ATPL exams

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

Mmmmmm, this is a tricky one, as I am not sure what I say here will help you.

I have done the ATPL exams and am into my CPL course now, so I have had the CAA experience.

I guess I can share with you with what worked for me.

General Navigation

I enjoyed this subject, and found that knowing the theory and being able to put it into practice was a great help. The exam I took for NAV was mainly Whizz Wheel based, as I am sure you are aware. Know the bloody thing inside out! If you have a good set of practice questions, it should be able to put you in with a reasonable chance of being able to solve any CRP-5 problems. With respect to compasses, compass errors, FMS, inertial NAV, just read it and read it again, understand the principles and make sure you can apply them. Also, again, with the exam I took there were about 6 or 7 plotting questions. They were not difficult however, there were a few sneaky's in there. The main one was making sure you applied variation when fixing a position with reference to true north etc.

Meterology

Do you have the Oxford MET CD-ROM? If not I would suggest you get a copy. I found this method of learning MET second to none. Using this tool, along with my notes and lectures to supplement the CD worked for me, and the exam turned out to be very straight forward. The CD has quite a number of questions in its database, which I found were an accurate representation of what to expect in the exam. Again make sure you know the principles and how to apply them

Instruments

Not quite sure what the best approach is with this one. From the exam I took and speaking to others that have done various different Instrument papers, a large number of the questions appear to be focused on Auto Flight, GPWS modes, TCAS and warnings and recordings. If you can nail these subjects you can score a majority of the marks. From linking Instruments and NAV with respect to revision, FMS, compasses and Inertial Nav slotted into place, however, I am not sure I ever got my head completly around Inertial Navigation Systems. I was just happy then when I was asked in the NAV exam what is a IRS referred to, I thought Strap Down!

Principles of Flight and Performance

I was fairly lucky with Performance. I must admit I struggled a little with this subject whilst studying the subject matter, and more to the point I was worried about what to expect in the exam. After sitting the exam, I was convinced that I had failed. On getting my results, I managed to pass, and I think it was purely due to me understanding POF. I found Performance simply to be flight mechanics with a graph question thrown in. As you will know, Performance is a tricky exam simply becuase there are very few questions, therefore you can only get a few wrong until you are below 75%.

With POF, and like the other subjects, make sure you understand the basic principles. Then use the feedback to apply those principles, make sure you know why the answer is a, instead of b.

Systems

This being such a vast subject is a difficult. I seem to recall the feedback we had for this subject was not particularly good, therefore it was a case of remembering hundreds of facts, and making sure you have a good appreciation of the workings of a internal combustion engine and a gas turbine.


Well, just reading this through myself, I am not sure whether it will be of use to you, however I thought I would share my experience, as I know how important it is to pass those exams!

Good luck.