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kiron
10th May 2002, 18:20
Question regarding SA CAA exams ??

Im sure this question has been asked before , but I would like to ask it again ??

Why is it that if one is attempting the CPL exams for the first time they have to write a minimum of 4 subjects and pass 3 in order to carry ?

Isnt this abit bazzare ??

I totally agree with the passmark being 75 % (all in the name of aviation safety).....but fail to understand why if one writes ...for example 4 subjects....gets 80 % for 2 of them and 70 % for the other 2 .....they have to re-write all 4 from the beginning ??

At +- R250 , 00 a subject thats R 1000 down the tubes !!!
Technically u have passed 2 and failed 2 , which (in the normal sense) means u have to re-write just the 2 that u failed ??

I think this ruling should be re-considered....they should implement a rule something like this :

One should be aloud to sit however many exams they wish to do provided they pass all eight within the first six months of the first sitting , with the passmark remaining at 75 % .
Eg . If you write 2 subjects on the 1st of January then you must by law pass the other 6 by the 1st of June , or you have to start over !!

Another suggestion being that if you fail any one subject more than 3 times then you have to start over ! So if you've written 6 and passed 6 and you've just failed the 7th and attempted it twice and still failed , then you must re-write all 6 !!

Once all the subjects are passed they should be valid for a year from the date of your last successful sitting !

This is a good example in which the CAA can increase the number of pilots qualifying as well as not compromise the issue of safety .

These are just suggestions in which the CAA can assist the pilots out there in helping to curb the spiralling costs of aviation ....


Can anyone shed some light on this topic ??

Whitebug-speed
12th May 2002, 15:24
Well then that would just make it too easy huh...

An individual who is doing a CPL ground school full time may write one subject every two weeks for example, then nobody will fail!;)

Gerund
12th May 2002, 16:26
The exams are basically a f**ko filter. Anyone can pass them with the minimum of application. Looking at the people who do pass them, there is a very good argument for making it mandatory to pass all eight in one go, with a referral system whereby a marginal fail in one paper means that just this paper has to be taken again. A fail at the second attempt means all eight have to be taken again.

This is the norm with other professional exams, which are much, much harder.

Passing the exams is easy enough as it is.

Free State Bandit
13th May 2002, 14:24
Not so sure about now, but when I did the UK CPL in 85 you had to pass seven out of the eight subjects to carry. Having said that, when I did the SAA CPL in 82 to pass seven out of eight would have been almost impossible, due to the fact that the then Chief Exam setter and marker (Mcglashen) took as far as I could see the UK CAA questions made them more difficult and then reduced the credited marks for each question. Therefore, it ended a case of trying to beat the system, and not a test of ones knowledge.