ATPL Ground School - Prerequisites

[The Greener Grass]

From my literature it appears that you only need a PPL at the time of sitting the ground school (commercial) exams.

Does this mean that you can start studying prior to having a PPL or not? This is not very clear in my literature.

Also who has done a modular ground school, i.e. whilst in full time employment, and completed successfully? How many hours p.w. did you do on average, and how long did all the ground school take in real life, away from glossy sales brochures!

Thanks in advance.

[gazelle507]

Entry on to a JAA ATPL theary training course requires an ICAO PPL, sufficient knowledge of arithmatic and physics and good command of English, written and spoken.
Some schools will have other conditions such as 100hrs, a class 1 medical,etc.
The class 1 medical is advised although you don't need it to start theory training.
A distance learning course is a minimum of 650 hrs of theory training including a minimum of 10% residential ground school, most companies will offer 20% residential.
The recommended study time per day is 3hrs for 5 days a week. On average a student will take a minimum of 40 weeks to complete this programme. An average cost is around £2000+- £200, add to that accomadation for the residential part plus the exam fees £718.
If you have any other questions please e-mail me.