PPL Study?

[enurpp]

Hi everyone,

Wasn't sure if this was the right forum to ask but since it's about GA I'll go ahead anyways.

The time has come for me to do my PPL theory ;) I was looking at the options or ways of how the best and most effective way to study is. I was after your professional advice since most of you have been in my place already.

I'm currently on holidays till the end of January. Is this enough time for me to get into the books and do the study?

These are the options that have been offered to me. I was just wondering which is do you think is best and why? Like the pro's and cons.

OPTION 1- Pay $640 and do a twice-weekly, 12 week, 3hour per lesson PPL course at my flying school with a grade 1 instructor?

OPTION 2- Do home study using Computer Based Training?

OPTION3- Do home study just with my Trevor Thom's books?

Thanks very much in advance and I look forward to your replies.

Cheers. :)

[Cessna Capt]

I have found it easier to do theory through a ground school with an instructor where i easily passed the exam.

The Tevor Throm books can be a bit full on.

CC

[Blue Hauler]

Blokes in my vintage did all our theory subjects through to SCPL (ATPL) out of books. The old college of knowledge served us well. But so did Dyson/Holland and a few others in providing study material. Of course a good supply of past or sample exam papers helped to measure the knowledge levels. If you could complete a past paper in about 70% to 80% of the time allowed and still get near 100% you had the exam in the bag.

enurpp

The thing about self-study is you are able to pace yourself. Just a couple of hours a day working through the books in a logical manner is all that is needed. With a bulletin board like this there are plenty of advisors on difficult material. Work through the past papers after you have completed the course. Assess yourself on time and accuracy. Those areas that require more work can be addressed before tackling the next paper. Be self-critical.

Many full time courses teach you to pass the examination rather than gain the knowledge. Conversely self-study gives you the knowledge; the past papers help to understand the examiners way of writing questions. Option 1 may take longer because of the structured method to cover the syllabus combined with too few lectures per week. In the long run I guess it is a personal preference.

I have run a few self-help courses using Trevor Thom and found them to be an excellent source for students. The information is presented logically and well illustrated. If you study rather than skim you will understand the way all the pieces fit.

[QNIM]

Im with you Blue we recommend Trevor Thom's for
home study and if the student is really intereted
in learning they will pass the exam.
I wish everyone a safe and properous new year
Cheers Q :D

[Charlie Foxtrot India]

It depends on your study habits. People not long out of uni, with paractical engineering training and experience or who need to study with their work can often study through the entire PPL course and pass the exams in a matter of days. But someone who may have left school ages ago, and have a noisy young family at home may only be able to study elsewhere.

People who have done TAFE or flying school theory courses rarely fare any better at the cyberexam than those who have self studied.

And last time I advised someone to sself-tudy their Trevor Thom books I was greeted by a blank stare, as they are now in exactly the same format but come under another name!

[CitationJet]

I'm a fan of the Trevor Thom books. I did my PPL theory study while I was a Yr 10 student (16 y.o) over the school holidays. Passed no problem. As a Yr 10 student that was before I had studied any high school physics too.

PPL/CPL theory is not rocket science and Trevor Thom/Aviation Theory Centre makes it dead easy.

[marshall]

What part of Oz are you in enurpp?

I know of PPL for 1/3 of the price offered by your flying school!

[Mixture Rich]

For what it's worth:
I attained my GFPT about three years ago and had been "too busy" to study for my PPL theory. I bought Trevor Thom and thought I would be too old for CASA to issue a licence if i learned all that they contained. They are excellent books and i am learning more from them now that I have my PPL and am actively flying. I think they would be great to read as Resource Material if you were "doing" a Theory Course. I lamented amny a night that my local Aero Club did not provide this. Instructors were always happy to assist but it is not the same as the discipline of preparing for and attending a lecture a couple of nights a week.
Some of the trial papers I got O found too hard...and in retrospect they were "too hard" when compared to the real exam.
So, what did i do:
I bought Bob Tait's PPL VFR Day Study Guide. Stuffed around summarising it on and off over about 6 months which meant I remembered little!
Then, I got serious........I took ONE WEEK off work and went to stay with an aviation mate who was at work all day (so the house was empty save coke and mars bars) and who promised to quiz me at night. I spent about ten hours per day working ie reading and highlihghting my summaries, and the VFR Guide. This little book is THE BEST RESOURCE FOR RULES/REGS and lotsa other bits and pieces you need to know. Use little coloured sticky labels to label pages ir flights over water or dogs on board or medical emergencies etc.
THEN I got lucky. I was told about the Aviation Theory Centre practice PPL Exam books and ATC Examnation Reference. They are about $15 each and worth their weight in gold. They increase in difficulty but there are recurring questions ( why? Because they are bloody important and will be in the exam!)
I would do the exam (3 of them) in the morning. Mark them, then read the relevent books etc to see where I went wrong. I had books spread all over the spare room floor. It was actually fun (yeah, I know, I'm weird) but as you read one thing to sort out why you balls up a question you read something else that is important or clarifies another question and bingo - that's important...so bookmark it for the exam. Don't forget - you are allowed to take the VFR Guide into the room. I bought all the CAR's, CAAP's etc as well but didn't really use them. When I turned up fir the exam, I had a huge plastic bin on wheels with books, notes etc. The CFI laughed and said he thought I was doing the PPL theory not 747 Check and Training ratings.
I started on Monday and sat the cyberexam on the Friday. Passed with 87%. I was happy with my 5 days work!
What got me through? Concentrated effort,Bob Tait's book,VFR Guide,Aviation Theory Centre Exam Papers. My mate...no! We wne tout and got on the pi...turps every night bar one. Yeah, ok, he answered a couple of questions and had an insructor come around one night to answer a couple of finer points on drag/lift/stall etc
BTW, I'm pushin' 50 and the ol' gret matter aint as fast as she used to be.
I apologise to all for the length of this mail and perhaps should have done it privately but there may be more than one it may help.
Regards:p

Boy, I should have edited that one for grammar and spelling before I posted it. My apologies.
One last thing. I also downloaded the CASA Cyberexam Questions or sample questions from the exam question bank from the CASA website. It is under pilot exams I think. I printed them out and I think there is about 60 or so. Whilst they do not give you the 'distractors' ie the possible answers, they do let you know what type of questions they ask. ie there are a million questions they could ask about flying into or out of or through a Military Control Zone. There are however seemingly only 2 or 3 things they are interested in asking and you find that out from the CASA questions and the trial exam papers. The answers are all in the VFR Guide...the best little book to come out of CASA for budding (and bloomed) PPL's for years!
BTW, I thought the cyberexam might throw me a bit because I'm used to written MCQ exams etc but it was a breeze. Also, in the trial exam papers there are 75 questions and I was happy to be finishing them within the allocated time. I was REALLY happy when I sat down to the real exam and found only 60 or 65 questions. You can pass over 'too hard' ones and come back to them later. It is easy to see where you are with the computer so don't fret about it.
I have every confidence that if you use the above books, especially the trial papers (HINT: Some questions off the TRIAL papers and some of the CASA questions DID, yes DID, come up in the exam. Every time I saw one I thought to myself, you bloody beauty) you WILL pass the exam. I got 87% with literally 5 days concentrated effort and I'm no brain surgeon, well actually I am but that's beside the point...no I'm not. just kiddin' ya! You would certainly pass with trevor Thom's books as well (so don't sue me Trev, ) but I think they would be hard to digest in 5 days. Do you want knowledge or to pass the exam? B&ll$h*t, you want to pass the exam because that's the REQUIRED amount of knowledge you need. You learn to be a safe and professional pilot behind the controls gaining experience and with an experienced 'mentor' at an appropriate distance.
God I waffle on.......but I'm goin' flying now. Hit the books boyo. You have 4 weeks before school starts and it CAN be done. Forget girls, skateboard, char lines, Pprune and Kazaa! Work, work, work. Good luck. Let us know how you fare.

Boy, I should have edited that one for grammar and spelling before I posted it. My apologies.
One last thing. I also downloaded the CASA Cyberexam Questions or sample questions from the exam question bank from the CASA website. It is under pilot exams I think. I printed them out and I think there is about 60 or so. Whilst they do not give you the 'distractors' ie the possible answers, they do let you know what type of questions they ask. ie there are a million questions they could ask about flying into or out of or through a Military Control Zone. There are however seemingly only 2 or 3 things they are interested in asking and you find that out from the CASA questions and the trial exam papers. The answers are all in the VFR Guide...the best little book to come out of CASA for budding (and bloomed) PPL's for years!
BTW, I thought the cyberexam might throw me a bit because I'm used to written MCQ exams etc but it was a breeze. Also, in the trial exam papers there are 75 questions and I was happy to be finishing them within the allocated time. I was REALLY happy when I sat down to the real exam and found only 60 or 65 questions. You can pass over 'too hard' ones and come back to them later. It is easy to see where you are with the computer so don't fret about it.
I have every confidence that if you use the above books, especially the trial papers (HINT: Some questions off the TRIAL papers and some of the CASA questions DID, yes DID, come up in the exam. Every time I saw one I thought to myself, you bloody beauty) you WILL pass the exam. I got 87% with literally 5 days concentrated effort and I'm no brain surgeon, well actually I am but that's beside the point...no I'm not. just kiddin' ya! You would certainly pass with trevor Thom's books as well (so don't sue me Trev, ) but I think they would be hard to digest in 5 days. Do you want knowledge or to pass the exam? B&ll$h*t, you want to pass the exam because that's the REQUIRED amount of knowledge you need. You learn to be a safe and professional pilot behind the controls gaining experience and with an experienced 'mentor' at an appropriate distance.
God I waffle on.......but I'm goin' flying now. Hit the books boyo. You have 4 weeks before school starts and it CAN be done. Forget girls, skateboard, char lines, Pprune and Kazaa! Work, work, work. Good luck. Let us know how you fare.

[enurpp]

Thanks Everyone!

marshall, I'm in Brissy...
& 16 in Yr11 and yes 4weeks of holiday left ...

Mixture Rich thanks for the great post! Got me thinking ;)

After speaking to many friends involved in aviation training they all seem to suggest to do it home-study because of the satisfaction more than anything else... I do have an instructor (s) and a great CFI + many many guys that have CPLs who all remind me to ask them if I ever have any questions..

So I think I've decided to do it home-study... I'll certainly let everyone now how I fare.. hopefully by the end of FEB (when I should have the PPL, when I turn 17) ;)

Thanks again!

[flyboy6876]

Interesting poll.

I've recently finished doing a MBA and the thought of going back to "school" again just turned my guts. I've been doing all my studying at home from the Thom books and working from the sample exams. (In fact I'm sitting eating my lunch going through the books at the moment).

I did reasonably well in the GFPT and have found the sample exams fairly straight forward, so I'll stick with the home study until proven otherwise.

[marshall]

Such a shame you're up in Bris-vegas enurpp!

If you were in Melbourne it would have been a different story!

Good luck!

[On Track]

Went to TAFE for my PPL, CPL and CIR theory. Found the "real life" stories that some of the teachers had to tell to be very educational, not to mention entertaining.

Then backed up that learning with the relevant Trevor Thom and other textbooks.

Even so, when doing the CPL theory I found there were lots of gaps in my PPL knowledge that needed to be filled!

[B767MAD]

There is nothing like a real-life story to make you remember something!.

I would also suggest you do it via self study at home. I have Trev's books (CPL ones I assume your talking about) and find it was enough for PPL.

However when you get to CPL - perhaps have a look at a course - or am I just stupid?.:yuk:

CyberExams - well what a time to be had there! I shall say no more - but as of last week it has been said that the CPL Human Factors and Limitations exam (CASA) HAVE wrong answers!! If I find out anymore I will let you know , however - is anyone else up for a re-fund then?

Best of luck with your PPL

[Towering Q]

Trevor Thom - PPL
Bob Tait - CPL
Chris Markham - IREX
AFT - ATPL (still working on that one):O

I have always preferred self study at home. Hasn't let me down yet. Something about classrooms that bugs me.:yuk:

[QNIM]

Hey Blue Hauler ( College of Knowledge) sorry missed that bit on your post or maybe too many reds, you really are showing your age not very good compared to whats on offer today but got the message across, I managed to pass, god knows how. Cheers Q

[Louie the Fly]

I'm looking at strarting my PPL in a week or so, and progressing through to CPL et al.
The way I figure it, if I enroll in a ground school, I can always take the books home afterwards, and swot away as much as I like.
I can't see any reason why I can't have the best of both worlds: the private study at home, as well as a more structured theory session at a ground school.
The benefit of this, I feel, would be having someone who knows their business being able to answer questions I may have, and set me straight on potential problem areas, as and when I hit them.
On Track makes a good point - it's the real-life stories that add so much that a text book can't.
Also, from previous experience studying, I'm not the most disciplined student, and having a set schedule would probably help me get over PSS (Procrastinating Student Syndrome).
Although I don't know if that would necessarily be a problem, as I'm keen as mustard, and would probably eat up as much as I possibly could of anything remotely aviation oriented.
I also agree with the idea of having a few different reference sources, as Dr. Phil says. You can never be too prepared.

[OZBUSDRIVER]

Did BAK (1978) as lectures at Redcliffe Aero Club with College of Knowledge as back-up passed first hit. Did PPL subjects (1982) on college of knowledge had to do met and performance/flight planning twice (young and impetuous) Starting to fly again (2003) have to resit PPL am using Bob Taits books and very impressed. A simple thing like explain why a trough does what it does compared to using CoK or the Met dept manual made me want to kick myself how simple it is. Also have access to a multi-choice exam program at my flying school. They tell me there are 1300 multi-choice questions in it. You can get carried away answering them. did something like 160 in three hours but it shows up where your weaknesses are. Still to sit for exam, will have another go at computer to ensure knowledge is up then pay me $50.00 and have a go. $600.00 pays for a lot of flying if you can self study;)

[marshall]

Paying some extra money for a ground theory course is a good idea IF that is complemented by more self study at home!

I have seen it time and time again.....people constantly failing exams because they think by just attending a ground school they are guaranteed a pass!

A ground course and self study go hand in hand!

My two cents worth :hmm:

[GA Driver]

Must agree with you there marshall, I've not only seen the same thing I've even said to people, "This will be on the test, make sure you read it!" to find next lesson they didn't even open the books!

Self study or even 'revision' at home is a must!

[Northern Chique]

Did Homestudy for PPL and CPL, with a couple of great mentors, with great passes all the way through, then IFR went into the classroom for weekend lectures, and ATPL.. part home (passed em) and going into the class room for the remainder.

Self motivation is the biggest factor in any learning curve. What content you absorb depends on the way you learn effectively... having other interactive students around also raises a number of interesting questions you may find inrteresting, just not thought of yet, or other ways of approaching a task.

Either way, a certain amount of self motivated study is required. Good luck and have fun...