Originally Posted by
pilotchute
The ATPL flight planning exam is way over the top and not relevant with regards to flight planning technology available today.
It's a pain, and
almost all real flight plans come out of one computer or another, but wait until you need to justify what the computer says.
At the end of the day, most jets still have performance data tables for climb, cruise, descent, 1inop, driftdown, gear down, etc. When you have the check or confirm when "Computer says noooo", all that FPL comes back to you - and you needed it.
Would be much better is CASA was clear about exam tolerances and published a set of suitable SOPs - then we'd have something to follow - other than hearsay and tradition.