Air law question about the exam

[CharlieDeltaUK]

If I'm doing the Air Law exam for PPL(A), do I still need to know the stuff about helicopters, balloons etc, other than their light characteristics?

[thing]

Think 'Right of way on ground and in air.'

[CharlieDeltaUK]

Yes, got that. I was more worried about whether I need to know things like the different VFR minima for helicopters or the stuff about ID markings on balloons.

I'm trying to cut down the amount of facts that one needs to remember - I'd rather focus on stuff I will actually need one day.

Come to think of it, why on earth do we have to learn things like the height of lettering for registration marks on aircraft - it's not as if your average PPL is going to do a DIY paint job?

As I get to the end of my revision and prep for the exam, I can't help thinking that the air law content would be more effectively retained if there was an emphasis on the practical needs. For example, I'm not going to prejudice anyone's safety if I forget the year or name of the Chicago Convention. Wouldn't it be better to free up one's retentive powers to make double-sure one remembers things like the rules of the air, the VFR minima, airspace stuff etc. I know it's the system.

[JHO]

Having recently passed all exams, I was revising thinking they'll never ask a question on that....surely! Then it pops up on the paper.

I think it is designed to make you read and understand everything that's important.
If you know how high the reg needs to be you're bound to know the usefull stuff.

I did not get a question on vfr minima for choppers.
A ppl confuser is very close to if not the same questions as an exam paper, well worth buying.

[tombell777]

I thought PPL confusers where out of date? as they no longer make them ?

[Whirlygig]

do I still need to know the stuff about helicopters
I wondered similarly when I did my PPL(H) - did I have to know all the stuff about aeroplanes?

I can't answer your question specifically but I didn't get any aeroplane specific question in my Air Law exam and, if I had been a PPL(A) student, I'd have been a tad irritated at the half dozen or so helicopter specific questions.

Cheers

Whirls

[RTN11]

I thought PPL confusers where out of date? as they no longer make them ?

That is true, but now there is the PPL perfecter which is the modern equivalent. Possibly even better.

[Kolossi]

I don't think anyone on here will be surprised at me punting in my usual reply mentioning the PPL Perfector, but please make sure you buy at least the second edition, and keep an eye out for the third edition which should be published shortly. If you are looking at one thinking of buying and can't find the edition number on Page 1, it's a first edition, so put it down and buy newer stock from somewhere else :ok:

I'd rather focus on stuff I will actually need one day.
...
Wouldn't it be better to free up one's retentive powers to make double-sure one remembers things like the rules of the air, the VFR minima, airspace stuff etc.

Well I wouldn't worry - speaking personally, I'd forgotten almost all of Air Law by the time I was sitting down for the Met Exam, it's only going back over my revision notes and discussing it on here and in the club house that gets any of it to stay in. I'm not saying that should be anyone's aspiration, but I think it's just a case of get through the exams, then make an effort to learn or at least know where to look up the genuinely useful stuff (as opposed to the reams of exam stuff) once it's no longer the instructor's responsibility.

Good luck with Air Law, the best thing to be said about it is it's a great feeling knowing you've passed and won't have to do it again!

[Conventional Gear]

I would echo the above, one does forget nearly all of it, very quickly.

I'm trying to cut down the amount of facts that one needs to remember - I'd rather focus on stuff I will actually need one day.

Just focus on passing the exam.

At the end of it, when you need to know something look it up in the AIP etc, there is too much for anyone to remember the facts and details it all merges after a while and things can and do change. On the good side you are left knowing what to check before a flight and where to look so the flight is legal. You'll remember for example when flying abroad there is a list of documents you must carry and you'll have to file a flight plan. What those documents are you can look up before the flight.

I still have to check the marshalling signals if I'm going somewhere where I need to know them, it's so rare I get marshalled I forget most of them very quickly. Though I could recite all the signals for the exam, 4 years ago.

Learning it all for the exam doesn't mean you'll retain much after the exam, (there is plenty of evidence that without constant review information goes into short-term memory and gets dumped very quickly) but it does mean you'll probably at least had a look at the AIP, AICs etc

There are a few publications such as CAP 637 (visual aids handbook) which fit in a flight bag for when you need to look up something quickly long after the exam.