I am not sure what you mean by " the current format" but I found the flight planing course at AFT second to none.
This thread has drifted significantly from whence it came - archangel7 and other recent contributors, please note that this was not originally a "boo hoo, ATPL flight planning is too hard" thread, but a thread detailing the sudden, and apparently unexplained drop in passes for this subject. I was one of the large number of people who went into the exam confident of my abilities and understanding of the subject and failed dismally. The ATPL theory providers around Australia (NOT just AFT) are scratching their heads as to the reason why their students are doing so poorly in the exam. The following is info I have gleaned from my emails/letters/phone calls to CASA and other affected organisations/individuals:
- CASA changed their Flight Planning questions in response to evidence of cheating
- the fail rate has skyrocketed
- CASA steadfastly claim there is nothing wrong/different with their exam other than changes to the data in the questions
- there is only one individual responsible for implementing the changes to the questions, a former ATPL theory provider
My concerns focus on the "who's checking the checker?" situation that arises when an individual implements changes and then conducts his own workings to arrive at an answer. In my opinion only, it is clear that this gentleman, through no malice mind you, has his own slant on how to calculate these answers - which could be different enough to arrive at a different result to that of all the students who have been studying with the various theory providers.
Anyone who has done Flight Planning would agree that using slightly different levels of interpolation can result in different answers - and yes, I know that the level of interpolation is published by CASA, but there is SO much room for that "personal touch".
So, note that this thread is about the seismic shift in recent results due to a known change to the exam database, not a bunch of whingers who haven't done enough work.