Studying for PPL exams [Archive]

peregrineh

22nd Oct 2013, 19:53

I will tell you my own experience draw your own conclusions - before I get slated am not recommending any particular method.

I got a set of the Pooleys PPL books and also the PPL Confuser. The only book I read taking me 2-3 days was the Human Factors one - arguably the easiest one. It was the only exam I failed.

After that I discarded the books and only used the Confuser - knocked them out at about 3 exams every 2 days averaging above 90%.

My opinion us that the Confuser is all you need to pass the exams the explanations in the answers are very good. You will get the real knowledge that you need from the actual experience in the air.

Don't even get me started on the whizz wheel, brilliant in its time, totally redundant in today's world.

peregrineh

22nd Oct 2013, 19:54

Having said that the Oxford RT for Imc and VFR are excellent - would recommend getting them

krankyd

23rd Oct 2013, 08:01

My experience has been this:

1) read the books a couple of times. Make notes on the items that look difficult to remember (anything that is an acronym you'll probably need!)
2) use the question bank to gauge how much I actually know. Usually I do 3-4 runs and note *all* the wrong answers.
3) Spend a couple of hours looking up, understanding and realizing why my answers were incorrect.
4) repeat from number 2

I've found items that are in the books that you don't think are relevant, that then come up in the question bank. I think if you attended a sit-down ground school they have more of an idea of the syllabus that needs to get taught, as opposed to just trying to learn the whole book.

I break up my sessions into 20 minute blocks - 5 mins break (cup of tea, browse internet or something) then back for another 20 mins.

Managed to pass all my PPL exams this way, and I'm about to pass my IMC in the next week or so. This approach worked well for me..

riverrock83

23rd Oct 2013, 11:23

Note that the exams have recently changed (in the last month) - old versions of question banks wont be representative.

You need to read the material - not just do questions. There is a reason that the exams / theoretical knowledge syllabus exists, and that is to learn about flying. Its true that there are things in there which aren't going to be much use to you, but most of it is. Only look at question banks once you already feel like you know the topic, then use the question banks to confirm your knowledge - not give you it.

The exams shouldn't be seen as barriers to get past before you are allowed to continue, but confirmation of what you know. In the next few years, all students are going to be forced to do X hours of theoretical knowledge tuition (in a variety of media, which could be all face to face or a combination of online / DVD / books / face to face) before they are allowed to take the exams. This is partly to stop those who just hit question banks.

peregrineh - I have drawn my own conclusions. They aren't pretty. I suspect that if someone asked / asks you flying based questions 6 months after you took the exams you wont have a clue. I hope this isn't the case!

peregrineh

23rd Oct 2013, 15:07

@riverrock please forgive me for wanting to spend more time in the air and less in the class room having met the committments that permit me to do so.

I seem to do ok on the monthly Airbrained quiz in Pilot magazine - so please dont you worry yourself on my behalf.

Now back to your whizzwheel!

nick ritter

23rd Oct 2013, 15:26

Gulfstream asks a simple question if the oxford DVDs & a PPL confuser would be enough to study for the written exams? I would say it is too much. All that you need to pass the written (multiple choice) exam is the PPL confuser

Spend an hour going over each one – highlighting the right answer to minimize the time reading rubbish – and you are done

As Peregrine says it is pretty straight forward & I found it highly amusing that the only exam that he spent 3 days studying for he actually failed

Of course there is a very real difference to gaming an exam & actually understanding the subject. But that wasn’t the question. It seems Gulfstream just wants to know what is the path of least resistance to passing these exams to which the simple answer is the PPL confuser

For me there is nothing like experience. Ideally flying with someone post PPL who is much more capable & experienced & who has asimilar profile to what you are looking to gain from your flying ambitions, be it touring, aerobatic, instrument or whatever, so to help you reach the next step in your flying career

For what it is worth I never used my whizz wheel & god help me if I was ever called upon to do so

Pilot.Lyons

23rd Oct 2013, 16:22

Ive forgotten how to use mine too.... Calculations... Theres an app for that!

If you want the exams done and dusted then go to someone like derek davidson

Buttino

23rd Oct 2013, 16:33

Airquiz.com

That go me through my exams.

Grob Queen

23rd Oct 2013, 17:55

Gulf,
I am currently studying for my last two exams (Nav and Flt Planning). Having passed all the tohers under the old regime, these last two are to be taken under EASA. The old Confuser, IMHO is not going to be any use to you now, as the questions have radically changed. Lots of them are based on CPL/Atpl questions.

THere is no PLOG or chart in the Nav exam now, purely questions on how to use your Whizz wheel in all its guisies, radio Nav, Q Codes, GPS, chart projections, lat and long calculations, time calculations and magnetic compass. Believe me, you NEED to study in the books i'm afraid. Now there is no shortcut (believe me, if there were I would use it). BUt look at it this way, in the end you will be a better pilot for it. Use Airquiz, but ONLY for practice. Do not learn jsut those questions as they are not the real ones.

Hope this helps
GQ

Maoraigh1

23rd Oct 2013, 18:54

purely questions on how to use your Whizz wheel in all its guisies,
So the whizzwheel is now mandatory?
I used one in 1964, but when returning to flying in 1987 I used a scientific calculator and trig, rather than relearn.

Gulfstream757

24th Oct 2013, 16:27

First of all a big thanks to everyone who has replied so far, some food for thought definitely.

Buttino- Do the airquiz questions pertain to the IAA exams?

Grob Queen-Can you recommend any questions banks that are up to date

nick ritter- Good advice thanks, I'd like to have a good understanding of the topic as well as being able to answer ea questions, for this what would you recommend?

riverrock83- How many hours did you have to put in to get a good understanding of the material? And using what methods.

krankyd- Great advice thanks very much :) Out of interest how long does it take to get the results back?

peregrineh- Thanks for your advice, did you find the pooleys confuser good?

Pilot.Lyons- Thanks good advice.

Any more tips will be greatly appreciated.
'57

BEagle

24th Oct 2013, 20:01

1. There is now a mandatory requirement for 100 hrs of ground theoretical knowledge training for the PPL. How the hours are allocated is up to the ATO providing the PPL course.

2. Before taking any exam, a student has to be signed off by the ATO as being ready to take the exam.

No longer is it a question of simply finding out the answers, doing the exams then b*ggering off to some US PPL puppy farm to do the flying.

krankyd

25th Oct 2013, 07:50

airquiz results are e-mailed back <2 mins of submitting the exam. I only tend to do a couple of exams a day, the rest of the time it's checking the questions I've got wrong, and trying to understand why I had failed them. It can take some time to research and I usually 'read around' the subject to get a big picture, just in case it's more of a complicated issue that I have not grasped.

Lots of what you will learn you will either forget or never use, but don't let this put you off. Your PPL is a license to learn, the exams just make sure you know the required knowledge at that particular time to get your license.

IMHO learning to fly is not done by passing exams - it's by flying.

peregrineh

25th Oct 2013, 10:50

Gulfstream - I took my test a way back so my info will be dated, and if the exams have changed in content as suggested below, it seems the Confuser question bank is therefore redundant. A couple of points to make here - it seems that you are only 15, and hence have time on your side. So by all means read the books and watch the DVDs (Oxford DVDs are first class - get the RT ones as well). Secondly I would warn you that while pprune is a fantastic source of information, if there is anything I have learnt in flying - ask a question and there are normally about 10 different opinions - learn to see the wood from the trees.

There will also be some purely wrong information posted as well (factually wrong) I would ask your FI for example whether this is true, but I could be wrong:

There is now a mandatory requirement for 100 hrs of ground theoretical knowledge training for the PPL. How the hours are allocated is up to the ATO providing the PPL course'

I would agrre very much with krankyd assessment: ' Your PPL is a license to learn, the exams just make sure you know the required knowledge at that particular time to get your license.

IMHO learning to fly is not done by passing exams - it's by flying.'

Good luck and enjoy it!

riverrock83

25th Oct 2013, 15:10

riverrock83- How many hours did you have to put in to get a good understanding of the material? And using what methods.

I'm afraid I wasn't counting! I completed the exams and got my licence before the EASA changes came in. I got my PPL after taking my time through the course over 2 1/2 years, enjoying the learning (practical and theory).
I even enjoyed Air Law:O

I believe AirQuiz has been updated since the new exams have come out, but AirQuiz doesn't take any of its questions directly from the exam papers (intentionally) so is a slightly different kind of "Question bank".

Technique wise, I read through the text books once quickly initially, then again in slow detail, taking notes as I went (I find it easier to remember things when I take notes).
Once I thought I had a grasp on the topic, I used AirQuiz to confirm my knowledge. Each time I got a question wrong, I worked out why I had got it wrong.

Just before I took each exam, I then went through the appropriate "Exam Secrets Guide" which I'd borrowed off a friend (he didn't have the full set). See EASA PPL Exam Secrets Guides (http://shop.pilotwarehouse.co.uk/product19670023.html)
Some questions are worded in odd ways and can confuse, so these helped. The ones I had said they were EASA but I know the exam content has since changed so these are probably out of date now.

Note - I got > 93% in 5 of 7 papers (including 100% in two of them).

Other thing I'd say is if you are 15 then exams may not still be valid by the time you take your skills test. Would need to check, but I believe you have to pass all the exams within 18 months of sitting the first one, and within 6 sittings (each of which is 10 days long) including resits (max 3 resits and you can't resit in the same sitting).
Once you have passed all of them, you must get your licence within 2 years. Min age for a licence is 17.

Best of luck!

Johnm

25th Oct 2013, 16:23

The objective isn't to pass the exams it is to thoroughly understand the theory behind flying. I started the PPL aged 52 and spent a good 100 hours studying the Trevor Thom books alongside flying. I now have over 1000 hours and a full IR and I'm in my 60s. I still study to keep up to date and fly regularly mostly IFR.

I'm not keen to share the sky with folk who see the exams as a hurdle to be jumped before charging around the sky in blissful ignorance of half the basics.

That said, I haven't used a whizz wheel since I got my PPL and no longer even possess one ;)

stephenr

25th Oct 2013, 16:43

I just took the new Meteorology exam and it was very hard.

My usual method is to read Pratt's book once, then again, then the oxford CBT, then do the confusers once, then again with the wrong answers and then finally the Oxford CBT answers. So probably about 20 hours in total.. I want to learn the subject rather than the questions.

This has stood me well so far, the 4 old papers I did it was high 90's. The new paper today was very hard and there were 3 questions which were 50/ 50 and I got lucky on. I got 85% in total, but it could have easily been 70%

Having a break now...

Grob Queen

26th Oct 2013, 15:52

Grob Queen-Can you recommend any questions banks that are up to date

Gulf,
I suggest that you use the old PPL perfector to get an idea of the questions (some may still be in use). Keith Williams, the author of the PPL perfector is working on a question bank for the EASA exams. Give him an email if you like, i'll PM you if i can remember how!)

Yep, the Whizz Wheel is mandatory and has been for the three years I have been learning to fly;)

I study along the lines of Riverrock, read through the textbook making notes (I now use Pooleys as I find them easier to understand than Pratt). Then go over my note making further notes and key fact cards, then using airquiz and perfector to test myself.

May I suggest you join the Student Forum on Flyer? I am a frequent poster on there, and the qualified pilots are superb and very generous in their help. There are student fly outs too, and its very well worth it :)

Good luck!
GQ

Genghis the Engineer

27th Oct 2013, 12:34

Gulfstream757

27th Oct 2013, 13:19

Hi G,

What methods would you recommend for studying,

Thanks,
'57

Genghis the Engineer

27th Oct 2013, 14:29

What I've always found very effective is creating my own notes on the subject, then usually further notes from those but briefer to get to the point that I can basically write notes down on anything that matters without going back to the book. Doesn't have to be written - recorded so you can play it back in the car works very well for some people, various computer based methods for others.

Another good approach can be to work with a study partner and take it in turns to research material then teach it to each other. Of course that requires a study partner, which not everybody has.

The critical factor is learning by doing, rather than just reading or listening.

I used the first method for most of my qualifications - especially PPL and CPL and tried to avoid practice questions until I had a good understanding of the topics.

G

stephenr

28th Oct 2013, 09:43

Genghis the Engineer

28th Oct 2013, 17:34

I am self taught at the moment, I've only had a trial lesson. I want to get the exams out the way before I start training.

I think everyone has been lucky historically as the questions have made themselves online (both PPL and ATPL). Some flight schools don't treat the papers with great security...

I would rather know the subjects inside out and pass the papers rather than learn the answers which is described earlier..

Very laudable, although in my opinion - skip navigation for now. Until you've actually spent a bit of time flying, it just doesn't make much sense as you don't really have the mental framework in which to fit it.

Also be aware of the time limit on exams - unless you are confident of the timescale for your flying course, don't take the exams too early, otherwise you may have to re-take them.

G

Gulfstream757

28th Oct 2013, 18:10

Genghis do you know how many hours are needed of ground school for the ppl?

Thanks for your advice on studying taking notes has worked for me in the past.

'57

FirstOfficer

29th Oct 2013, 13:36

Gulfstream57,

I believe with the new PPL rules there will be a need of 100 hours ground school to be provided by the training provider, the rest is selft taught.

:ok:

Genghis the Engineer

29th Oct 2013, 14:13

Gulfstream57,

I believe with the new PPL rules there will be a need of 100 hours ground school to be provided by the training provider, the rest is selft taught.

:ok:

Although if any authorities are actually checking that is happening, I'd be surprised. I'm sure that some checking is going on, but ultimately it's going to be "is there some grounschool", and "is the school checking that students are doing a sensible amount of study before the exams".

G

sudden twang

25th Nov 2013, 19:31

Does Derek teach at a higher level than PPL ?

BillieBob

26th Nov 2013, 17:03

I believe with the new PPL rules there will be a need of 100 hours ground school to be provided by the training provider, the rest is selft taught.No, there is a requirement for 100 hours of theoretical knowledge instruction, a proportion of which must be formal classroom instruction and the remainder may be by other means including 'directed' self study. The proportion of formal classroom instruction may be as low as 10%

Although if any authorities are actually checking that is happening, I'd be surprised.The UK CAA, for one, is very hot on this and it would be dangerous to assume that they will not require evidence that the full 100 hours is being completed.

Frontal

27th Nov 2013, 06:50

I have just completed my PPL, but throughout the whole process I felt that there was a definite lack of seriousness when it came to ground school.

Currently, the emphasis seems to be on learning to pass the exams, and this can be done with a number of products that are freely available on the net, instead of properly educating student pilots to an acceptable level of theoretical knowledge.

I for one, welcome the idea of some formal, classroom based learning (even though I no longer require it), but am unable to see how the FBO will offer it without a large increase of the course cost.

Unfortunately, I feel that the FBO's will probably get around the need to provide proper ground school, but rely on "FOFO" learning instead, that will ultimately lead to the same situation that we have at the moment, which is learning to pass the exams!

krankyd

27th Nov 2013, 08:05

>>the emphasis seems to be on learning to pass the exams, and this can be done with a number of products that are freely available on the net, instead of properly educating student pilots to an acceptable level of theoretical knowledge.

I thought that was the idea behind the exams, and the amount of questions that basically make it impossible to memorize all the correct answers - basically the CAA mandate that by passing the exams you have shown the correct amount of theoretical knowledge at that time to pass that exam? I'm not sure how you'd memorize the correct answers for the NAV exam..

Frontal

27th Nov 2013, 12:02

I thought that was the idea behind the exams, and the amount of questions that basically make it impossible to memorize all the correct answers - basically the CAA mandate that by passing the exams you have shown the correct amount of theoretical knowledge at that time to pass that exam? I'm not sure how you'd memorize the correct answers for the NAV exam..

You will find that the online offerings have quite an up-to-date collection of CAA questions.