Mock exam questions

[davew1]

All,

I have began reading up for my PPL exams. I have read various threads for mock test that are available online, PPLconfuser etc, but these threads were sometime ago so I guess my question is would they content still be valid in the online test, questions and formats, or would it be a better idea to get a text book from somewhere like pooley's?

Any suggestion would be great,

Cheers

[StuartUK]

I've been using pplcruiser.co.uk for all of my exams so far and found it to be very useful. Approx 75% of the questions on the exam papers I've sat so far have been on the site so as long as you hit the books first you'll be fine. And at £4 per exam topic for 90 days access it's the only thing in aviation that is cheap!

I'd strongly recommend getting a book (I went with Pooley's), take a couple of read throughs, and then hit the exam questions.

Good luck! You'll be happy to know that the topics after you've completed Air Law are more interesting.

[Howard Long]

I used the Pooley's series air pilot manuals, together with the following...

Pooley's Q&A book: good colour explanations
AFE Simplifier: really good short cram sections
PPL Cruiser: immediate results online
Air Quiz: similar to PPL cruiser but results on email
Great Circle iPad apps: questions very similar to the real exam

After reading the Pooley's air pilot manual section for each exam, I immediately digested the AFE simplifier cram for it, and took a mock exam. Then it was an iterative process, re-reading the sections I was weak on, and do another mock exam. Usually I'd do about half a dozen mock exams before I was ready for the real thing. In the end, I was getting 100%. Wish I'd used this technique 30 odd years ago when it mattered a bit more for my career!

Cheers, Howard

[AberdeenAngus]

:ok: +1 for Great Circle IPad apps. Cheap too!

[al-vin-thechipmunk]

Pooleys Volume 8 - new book, highly recommended, especially if you used the Air Pilot Manuals to study.

Which texts did you use?

[Howard Long]

Fwiw, Pooley's vol 8 = Pooleys Q&A book.

Also, "Trevor Thom" books oft quoted are the forerunners of Pooleys Air Pilot Manual.

The PPL confuser book seems to have morphed into the Great Circle apps, together with the same errors.

Main problem with the Great Circle apps is that they have a habit of crashing which is frustrating, but the content is spookily close to the real thing.

Cheers, Howard

[davew1]

Thanks for the replies all, I think I'll have a look at pooley's website and the various others mentioned. Start my training next month so I've a little time to shop around.

cheers

[AberdeenAngus]

I don't think there is anything wrong doing past papers so long as you use them to highlight areas in which you are deficient. Then take that info and hit the books again. Don't just learn the questions by rote.

[Frontal]

Another vote for PPLCruiser, when backed up with proper theoretical knowledge such as the Oxford CBT PPL course.

[helelizwil]

I am currently sitting my PPL exams (five down, two to go) and have found practice papers an essential part of my revision, not because I want to "scrimp" on the learning, but for the simple reason that multiple choice exams are typically designed to catch you out. So, even if you know the syllabus back to front, the way they phrase the questions can really throw you. So I would certainly recommend looking at practice papers before sitting the exam (but after reading the textbooks).

For initial reading, I would highly recommend Trevor Thoms' textbooks, which are pretty good. I've heard it said though that different text books are better for different subjects though –*this guide might be of some help: Ground School Textbook Guide (http://www.coventrygroundschool.co.uk/book1.htm)

Unfortunately I found it AFTER I'd bought my books!

As for practice papers, I have found AFE's Q&A simplifier to be an absolute gem of a book. It has three practice papers per topic and the questions are very close to what you get in the exam. It also offers really detailed explanations to answers – so you can work out where you went wrong.

I agree with Howard Long about Great Circle's apps. Lots of errors (which isn't good if you are trying to learn stuff) and they crash a LOT. Also, while it was good for air law which has short Qs and As, it is pretty impractical for topics such as Nav, and the questions were just too long to read on a phone for Meteorology. Another flaw is, they just give you the right answer, and no reasoning behind it. So not a good one to learn from. I bought the whole set of subjects and only really found it useful for air law and factors and performance.

Hope that's some help – and best of luck!!