View Full Version : Will the ATPL Theory syllabus be overhauled?
Are there any future plans to overhaul the entire ATPL ground school syllabus?
I find the shear volume and content quite over the top. And the actual real exam questions don't come across as fit for purpose.
I have not met a single airline pilot who states with conviction that the vast majority of the ATPL's are relevant to the day to day job. Yes, within every subject area there are areas that are relevant, but there is a significant amount of information that isnt.
To me the current system fuels the reliance on question banking rather than promote good solid understanding of the subject matter.
American pilots fly in and out of European airspace with FAA knowledge, without crashing on a daily basis, why does EASA feel the need to pump a load of overly detailed and in many cases unecessary information onto its trainee pilots? To then sit in an exam room, spending precious seconds trying to figure out whether you are being tested for pilot knowledge or how well your verbal reasoning is.
Come on .....protectionism , exams are all about money and income to the aviation authorities , to many people pass, tweek the system :)
It is currently being overhauled, the results should grind through the system and pop out around 2018. For LOs that are scheduled for deletion, no new questions are being developed. The next problem is to ensure that the questions are fit for purpose, but I don't know what's happening after that. Even if the new question writers are competent, some of the tech reviewers aren't.
Even more important is what an S/N diagram is.....
I'm not saying the exams have to be easy or easier per se.
I like the fact the FAA has a simpler, (relevant content) exam process but their oral exam system keeps you in check. Nothing more daunting than an examiner picking your brains at every turn for two hours before you even fly! Fail that oral exam and you don't even fly, and your test fee is gone!
Just be fair. Get rid of the extra stuff that isn't pertinent to pilots. Like why should we know all the ins and outs of an AOC management structure? If I want to start my own airline, surely there are aviation consultancy firms and aviation lawyers who specialise in that.
Air Law and Ops should be one exam, with condensed content.
Both Comms exams should be one.
Meteorology is a fascinating subject, but I'm not a meteorologist or scientist. I'm a pilot, so make it relevant to the reality of the day to day job where we take the raw weather information, interpret it and make the go no go decision. why do I need to know about every wind and weather system around the world? If I fly in a particular part of the world, I'll learn their met system. And if I only fly short haul out of Europe, why would the monsoons be of relevance to me?
Polar stereographic projections? When last did an Easyjet or Ryanair pilot fly over the poles to get to Malaga? Or when did a flight instructor need to use it to take his/her student from Biggin Hill to Shoreham?
I know its not impossible to do, but that doesn't make it right for the syllabus to stay the same when its clearly seriously flawed!
If they don't want get rid of all the extra nonsense, then atleast increase the sittings from 6 to 8 or 9 and the time from from 18 months to 2 years. That way people would have more time to learn the material and retain the knowledge. Isn't that what learning is about?
And I sincerely hope the quality control mechanism for overseeing these exam questions get overhauled too.
Its amazing how this profession can allow this to continue almost unchecked.
Like why should we know all the ins and outs of an AOC management structure?
To protect you if you ever get hired to do a job and the management structure is absent. You need to know what should be there to make sure you don't end up in it. The FAA exams go into definitions of common carriers and such. These days there is very little Master/Servant relationship, and everyone gets sued.
Air Law and Ops should be one exam, with condensed content.
Air Law is ICAO, Ops is EASA - the two don't mix.
Both Comms exams should be one.
No, they shouldn't, but it is happening. I think it should be one exam, but for IFR only. If you have a radio licence, you should be exempt VFR comms.
Why do I need to know about every wind and weather system around the world?
You have an EASA licence and there are many protectorates around the world in just such places and which require an EASA licence.
Polar stereographic projections? When last did an Easyjet or Ryanair pilot fly over the poles to get to Malaga?
Those airlines are not the only game in town.
What also should happen is that the examiners should do what the FAA/Transport Canada ones do and give you a good grilling before you go flying. The trouble is, I would be very surprised if any EASA examiner could hold their own when it comes to theoretical knowledge. :)
bugsmasher79
2nd Feb 2017, 17:30
Sadly this isnt just an issue in Aviation, almost every industry that the European Union have their claws in now demand some form of 'certificate', the training for which usually consists of largely irrelevant content for which the worker is billed an equally ridiculous fee - In Scotland we now require bar staff to have a license to pour pints, labourers to have one to carry bricks etc etc etc, all of these are justified by government under 'health and safety' its absolute rubbish. As an FAA qualified instructor i was constantly amazed at the number of trainee pilots who arrived in the USA having completed their ATPL theory exams with great marks, but when faced with a conversation with an FAA examiner simply couldn't get past the oral due to a lack of practical knowledge. The FAA system isn't perfect, but at least the content is totally relevant to what you will be using the qualification for!
hobbit1983
3rd Feb 2017, 11:34
To the OP;
Grin and bear it like we all had to. :ok:
Piltdown Man
3rd Feb 2017, 14:06
VxVy - You must be joking. The ATPL syllabus has never, ever been fit for purpose. If it's subjects were breadmaking, writing in small boxes, flower arranging and sports psychology it would be more useful. The entire programme appears to be kept in place by a department of halfwitted morons who not only know nothing about current aviation but don't care either. Unfortunately, you will have to waste your time and effort passing the stupid exams like everyone else. But remember, don't go to the toilet before the exams. You'll loose the knowledge.