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kilobravo
30th Nov 2004, 13:57
Hi all,

I recently purchased a set of Pooley's manuals for the ATPl's. The course I was planning on attending has not started yet, but wanting to get ahead of the game, bought the manuals early. I have only touched on some of the subjects so far, but am a little afraid that the notes are not as clear as other manuals. I have some old Oxford and some London Guildhall material and they seem to be more in depth and slightly better explained. For law and met, Pooleys notes seem ok but radio nav and other tech subjects which I have never covered before seem to be lacking a bit. May be jumping the gun a little and maybe notes don't go into some material which may not be strictly necessary to learn in depth, but certain things are given without explanation and that drives me mad!!!! Has anyone used Pooley's notes before and how did they find the contents. Is this just early days nerves getting to me, maybe I will get to grips with the style of the notes as I progress? Should I look for more cross-reference material. I am allready looking up these older manuals a friend left with me. Would a set of recent 2nd hand Bristol/Oxford notes complete the picture? That's another thing, there are no questions at the end of the chapters, or a list of important points to remember, like in the Oxford material. I know this is going to be tough going, especially on systems, electrics/electronics, etc. all the tech stuff I have never covered before, so I am worried that I will struggle badly if the notes are not explained well. Maybe its just me?

Thanks for reading, any thoughts???

Captain101
1st Dec 2004, 01:30
I used the pooleys manuals when they were first launched.
The school I was training with used them as one of the first customers. I can only assume they are better now than they were then.
Some of the books are quite good (AGK/HP&L/Met/Comms) but the rest, especially Gen Nav, are appauling.

After failing G.Nav the first time I got the Oxford book - next sitting I passed with 87%, with no extra tuition!

The only reason they got me through was because of the continuous ammendments sent to the school by pooleys, normally to correct mistakes spotted by students and a very good ground school. (not to mention many, many practice papers)

The books are comprehensive but don't emphasise the important areas, this means you have to work out which bits you need to learn. There is no colour in the books (bar comms), and although it sound minor, it makes a big difference. There is also lack of diagrams, consolidation questions and in some cases entire subjects (my guides missed FMS, ECAM and EICAS out of Instrumentation, they arrived 3 weeks before the exam as a supplement!)

Unless there has been a significant improvment in the last 18 months I would personally recommend avoiding the Pooleys ATPL study guides. I have used the Oxford notes and they are vastly superior.

kilobravo
1st Dec 2004, 07:44
Thanks Cap101

I was afraid someone would confirm my doubts. Oxford or Bristol seem so much more comprehensive. How will I follow the syllabus of the course I have enrolled in, if I have a different set of manuals? This was never going to be easy but having 2 sets of manuals to work through is gonna be a lot tougher! I was trying to get through radio nav, and formulas and statements are just thrown in with no explanation as to how they got there and what they relate to exactly. I know as pilots we are supposed to be a smart bunch but if these are topics I has never explored, I need to be spoon fed the material from the start with good explanations, so I have a chance to understand, not just learn off by heart, which I can never do if I don't fully comprehend what I am learning. I guess I will try to get my hands on a set of recent Oxford/Bristol notes, or a new set. Bugger is all I can say right now!!!

KB

silverknapper
1st Dec 2004, 13:56
Have seen the Pooleys notes and thought they were dreadful and inconcise. They put me off a school they were so bad. Went to Bristol and found their notes first class.

Oggin Aviator
1st Dec 2004, 20:53
Will places such as Bristol or Oxford sell you the notes (or Cds or whatever) without having to enroll on a course? Dont see whether they do on their websites.

Oggin

Capt. Vilo
2nd Dec 2004, 15:43
I used the CATS (Cranfield aviation training school) manuals and found them to be clear and well written.My advice ckeck them out.......