View Full Version : Distance learning advice
I would appreciate any advice, study tips etc. I am currently studying my ATPL exams through distance learning with Bristol. I try and do 3 - 4 hours per day and usually get through a lesson a day which on that basis module one would take 4 months to complete that is before even touching the question banks. My concern is that once I’ve passed the lesson quiz and moved onto the next lesson I don’t feel like I’m retaining much from the previous lessons.I am not sure whether to be concerned by this? Or do things just start falling into place the further you get into the course?
Not sure also if I am trying to learn too much rather than just picking out the important bits.
Any thoughts or better ways to study would be much appreciated.
Officer Kite
29th Nov 2017, 06:06
We study using bristol and all I can say is if you plan to do every CBT throughout the module and then still have time for the question banks, you're going to get a nasty surprise.
Get a subscription to aviationexam and that's all you'll need. You have at least 80% of the questions you're going to face in your official exam and you if you start doing these questions from the get go you'll be very good at them. They also offer very good explanations on the relevant topics and theories about which the questions are asking, if you get one wrong you can just read the explanation and understand. There are mini attachments too sometimes if you're looking to get an efficient and to the point summary of a topic.
Really the key to these ATPLs is not to study hard, you have to study smart!
rudestuff
29th Nov 2017, 15:04
You're actually reading the books? Bash the QBs and you can do a subject a week.
Jolax
29th Nov 2017, 15:34
Oh yeah.. then when someone calls you for an interview you can definitely say: A,B,C or even D
rudestuff
29th Nov 2017, 16:22
To get an interview first you have to pass the exams. Trust me within a year you will have forgotten most of it anyway, so you need to work smart and remember the important stuff. You can learn an awful lot from the question banks and anything you don't know you can supplement with Google and YouTube. As long as you know why the answer is the answer it really doesn't matter how you learned it. It's very noble that you want to do things the hard way, but it is just a test and when you apply for jobs you will have plenty of time to study up again.
rudestuff
29th Nov 2017, 16:25
Btw the assessment at my airline actually WAS multiple choice!
Thanks for the replies. Seems the best method then is to go through the course material as quickly as possible and then spend the majority of time on the question banks.
superflanker
30th Nov 2017, 07:35
You're actually reading the books?!? Bash the QBs and you can do a subject a week.
Did you learn Gen. Navigation bashing the QBs?
jamesgrainge
30th Nov 2017, 12:32
Surely like any subject in life, if you learn the material you can answer any question. If you learn the answer you can only answer one question.
Are you not in reality having to remember more learning the questions and the answers by rote?
That would be true in an ideal world, James, with a question bank we can have confidence in, but we are dealing with multiple wrong answers and questions that do not make sense, so you cannot blame people for bashing the banks if that is what they have to deal with (Sweden detected that about 20% of the questions are just plain wrong). Put another way, you cannot get through the EASA exams on knowledge alone, with the current incarnation of the question bank (even with some of the new questions that are supposed to address that!). However, that does not help you with the tech interview!
Having said that, you can answer around 30% of the questions with common sense and PPL knowledge and with proper training materials most of the rest without resorting the rote learning.
rudestuff
30th Nov 2017, 13:09
QBs are great for rote learning. The best. You don't need to memorise the questions and answers - there's only so many ways to ask the question if the answer is 1944 or Chicago.
For things like GNAV, they are a tool, but you have to understand how to do the calculations. If I immediately know from looking at the question what the answer is, I'll still go through the motions of working it out. The question banks generally give decent explainations, from which you can learn technique.
For example, let's say you know nothing:
You get a question about PET.
You guess.
Wrong.
It gives you the answer.
You can now (a) memorise the answer,
Or (b) learn how to do the calculation from the explaination, or Google/YouTube it to find out how to do it - and use the other PET questions to confirm that you are doing it right. Guess what? You just learned something from a question bank. And because you had to go looking for it yourself, you will remember it all the more. I couldn't get my head around polar stereographics until I watched a 5 minute YouTube clip, then it made sense. The QB made it stick. There is a lot more to utilising the QBs effectively than just memorising the answers!
Officer Kite
30th Nov 2017, 21:17
You need to be affiliated with some school in order to sit the EASA exams and proof of this must be provided when you go to sit them. What people are saying is don't focus too much on whatever books/CBTs are offered by your school, your key to success lies in the question banks which is one of the best investments you'll ever make without a shadow of a doubt.
rudestuff
30th Nov 2017, 21:32
Without an ATP you’d need to do an approved course, take their progress tests and be recommended by them, regardless of how you study. You only get 6 sittings to take the exams, each sitting being a four day block, so three at a time is a good idea. Start with the hardest in case you have to retake any. You can attempt each exam up to four times. I came up with my strategy after timing-out and realizing that if I waited to be ‘ready’ I’d be waiting for ever, and a 75% average was better than no average. So I studied like a bast**d for a week on each subject and went for it. I figured if I fluke half of them there would be half as much studying to do. As it turned out, I got a 95% average.
BPI - if you have some experience, bashing the banks for a conversion would work - we know one or two CFIIs (one of which was a heart surgeon) who tried it with knowledge alone but got average marks of about 67% without using the banks.
If you qualify, you can indeed enrol with the Campaign Against Aviation and book your own tests (at £69 each).
"don't focus too much on whatever books/CBTs are offered by your school"
That depends on the school! :)
Officer Kite
1st Dec 2017, 13:06
Well our school give us the bristol ATP software which most seem to say is the best ... it perhaps depends on the person but for me it's a complete waste of time and makes the whole process even more tedious.
AA5 Flyer
1st Dec 2017, 19:23
How effective are the QBs now though? With all the talk about the new question style the CAA have introduced it seems understanding the theory is now essential to pass.
It's partly to do with the new style of presentation, but a lot to do with a new style of asking the question in the first place, plus 1500 new questions per year.
I would say, based on feedback, that bashing the banks is now between 60-70% effective.
AA5 Flyer
2nd Dec 2017, 09:20
Cheers Paco. Personally I'd rather learn the content anyway and use the QB to test and reinforce the knowledge. Half way through Mod 1 with BGS and really not finding it that difficult at the moment.
Must admit the new questions are slightly concerning though as I've heard they're asking questions on things that aren't in the syllabus! Anyone else heard that?