OAT PPL Pack enough for exams?

[AlphaMale]

Hi guys,

I've got myself the 6 CD pack by OAT/Transair in order to help revise for my exams that I'll be sitting in May. I have read that the OAT disks cover all the needed information and you should be able to pass the exams with the CD's alone?

But I have also read not to use the CD's alone as they cover 'most' but not all needed information? I am just debating on weather I needed to get myself a set of Jeremy Pratt/Trevor Thom's books?

I've been studying Air Law and using the CBT way of learning and it's really going in well.

I'll buy the 'Oxford Aviation PPL Exam preparation' soon and when I'm gaining over 90% average in the exams I'll apply for my exam.

I have a Q&A book too but not really used that yet.

So;

Are the OAT/Transair PPL pack, PPL Confuser and OAT PPL Prep enough to get me through the PPL exams in 3 months time?

Thanks.

[Mariner9]

Depends on your individual learning style, but they should be sufficient. Personally, being an old git, I prefer books to CBT.

Why wait till May to take the exams though?

[AlphaMale]

Hi Mariner,

I'm looking to do my PPL with B-F-C, it's 50 mile hike from Cardiff but I'll be looking to go back there the following year to carry out my CPL/Multi-IR.

The reason I'm looking at achieving all exams by May is due to wanting to start my PPL in the summer months (or early summer).

I have the £6k cash now, but if I wait until June I'll have a little more in order to sit my Night rating (£700) straight after :)

Reason for picking the summer is because I'm wanting to take minimum time off work. June for example I 'could' take 4 weeks off which would include 5 weekends and 4 working weeks in order to get my PPL.

I studied my motorbike licence via CBT and found it much easier than reading books.

Thanks for the advise ;)

[imperialsam]

I was given the CDs as a gift after having already bought the Air Pilot's Manual books for Air Law/Met and Nav. I used the CDs as my main study material, but did also read those books casually in spare time - it was useful to have them to provide another perspective on some of the more challenging material but probably not absolutely necessary if you have the CDs.

I learnt Flight Performance & Planning from the CDs entirely, and got 100% in that exam, so guess they worked well for that. Also did Human Performance entirely from the CDs, but won't be taking the exam until next weekend...

Also, the confuser is a must-have. It's a great guide to what is expected of you in the exams, and the explanations are useful for the 'other perspective' I mentioned above.

[Put1992]

I find the books are slightly better tbh, but the CD's are easier to use, and pick out key points (but occasionally miss out some small points needed to be known)

[squidie]

I’m an old-fashioned guy with revision, I use the TT books and then practice using OAT’s exam prep and the tests at the back of the TT books. Though I’ve noticed that I’ve been given some questions by the OAT prep CD-ROM that haven’t been covered in the TT book. Luckily I do a lot of ground study at my flight school, so t I can answer the most of the questions.

[AlphaMale]

Thanks for the replies guys! :ok:

I might keep my eye out for some books but for now I'll try and learn everything (or as much as I possibly can) from the CBT pack.

[Mariner9]

I have the £6k cash now, but if I wait until June I'll have a little more in order to sit my Night rating (£700) straight after

No reason that you couldn't do the night rating as part of your PPL. Hours flown at night count towards the 45 needed.

Good luck with the training :ok: Drop me a pm if you want to come flying anytime.

[englishal]

Reason for picking the summer is because I'm wanting to take minimum time off work. June for example I 'could' take 4 weeks off which would include 5 weekends and 4 working weeks in order to get my PPL.
In that case, save yourself half your money and go to the USA and do it ;)

[student88]

I found that the OAT CD's were very crude in their production and could really do with an update. The graphics seem to be very outdated and it doesnt appear that they've invested much into the production. I found I learnt twice as much with the AFE books compared to the CBT.

If I could I'd return them and spend my cash on a decent set of shelf fillers. The AFE PPL books have a fresh appearance and have lots of good core information and are not dictated to you in a very monotone and boring voice.

You can tell I'm not fond of the OAT CBT!

S88 :ok:

[imperialsam]

You can tell I'm not fond of the OAT CBT!

Fair dues, I guess everyone has their own preferred way of learning. I think one of the main reasons I like the CBTs is that your hands are free to make notes directly from the screen without having to hold a book open; that is, after I discovered you could press 'P' to pause rather than having to repeatedly rewind to catch an important fact.

One of the benefits of a paper book of course is that you can quickly look up anything you may be unsure of at any time during your flying career. The CBTs are not so good for that, unless you have a PC handy, and are prepared for some serious fast-foward and rewind to find the thing you're looking for.

[Slopey]

I used the OAT CDs when doing my exams, and I found them particularly helpful as a get-up-to-speed on a topic, then read the books and went back to the CDs for brushup after some confuser bashing.

The CDs are particularly helpful for topics which benefit from a visual explanation such as nav/met/radio aids etc - the animations and examples certainly made it easier to understand than the (sometimes) dry explanation in the Thoms for example.

Basically - get hold of as much study material as you can, and learn, learn, learn. And the first thing you do - learn how to use the whizz wheel!

[tangovictor]

i found the OAT cd's miles better than the books in fact, after I passed airlaw, I can't remember opening the books, the cd's are so much easier

[AlphaMale]

Hmmm ... so mixed opinions :uhoh:

I'll stick to the CD's for now and maybe pick up a set of 2nd hand books and if I don't read them and only keep them on the shelf it wont be a big waste.

Mariner9 - I've heard that I can do my Night rating with my PPL (within the 45hrs) so I'll play it by ear and if I have £700 left over then I'll put it toward some hours or an IMC :p

If you ever have an empty seat I'll be free ... not flown for a few years now. I'll have to drop you a PM when I've passed my PPL too. I'm sure there are a few things I could learn from an experienced flyer sitting next to me.

englishal- I did think about going to the states but having heard about the downtime on the AC's and adding the costs of flights and possibly a couple of hours back in the UK to catch up with UK airspace I guess I might just be breaking even. B-F-C look like a good local outfit that I'd like to do my CPL/IR with so if I can get used to the flight paths / airport / AC's / Instructors / Management etc then it's not wasted money in my eyes.

I 'could' go to the US for hour building, I'm sure the misses wont mind a trip to Florida.

Thanks for the advise guys! ;)

[TheOddOne]

and maybe pick up a set of 2nd hand books and if I don't read them and only keep them on the shelf it wont be a big waste.


Folk,

Please be careful here. We had one guy who bought some books on eBay and failed a couple of exams. When quizzed, it turned out that these books were 10+ years old and especially in the Air Law, quite a bit has changed.

Just make sure you're buying up-to-date study material.

...and of course, be aware that as regards CDs, you're only buying the right to access the material on them, for you only. OAT I believe are quite hot on getting on to people selling on the CDs.

Personally, I pefer the AFE/Jeremy Pratt books, easier to read than Trevor Thom.

Cheers,
TheOddOne

[imperialsam]

it turned out that these books were 10+ years old and especially in the Air Law, quite a bit has changed

Good point, although it seems that sometimes the Air Law exam papers are out of date too, e.g. regarding the changes to Rule 5 in 2005. Having a 2004 issue book was acutally an unexpected benefit in that respect. But obviously if you only have one reference source available, it's preferable to have an up-to-date one. Knowing what the rule used to be might be good for getting the answers the CAA want, but not so useful for practical flying.

[AlphaMale]

Thanks TheOddOne,

The CD's are brand new, to spend another £100 on the 'AFE PPL Course Series Pack' seems a bit of a waste if I rarely pick them up. Although with the aim of becoming a FI someday it might be worth the cash :cool:

Knowing what the rule used to be might be good for getting the answers the CAA want,

Think I better look into this :bored:


Thanks again for the advise guys :ok:

[wsmempson]

I liked the OAT cd-roms very much and used them extensively - as well as the mock exams on each cd.

However, I did read the books too to ensure that I had a good background knowledge of each subject before I started. The cd-roms on their own might be enough, but it would smack of studying to pass an exam rather than understand a subject.

I didn't buy the PPL confuser as a matter of principle - I needed to become less confused, rather than more.:)

[TheBP]

Some helpful posts here, having just bought the OAT CBT pack from Transair as well. Started Air Law and have so far found the style suits me. I agree that some of the images/media do appear a little crude, but they have all got the message across so far. I loved the parachutists one..

Personally, prior to the exams I'd feel more comfortable having books to read through to ensure I haven't missed any detail - so shall be looking to get an up to date set very soon. I also want to ensure I truly understand everything.

AlphaMale, good luck with your studying and flying :ok: Have seen your posts around here for a while - now I am finally starting training have decided to begin posting.

Once I've done a few of the exams I'll post an update on what I thought of the different study materials..

[AlphaMale]

BP - I was the same as you, a little shy on posting on topics I didn't really understand. This forum is great and have learned so much from being on here.

I too will do my best to bring back this thread and update on my progress/success with the exams.

out of 6 exams I've sat I've only got one question wrong... so the combination worked for me.

That's what I'm looking at so I guess I better buy the books too. I've read that the PPL exams account for around 30% of the ATPL exams and more often than not the 'important' parts of the ATPL exams.

If I can nail my PPL exams with high passes then it'll rest my mind when studying for the ATPL's, with the aim of giving up my 9-5 office job to become a FI then it's in by best interest and the future students interest that I know the theory like the back of my hand.

TheBP - I agree on your comment about the images and the parachutists :D ... keep me updated on your progress via PM or whatever :ok: