel for how the questions are worded.

Aviation Exam has a poor explanation feature for the questions, while I think Bristol's was much better. However, they are attempting to improve this feature.

[OscarVictorKilo]

Hi Muddy Boots,

I used FlyingExam with great results. :ok: I have about a month of subscription left, which I'm not using. You can have it if you want to try it out. If interested, please PM me.

-OVK

[Rat Catcher]

Aviation Exam worked fine! :ok:

[lasseb]

jaaqb.com worked for me
Never understood why people use Bristol. It's expensive, the user interface sucks and questions are not sorted.

[tigermagicjohn]

I am amazed by anti Bristol fans here.
Having looked briefly at jaaqb and flyingexams - for me they look very poor.

Yes questions are not grouped into category by itself, but make a quick search example on separation in Air Law, and you will get most related questions.

Regarding the interface, Bristol is very good, never had any major problems. Now I am one who do not just want to learn the questions, because in some subjects that will make it impossible to pass, example Gen Nav.

What Bristol have, which the others do NOT have, is many and proper explanation on many questions, specially Gen Nav, Rad Nav, Instruments, AGK, POF - until recent post I have never heard of Flyingexams, now suddenly in short time 2 different posts, seems like someone might be "spammin" PPRUNE to get some free advertisement.

Yes from first glance JAAQB and Flyingexams are cheaper, but they also look cheaper, feel cheaper and give you less help to understand the question.
Also there are many new questions now coming, in Bristol V3, and I can promise on current exams at least 25% of the exams in UK at least will have V3 questions in new exams - my own personal experience from february exams.

Yes it is many the same questions in the QB's, but I want to know more than the question and answer, I want to know WHY!

The other QB's does not tell you why, that's why they are less worth then Bristol QB - you get stuck with a Gen Nav question, and you might find out why you dont understand the question. Just getting the answer WRONG - is not satisfactory!:mad:

[tigermagicjohn]

And whats this about the prices.

Bristol cost £50 or 72 Euro for 90 days.

JAAQB - which looks like babies learning website cost 8 Euro per month each subject. To make same price as Bristol you will pay for 4 subjects only for 3 months.
In my last phase I had 6 exams, and used QB for at least 2.5 months, as part of the learning curve and practise.
So JAAQB is much more expensive then Bristol.

Yes Flyingexam seems cheaper, but without any help with the questions, the tool is not worth the money, because you save £40, but if you dont understand the question, well hard luck, try to memorize 16 whizz wheel questions for the exams in Gen Nav. Good luck!

[nigelisom]

re Flying exam
You cant answer a question/get it wrong so you store it in the memory provided then look back at it afterwards and read up the apropriate section in your notes to learn the subject properly then retake those questions.
Simple system, works for me.
Nigel

[lasseb]

tigermagic.
Did you get all that info about the other sites just from their demo version? Think you are a bit harsh.
And if you looked at the prices you would see that jaaqb has some discounts as well. So its much cheaper than Bristol, and has longer access period.

Both aviationexam and jaaqbcom offers a forum where questions can be made. Jaaqbcom offer ATPL teacher support also.
Both offers saving and exam statistic. Thats a feature I really like. at jaaqb you can mark a question and then come back to it later. None of these features are available at Bristol.

I think bristol has the best match when it comes to matching a real exam, but only in UK. In all other contries they are pretty far from.

And what do you mean by poor website design? Bristol is awfull, and requires a flash plugin. Both jaaqb and aviation exam has put a whole lot of more effort into the web features if you ask me.

And if one really need an explanation to every question there is in the bank, maybe one should start reading some books before hitting the question bank.

For info I have used both aviation exam, jaaqb and bristol. The questions are pretty much the same. The features are not.

[tigermagicjohn]

Yes Keith, agree - tried your QB, software and notes, also excellent help.
Very good explanations in the books and for the CDs, have used these together with Bristol.

Bristol main advantage many of the new questions available and fast to work with, also highly recommend Keith Williams books + software, the details to explain the questions are better then the text books.

[tigermagicjohn]

lasseb - all you need is to register with Bristol Forums ATPL, and there is much help, information and support.

I am not part of bristol distance learning, but still get much help from that forum.

Agreed maybe Bristol is best for the UK, have seen some other QB's, and they often have to many questions unrelated to the exams. (many old questions, no longer in use)

[lasseb]

Tigermagic -> I just don't get your viewpoints :)

You think that using search-phrases are much easier than a using a sorted question bank where you just click the sub-subject you want. So what if you want to practise all with VOR's ?? how many search phrases do you then need? Not all of the VOR questions containts the word "VOR"

And you also think that it's much better to have to register with a forum than having all the help build into the system from start, and having prof. ATPL teachers write there. I'm not saying that the forum is bad, but it's not integrated into the system.

The questions are pretty much the same in the 3 qb's I've tried (aviation exam, jaaqb and bristol) the only difference is that Bristol splits them up in more databases, the others don't. You can argue weather this is good or bad, but as stated I think that probably follows the UK exam (did mine in sweden)

Ok maybe the design of jaaqb is not the prettiest in the world, but what is lacking in looks is made up by features. And design is in the eye of the beholder. I think Bristols flash thingy is awfull :p

[tigermagicjohn]

First there is one very important factor, which syllabus are the QBs using. I tried Aviator, also very good, in chapters and everythingh, but for UK syllabus not the right questions, to many questions in each subject, and with that not concentrating about what is relevant for your exams.

ATPL teachers comments are probably the same as Bristol Forums, takes you 2 minutes to sign up, you search with Q number, copy and paste - and if one question has had a problem you get information and very good help.

Furthermore many questions give you instant INFO results of how to solve ready made worked problems, no need to wait for a "teacher" to get back to you with how to work a problem.

But listen what works for you, is good for you, I believe Bristol's QB is more updated for the UK exams, specially with relevance to the new questions in V3, many of them in UK exams now last time. I personally had great help of Bristol, and find other QB's annoying with to many questions not relevant for current exams, and most important do not have instant INFORMATION how to solve problems.

In Bristol example most calculations have worked sollutions how to solve problems, I did not find that with JAAQB.

To be honest, it easy to "take" questions from other QB's, but giving a worked example how to solve the problem takes more time and work!

[Keith.Williams.]

For a number of years it has been possible for candidates to pass the exams by simply memorising the answers to questions. This has led to many students taking no interest whatsoever in actually trying to learn or understand any of the subject material. They would then go to the exams and find that 90% or more of the questions where exactly the ones that they had memorised.

The authorites have finally started to take action to remedy this problem. In the case of calculations they now have 10 or more of each type. Each question is slightly different from the others. The intention is that it should be easier to learn how to solve the problems from first principles than it is to memorise all of the slightly different questions and answers.

For the factual questions, they have been equally inventive. As an example of this in POF(A) there are about 30 questions on the single subject of subsonic airflow through a venturi. There are a similar number on induced drag, on wingtip vortice, and again on gust load factor. At first glance the questions look identical. But each is slightly different.

As this process continues it will become increasingly difficult (and eventually impossible) to pass the exams without knowing and understanding the subject matter.

This does not mean that the question banks will become redundant. But it does mean that only those with properly constructed explanation banks will be of any value to users.

[paco]

I believe we are seeing the first fruits of that in a flight planning thread here. :) Not before time.

[lasseb]

I know that pprune is quite UK biased, and that might be the reason for Bristol QB being the favorite. ;-)

But not all countries actually uses the new(est) syllabus. DK is still on the 1999 one. To my knowledge jaaqb is the only QB that implements all syllabi.

Still, the very best way to use a question bank is to actually know why you answered what you did, and not just memorize the questions and choose "D" because that was what it was the last time....

In that respect, a question bank with a good feedback system and an easy way to save the questions giving you trouble would be my favorite. And I like that I can practice one group of questions at a time...

If Bristol works for you, stay with it.. but I think there are many cheaper and better alternatives out there...

[Andy365]

If I pay for the distance learning course does this include the question bank and for what time period?

[kwb911]

Andy365,

QB is not included with Bristol GS. Anybody can sign up to the Bristol QB and it is £50 for 3 months.

[nigelisom]

Andy365
The answer is yes if you use Ground Training Services for your course.

[lasseb]

Andy, that would probably depend on which of the 10.000++ ground school providers in EU/JAR that you choose ;-).

[Lightning Mate]

For a number of years it has been possible for candidates to pass the exams by simply memorising the answers to questions. This has led to many students taking no interest whatsoever in actually trying to learn or understand any of the subject material. They would then go to the exams and find that 90% or more of the questions where exactly the ones that they had memorised.

The authorites have finally started to take action to remedy this problem. In the case of calculations they now have 10 or more of each type. Each question is slightly different from the others. The intention is that it should be easier to learn how to solve the problems from first principles than it is to memorise all of the slightly different questions and answers.

For the factual questions, they have been equally inventive. As an example of this in POF(A) there are about 30 questions on the single subject of subsonic airflow through a venturi. There are a similar number on induced drag, on wingtip vortice, and again on gust load factor. At first glance the questions look identical. But each is slightly different.

As this process continues it will become increasingly difficult (and eventually impossible) to pass the exams without knowing and understanding the subject matter.

This does not mean that the question banks will become redundant. But it does mean that only those with properly constructed explanation banks will be of any value to users.

Keith Williams is, of course, correct.

Do you really think you will be a competent pilot if you don't know what you are talking about?

Ex RAF A2 QFI..............

[galleypower]

I know, its a bit an old thread, but it might be helpful for one or the other...Another question bank is available on the IPN (http://www.flightwork.com/training/atpl-theory-question-bank.html) (Int. Pilot Network). Maybe not as fancy as Bristol but free and it does what it should.

[cefey]

flyingexam.com is very good.
Most of questions same as in bristol, cost only 10 quid for 3 months.
Im very happy with my pick of that QB :)

[Treadstone1]

Sorry to bring this one up again, but has anyone used flyingexam.com for the IR exams? if so. how did you find it.

Thanks in advance.

[fwjc]

Fwiw I used Bristol as well as CATS QB for my last minute revision.

I did not complete all the questions due to time limitations. I did pass all the ATPL Theory Exams first time, so I can't be accused of memorising the answers.

Bristol was easy to use, and if you pay extra you can be sure of covering or and new syllabus. I just used the old one. It has a user friendly interface and the explanations are really helpful.

I also used, and cannot recommend enough, the CATS iPhone app. It's something like £15. It covers all the subject areas. It does let you revisit the questions you got wrong. On the downside it doesn't track your continuing progress like Bristol, and there are no explanations. On the plus side, there are no explanations, so you have to go and find out for yourself, with means you are more likely to know what you're talking about (although this doesn't help with the questions where you have to select the least wrong answer...).

The main benefit of the app is that you don't need to be connected to the internet or use a computer to access the questions. This meant I could do questions on the train, in the doctor's surgery, surreptitiously during work meetings and last thing at night before going to sleep. For that reason, despite its limitations, I still think it's worth every penny.

[Helisingh]

please put some light on Canadian ATPL(H)/IR question bank?

[paco]

There is one under construction that is more universal - the POF(H) questions cover the Canadian and EASA syllabus, and so do some of the other subjects - Canadian air law is soon to be finished, but here is the link for what will eventually be at RTFQ.org:

Home Page (http://rtfq.azurewebsites.net/)

The EASA questions have been edited for English and are what the CQB should have been!

Feel free to use it and please report back any typos! :)

[CPL]

just completed all the ATPL exam which i did through bristol. not as much about the question bank anymore and most questions have been changed for the fact of learning the theory and the not the answers. as the subject AG had questions which referred to 2 quotes about the operations and you had to choose the answer which stated if both was correct, neither was correct blah blah blah

A few cadets from oxford which i spoke to at shuttleworth said they bought the bristol question bank (which you can do online now) and they used it and said it was better than oxford.

different subjects require different ways of passing them theory and question bank.

[Marek aviator]

I recommend these atpl question banks.
BGSonline.eu/ (http://bgsonline.eu/)
MarcoATPL.com/ (http://www.marcoatpl.com/)

They are both up to date with professional pilot service.
BGSonline.eu has better explanation of questions, MarcoATPL.com has good price. I tried both of them.