PPL written exams - are they difficult?

[Wilbo1314]

hi all,

im new to the forum, and flying, i just found this forum while searching on google for flight school info.

I have a question regarding the exams part of a ppl (JAR?) license. looking at what is required for the license it states i would need to sit 7 written exams. i presume these wouldn't be easy but just how difficult and time consuming are they to pass?

i plan on doing this in my spare time as i work full time, so i am a bit concerned that i might be taking on something that i have little hope of realistically attaining. is the PPL license something that can be done in your spare time or is it more of a full time venture?

any advice would be appreciated.

[Gomrath]

It is like everything else in life. You get out of it what you are prepared to put in. Nothing comes for free.
If you don't study - you won't pass.
If you have doubts before you even start that you won't have the time to put into it - then you would be best to not start and save yourself many thousands of pounds.

[Croqueteer]

:ok:don't listen to Gloomy Gomrath. There is nothing difficult in the exams, but there is a lot of it! Go for it.

[Piper.Classique]

Spare time is fine. If you can get a few days together for some concentrated flying fairly early on it would help. You will need to do some home study, but it isn't even O level standard.
Try not to have long gaps between lessons.

[Buttino]

There are 9 exams now and they're all multiple choice. I'm not academic in the slightest and managed to pass them. There's plenty of material out there to help you pass.

[ChickenHouse]

Wilbo, don't be afraid of these exams. When I was learning for my 7 JAR writtens, I used the same software used for exam later - passed at a place where they used computers to gather the results and they told us the software before. Total time for the 7 was given 6:00. I was out of the exam room after 40 minutes with an average score above 95 for all 7. So, two things -> train carefully and train the answers -> don't panic, it is plenty(!) of time.

[Flyingmac]

Don't believe them. I've been flying for many years. I did an exam recently just for fun, and failed.


I've grounded myself while I read up on a few things.

[squidie]

I wouldn’t say they are easy, unless you cheat somehow? I found the JAR PPL exams reasonably but not an easy exam, put plenty of revision in using the manuals and you should be fine. I did mine a few years ago before EASA which I believe have changed the exams.


Put a couple of hours a day in, or an hour if you can.

[foxmoth]

When I did my instructors course I was told to aim it at someone who is mid GCSE level but not studied for some years, so not too difficult for most.

[AndoniP]

Hi Wilbo,

They're not that difficult to be honest. Depending on your availability and how academically minded you are, if you are able to attend some sort of ground school maybe on weekends, that will help you immeasurably.

I did my PPL and exams whilst working full time and it wasn't a problem at all.

For things like navigation I failed the first time, then I actually did practical nav exercises and I understood it a lot better, and passed easily the next.

Get yourself some decent manuals and start reading - the Pooleys or AFE books aren't bad, and have some mock exams in them. Also get yourself the PPL confuser to train some of the answers into you. A lot of people will tell you not to do this but it's a way to pass and in the end that's what counts. As long as you keep reading and keep your skills up that's what counts.

Make sure you keep up a decent rate of flying. Not too many gaps between flights. Good luck

[Wilbo1314]

thanks for the reply guys. im not the most academically minded but ive never failed an exam ive sat so maybe there is hope for me. though saying that it was the scottish educational system i came through so im not sure how much of an achievement that actually is lol :ugh:

it sounds like most other exams though, its as easy as you make it for yourself. i'm going to give a go this summer hopefully so i'll invest in the books this weekend and read them over a few times to give myself a head start. cheers :ok:

[tmmorris]

I'm not a ground instructor but I am a teacher with a PPL. I would concur they are roughly GCSE level but the ability to learn stuff definitely diminishes with age. However the main difference is the multiple choice format - sounds like GCSE but actually the answers on the PPL exams are carefully chosen to represent likely errors you might make (whereas GCSE multiple choice often seem to include several dumb answers you'd never pick).

[barit1]

One data point, perhaps pertinent, perhaps not.

52 years ago when I was approaching my PPL I did the self-study bit, and coupled with the fact I had grown up in a private flying environment, I felt pretty confident. But I didn't want to crash & burn with overconfidence, either.

My college dormitory mates were aviation buffs, although I was the only one with any hours logged. But they were a bit curious, and regarded me a bit of a challenge, about the task I had set on. So 2 or 3 of them did the self-study at the same time. IIRC we did compare notes from time to time, but each was basically on his own.

So the group of us took the exam at the same time. To our mutual liking, we all passed with pretty good scores - 90%+ I think. My flight experience did not give me any significant advantage. :)

So take the study seriously, have someone to compare notes with, and don't lose any sleep over it!

[cockney steve]

I was in my late 40's when I read the Trevor Thom series of books (Ebay or Amazon) BUT BEWARE...the syllabus's (syllabi?) may well have changed.
though the physics/ mechanics /biology haven't.
Having had a lifelong interest in aeromodelling and boats, I had a very basic idea of navigation....airlaw, Human Performance ,and R/T were all a bit new......I found some dummy tests on line and tried them for the sheer hell of it.... well over 70% except Airlaw.....
I have never had a single flying lesson , nor any ground-school tuition.
As they are multiple choice, , 4 choices gives you a 25% chance to be correct....3 choices , =33% chance... so, as long as you have an UNDERSTANDING of the subject-matter, the right answer is already presented to you.

The Scottish education system is superior to the English one. (fact!)
you can pass these exams , the fact you have the initiative to find PPRune is a good start!

The hardest part will be finding the cash for the lessons and exams....that's why I'm earthbound!...go for it!.

[JOE-FBS]

Certainly in 2008 they were not conceptually difficult, especially if you have a moderate education in science and sums. There is plenty to learn so make the time. Ideally, do some classes at your club / school. Air Law is tedious but necessary. You should do that first as it is in most places a requirement for first solo. The others are more meaningful a little later in the training as you can see and use the connections to the real flying you are doing. Note that the syllabus changed for the EASA changeover a couple of years ago so be careful about skimping on the books by buying second-hand, check with someone who has been an instructor for maybe five or more years. You also need to obtain and learn to use a circular slide rule for the navigation exam (you'll probably be expected to pass that before going solo cross-country). I found that really interesting but most people seem to moan about it. There is also a practical radio exam which involves sitting in a booth and pretending to do a flight involving all the radio calls you'll ever need!

The exams are nothing to worry about but as with all in life, PPPPPP.

[airpolice]

Wilbo, if you think that you can, or that you can't, then you are probably right.

I'm hoping to be in the parade on the 11th of June, as I'm elegible due to having been born there and I've not been in it so far.

Should my attempt (this year) to get in to the procession fail, I'll be flying over, you might be able to join me on that if you fancy it.

If I can help with your studies, let me know.


Short answer is; not really.

[londonblue]

There is also a practical radio exam which involves sitting in a booth and pretending to do a flight involving all the radio calls you'll ever need!

This exam is really easy for a couple of reasons. Firstly, you're in a booth, or room all by yourself, if you get my drift. Secondly, you're only doing RT, and not flying and navigating at the same time. Therefore (within reason) you have as much time as you like between radio calls to prepare what you're going to say.

As for the rest of them. I studied them by myself. I read the books, did the exercises, and the practised from the Confuser until I could get them all right, and knew why I was getting them right rather than just remembering the answers.

My marks ranged from 88% to 100%, and on average the exams took me about 5 minutes each. The exception to that was the nav because it takes longer to plan everything needed, and read off a map etc.

This isn't to show off, and say look how clever I am. I'm nothing special so if I can do that then anyone can.

[JOE-FBS]

"knew why I was getting them right rather than just remembering the answers"

Good advice from LondonBlue. I would say that most of what you need to learn is actively useful in real flying so just using question sets to rote learn the answers would do no-one any good.

[Heebicka]

if you live in EASA country, you need to have PPL theory exam just before final practical exam. From my perspective and personal experience it is pretty wise to move PPL theory near the end or at least after cross country solo (the long one, 150nm at least)


Lot of theory question will be 'oh, I already know that from planning, flying etc, and it makes sense...'


Exam itself is not hard at all, it is a/b/c -mark correct answer, only one is valid so it is more or less about precise reading. Some questions are a bit misleading. As someone already wrote, there is plenty time for it. around 40minutes per module(around 8-9 modules now AFAIK) but when I was there all of us were done within 2 hours.

[Mach Jump]

PPL written exams - are they difficult?

No.

In the UK the main problerm is that the virtually unlimited scope of the subjects and rampant bureaucracy at the CAA in recent years, have turned them into a shambolic nightmare. (See the current thread in the 'Instructors/Examiners' forum)

AOPA and the CAA are currently working on a new regime for the Exams, but October 2015 is the earliest we will see any results from that, so for the time being we have to deal with the system as it is.

I recommend that you pay £9 to dowmload Robert McPhee's EASA PPL Exams app and learn the correct answers from that to pass the Exams. Then ask your Instructor what you really need to know to operate the aircraft safely.


MJ:ok: