Ppl Theory Exam This Weekend

[jnicholas]

Hi All,
I've got my PPL theory cyber exam booked in for this weekend. This is my first attempt at it and I am pretty nervous. I have read through the Bob tait BAK and Day VFR books as well as the VFR Guide, AIP and the VFG.

Does anyone have any tips on further preperation for the exam in any shape or form? They would all be very much appreciated!!

Cheers,
Jake

[Fly-by-Desire]

The VFG answers pretty much every question, know it back to front and have it handy, make sure you READ the questions! :ok:

[WannaBeBiggles]

Don't worry too much about it mate, just be familiar with all the Bob Tait BAK and PPL stuff and you'll be right, he prepares you well.

Cover all the subjects and make sure you have a good understanding of them all.

One thing I would get used to though, is learning how and where to find information in your CAO, AIP, CAR and ERSA.

Though the most important thing you must do is RTFQ (Read The F*cking Question)! This goes for all CASA exams, right through to ATPL. CASA are notorious for making some test more like an english test, so take your time, read the whole question and if you don't understand it, read it again, draw a picture or use your pencil, ruler etc as visual aids in working out your answer (rulers make great wings).

Best of luck, and try to relax :ok:

[VH-XXX]

An AMBULATORY person is an ABLE bodied person, so:

Can you refuel an aircraft with an ambulatory person on board? NO.

(unless there are excemptions etc, but that won't be in the PPL exam)


There will be a small number of Human Factors questions in there.

Might be one on Looking down in the cockpit whilst turning, then looking out the window and how that might affect you - should be logical if you've studied that bit.

Also, make sure your first and last light calculations are accurate and that you can confidently convert from EST to CST to WA time without error. These are multipart questions and you'll lose a lot if you get them wrong so be careful with them.

Make sure you know your Density Height calculation - from memory this can't be written on anything that you take in and it's not in the VFG.


If I recall correctly, you can take in your VFG and ERSA - the VFG is extremely handy and I would go as far to say that 70%+ of the answers are in there if you know where to find them. Make sure you know where to find the weather forecase bits around Inter and Tempo etc and the refuelling distances etc.

From memory there was a confusing question in there about flying at 1,500ft and the requirement for position fixes - I might need a reminder on that one.

[bentleg]

Some questions have a multi-choice answer. The most conservative answer is not always the correct one.

[William Shatner]

When working through the questions, quite often you will answer by gut instinct. Later, you may be reviewing the answers and end up double-guessing yourself.

More often than not, the first answer you put in is the correct one.

Don't get caught up with convoluted "possible" answers if you are not sure. Go with the gut instinct.

Also, do as many sample exams as you possibly can, under test conditions (lock yourself away for the alloted time, with the required equipment, and no distractions). Sample exams will illustrate your areas of deficiency, and give you a study strategy. Additionally, many of the questions you get will be identical to the actual exam questions.

As others have stated, RTFQ. Analyse EVERY single word in the question. For example, WILL and MAY have two specific and different definitions. You WILL get other questions with ambiguous words which are not ambiguous at all. You MAY misread them, while concentrating on the actual aviation part of the question.

If you are continuing on to CPL, it is worth getting started on the CPL exams while your PPL exam knowledge is still fresh. For most of the CPL exams, you will find that 80% or so of the information has been covered in the PPL. The CPL exams will ask you tougher questions, and require a more detailed level of knowledge, and also introduce other elements, but you'll be surprised at how much you will have already covered in the PPL.

Don't stress. If you have prepared properly, at the end of the PPL exam, you will likely be thinking that it really wasn't as difficult as you thought it would be.

Good luck!

[jnicholas]

Thanks very much for the input guys. I hope to go through a practice cyber exam tomorrow from Bob Tait, with the real one on Saturday. I shall re-read through the VFR Guide, however there isn't enough time in a life time to go through all of the CAR, CAO and CAAP's. My instructor said for the PPL most of it is referenced in doc's you can take in (AIP, VFRG etc) so I'm not too worried about that.

Any further hints and tips will all be greatly appreciated.

[VH-XXX]

You do not need CAR, CAO & CAAPS with you for the PPL exam. When I did the PPL exam I didn't even know what they were except for what the acronym meant and I still got over 90%.

Know where to find stuff in the VFG.

You used to be able to put post-it notes in it to highlight the sections and write on them eg. fuel but I don't think you can write on the tags any more.

Tag Weather, Refuelling regs, Fuel planning, time conversions and f&l light as a minimum.

[Bounceferret]

In all seriousness I wouldn't get too worked up over the PPL exam, it's completely knowledge based. If you've done your study (Bob Tait) you'll be right.
Do the prac tests!
Know your BOD/EOD's (no need to worry about day light saving or converting too much from EST to CST) know off heart DA and PA's. Make sure you read the example ARFOR's out of the little blue book and understand exactly what they mean.

Most of the questions asked in the cyber are almost exactly the same as Taits.
The exam branch arn't trying to make you fail yet (that comes later), but testing that you meet a standard.

Only docs you'll req are a PCA, ERSA, VFG (only exam this is allowed in) possibly Syd WAC.
Don't need to bring cao's car's etc etc

ps.
The mixture for the best power setting is slightly richer then peak EGT (only one I boned)

[jnicholas]

Well i sat my exam today, I think it all went pretty well - there were a few ambiguous questions but I guess that is to be expected with a PPL exam. Only problem is when I submitted it something went wrong. I got the CFI and he re-booted the computer and re-submitted. Unfortunately though, i now won't get the result until monday. Going to be a nervous wait over the weekend!

Thx for all your tips though guys, it's much appreciated.
Now i just need to find a 6 seater single to do some private flights in. Unfortunately a 172 doesn't cut it with my family.
Any ideas on where one may be around the sunshine coast / north brisbane regions?

[bentleg]

Now i just need to find a 6 seater single to do some private flights in. Unfortunately a 172 doesn't cut it with my family.



Get some hours up in the 172 first I suggest, before you tackle the added complexity of a constant speed prop and everything happening faster as it does in the bigger (and faster) singles.

[jnicholas]

Yeah i'll get some hrs up in the 172's as well. After i get my PPL through the paperwork in a few week's i'm going to do my CSU, retrac and G1000 courses. Still want to find a 6 seater now so i can start to build a relationship with the owner / operator.

[jnicholas]

Well guys I just got my result from the exam on Saturday. Got a pass and with 88%!! Thanks for all the tips, they really did help! Now just for the rec flight and test flight. Almost done!