PPL - The Syllabus
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PPL - The Syllabus
Confession time. Last year I had my 40th birthday. Now I know I'm ancient but my birthday present was a trial flight. Unfortunately, I loved it - I mean really loved it and would eventually like to go all the way, so to speak, to ATPL and beyond. Now I know the odds are stacked against me but nothing ventured nothing gained!
In the meantime, I intend to pass the PPL exams in the UK and then go to the US to get 'qualified'. For my 41st birthday (yup a year older), I received a copy of The PPL Confuser having already received the OAT CD Roms for Christmas.
I am a little miffed as to how the PPL Confuser and other PPL books state that they contain all the exam questions. Can this really be the case and if so where did they get them from?
Secondly, does the JAA have a website where I can download the actual PPL theory syllabus?
Thirdly and finally, who do I need to contact to sit the exam and how many exams can I sit at once?
As you probably gathered, the PPL theory will be self-taught!
I will of course keep you updated with my exploits!
Greg2041
In the meantime, I intend to pass the PPL exams in the UK and then go to the US to get 'qualified'. For my 41st birthday (yup a year older), I received a copy of The PPL Confuser having already received the OAT CD Roms for Christmas.
I am a little miffed as to how the PPL Confuser and other PPL books state that they contain all the exam questions. Can this really be the case and if so where did they get them from?
Secondly, does the JAA have a website where I can download the actual PPL theory syllabus?
Thirdly and finally, who do I need to contact to sit the exam and how many exams can I sit at once?
As you probably gathered, the PPL theory will be self-taught!
I will of course keep you updated with my exploits!
Greg2041
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Well done Greg.
You can do the exams at any flying school. They'll charge about twenty squids per exam. You have (I think) three attempts at each exam. (Make sure you get your exam passes signed and dated (or stamped); they should give you a form for this. you'll need it later on.) But they're not difficult if you have studied. I was also self-taught; but I never got on with my teacher!!!
You should get yourself a copy of LASORS. You can download it for free, or you can buy a copy from the CAA. Here's the link for the download.
http://www.caa.co.uk/application.asp...detail&id=1591
Pprune is a very useful tool also. However, you should make full use of the search function before you ask about anything and everything. Most of the time the answers are there, somewhere. You just need to find them. But if you're having difficulty finding out about something, or whatever, there's usually someone out here who can help.
Enjoy your flying,
Pig
You can do the exams at any flying school. They'll charge about twenty squids per exam. You have (I think) three attempts at each exam. (Make sure you get your exam passes signed and dated (or stamped); they should give you a form for this. you'll need it later on.) But they're not difficult if you have studied. I was also self-taught; but I never got on with my teacher!!!
You should get yourself a copy of LASORS. You can download it for free, or you can buy a copy from the CAA. Here's the link for the download.
http://www.caa.co.uk/application.asp...detail&id=1591
Pprune is a very useful tool also. However, you should make full use of the search function before you ask about anything and everything. Most of the time the answers are there, somewhere. You just need to find them. But if you're having difficulty finding out about something, or whatever, there's usually someone out here who can help.
Enjoy your flying,
Pig
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Noted with thanks. I had already looked at the Lasors document but it only gives the title of the relevant module i.e. 'Aviation Law & Operational Procedures', and doesn't show you the syllabus. I'm sure the CAA must have a relevant link but I can't find it. Any ideas?
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Hi Greg2041,
I think this is what you are looking for:
http://www.airplan.u-net.com/ppl_course/ppl.html
Click on the coloured links on the far right for the other subjects.
CPilotUK
I think this is what you are looking for:
http://www.airplan.u-net.com/ppl_course/ppl.html
Click on the coloured links on the far right for the other subjects.
CPilotUK
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Thank you but I am still hunting for the detail. For example under 'Law' there is the subject 'Rules of the Air' but which 'rules' does a PPL holder need to know? Different books specify different areas. So where is the elusive CAA syllabus and contents?
Blah Blah Blah
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The best bet is to either buy the Tevor Thom books or the Jeremy Pratt (AFE) books. Majority of us have used either set. I personaly used the AFE books.
They will set you back about £20 each and there is six of them. For exam practice you can register with www.airquiz.com and sit as many mock exams as you like.
As for the real exams you have a couple of options:
1) Sit them at your local school for about £20 a pop
2) If you plan to do the flying in the states, sit the exams at the school over there. Most US based JAA schools include the exam fees in the course fees.
Either way make sure you pass each exam with out having resit them more than 3 times. Otherwise you will end up having to pay a hefty price for the CAA to write a bespoke exam for you to then go and sit in Gatwick
They will set you back about £20 each and there is six of them. For exam practice you can register with www.airquiz.com and sit as many mock exams as you like.
As for the real exams you have a couple of options:
1) Sit them at your local school for about £20 a pop
2) If you plan to do the flying in the states, sit the exams at the school over there. Most US based JAA schools include the exam fees in the course fees.
Either way make sure you pass each exam with out having resit them more than 3 times. Otherwise you will end up having to pay a hefty price for the CAA to write a bespoke exam for you to then go and sit in Gatwick
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The CAA PPL has been a JAA PPL since c. 2000 and the JAA documents are here. I am not sure if the syllabus is published as a straight document but it jolly well should be (like the FAA one is).
The PPL Confuser doesn't, as far as I recall, contain any exact copies of real exam questions. However, so many people have sat those exams over the years that it's a piece of cake to put together examples of the questions.
The Confuser gets criticised by the god-appointed puritan guardians of all things pure but has about 4x more questions per subject than the exam paper and if you get a pass mark in it then you must have acquired a reasonable understanding of the subject.
The FAA question bank is published and now also the JAA ATPL question bank is published (initially in German only and now you can get it in English too). Perhaps the JAA PPL question bank is also published but maybe the questions are still set by the UK CAA?
One needs the Trevor Thom books because the PPL exams are often word plays which rely on you having read the right books.
The PPL Confuser doesn't, as far as I recall, contain any exact copies of real exam questions. However, so many people have sat those exams over the years that it's a piece of cake to put together examples of the questions.
The Confuser gets criticised by the god-appointed puritan guardians of all things pure but has about 4x more questions per subject than the exam paper and if you get a pass mark in it then you must have acquired a reasonable understanding of the subject.
The FAA question bank is published and now also the JAA ATPL question bank is published (initially in German only and now you can get it in English too). Perhaps the JAA PPL question bank is also published but maybe the questions are still set by the UK CAA?
One needs the Trevor Thom books because the PPL exams are often word plays which rely on you having read the right books.
All the PPL exams in the UK are the copyright of the CAA and are NOT available elsewhere. The questions in the PPL Confuser etc are similar, but not the same as the real questions. It is a good revision tool, but you also need to study the books first.
The reason the CAA won't accept passes in PPL exams conducted other than at CAA-approved RFs/FTOs is that they have no control of the custody and management of 'foreign' JAR-FCL PPL exams. They will, of course, accept passes from JAR-FCL PPL exams sat in the USA at schools approved by the CAA for JAR-FCL PPL training.
As for costs, our Club does not charge our own students for the first attempt. But anyone else who just wants to sit the exams before going elsewhere to do their flying training will be charged the same rate that the CAA charges!
The reason the CAA won't accept passes in PPL exams conducted other than at CAA-approved RFs/FTOs is that they have no control of the custody and management of 'foreign' JAR-FCL PPL exams. They will, of course, accept passes from JAR-FCL PPL exams sat in the USA at schools approved by the CAA for JAR-FCL PPL training.
As for costs, our Club does not charge our own students for the first attempt. But anyone else who just wants to sit the exams before going elsewhere to do their flying training will be charged the same rate that the CAA charges!
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equipment
A little related to your thread.
Pooleys do a PPL starter pack with all the booked, some equipment etc. for £199
It's very good value and should have nearly evrything you need for study etc.
Pooleys do a PPL starter pack with all the booked, some equipment etc. for £199
It's very good value and should have nearly evrything you need for study etc.
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hi Greg
great thinking about studying all the way to ATPL. It doesn't have to be exclusive to jet wannabe's.
It's expensive, but then again people spend more on fancy cars or package holidays !
They'll try to sell you lots of expensive kit and gear but there's no need for that. After all you'll be flying in 30 years old spam cans, so even if your CRP-1 isn't brand new, it'll still do the job
I got everything I needed on ebay for £ 5.00 (plus £ 5.00 postage) and that includes ground school books, an R/T manual, a whiz wheel and a chart of northern England !
I only had to buy an up to date version of the Air Law book, and a PPL confuser. The Aeroplane Technical book I got, despite its pages being yellow, still remains newer than the aeroplane I'm flying !
The confuser will help you optimise your studying time, handy esp if you work full time and have a family ! IO540 is spot on about it (as always!).
It would be great to know all the amendments to the ANO and the pink sheets off by heart, but it won't kill you if you don't.
Saving 200 quid and spending 2 extra hours with an instructor doing PFLs - that could save your life !
Have fun
great thinking about studying all the way to ATPL. It doesn't have to be exclusive to jet wannabe's.
It's expensive, but then again people spend more on fancy cars or package holidays !
They'll try to sell you lots of expensive kit and gear but there's no need for that. After all you'll be flying in 30 years old spam cans, so even if your CRP-1 isn't brand new, it'll still do the job
I got everything I needed on ebay for £ 5.00 (plus £ 5.00 postage) and that includes ground school books, an R/T manual, a whiz wheel and a chart of northern England !
I only had to buy an up to date version of the Air Law book, and a PPL confuser. The Aeroplane Technical book I got, despite its pages being yellow, still remains newer than the aeroplane I'm flying !
The confuser will help you optimise your studying time, handy esp if you work full time and have a family ! IO540 is spot on about it (as always!).
It would be great to know all the amendments to the ANO and the pink sheets off by heart, but it won't kill you if you don't.
Saving 200 quid and spending 2 extra hours with an instructor doing PFLs - that could save your life !
Have fun
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Beagle
The reason the CAA won't accept passes in PPL exams conducted other than at CAA-approved RFs/FTOs is that they have no control of the custody and management of 'foreign' JAR-FCL PPL exams
Are you saying that say a German JAA PPL is in some way inferior in privileges for flying a G-reg?
The reason the CAA won't accept passes in PPL exams conducted other than at CAA-approved RFs/FTOs is that they have no control of the custody and management of 'foreign' JAR-FCL PPL exams
Are you saying that say a German JAA PPL is in some way inferior in privileges for flying a G-reg?
Not at all. It's just that, for example, the CAA won't accept a pass in the German PPL exams to be used for the issue of a British PPL - even though both are JAA states.
I think that there is reciprocity between the IAA and CAA, but that's about all.
As an example of how some JAA states conduct their PPL exams, a certain nation's JAR-FCL PPL students somehow manage to pass the whole Navigation and Radio Aids examination in 20 minutes. It has been alleged that the exam answers are available 'for the right price'....
I think that there is reciprocity between the IAA and CAA, but that's about all.
As an example of how some JAA states conduct their PPL exams, a certain nation's JAR-FCL PPL students somehow manage to pass the whole Navigation and Radio Aids examination in 20 minutes. It has been alleged that the exam answers are available 'for the right price'....
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Exam answers are legitimately available, at a very reasonable price, for the ATPL. I would regard that as more important, since it's usually used for carrying paying passengers. All the more reason to sort the men from the sheep, by memorising the # of axes carried on Concorde
Many ATPL candidates are going around JAA states in search of a colour vision test which they can pass. So much so that the CAA commissioned a study of the subject which (gosh what a suprise) found that all but one of the colour vision tests in current use (the WH lantern) are basically meaningless. The PDF is on their website somewhere; I read it a while ago. It's a scandal; how many people failed the Isihara plates and gave up, never knowing it's a useless test of any practical colour vision ability.
Many ATPL candidates are going around JAA states in search of a colour vision test which they can pass. So much so that the CAA commissioned a study of the subject which (gosh what a suprise) found that all but one of the colour vision tests in current use (the WH lantern) are basically meaningless. The PDF is on their website somewhere; I read it a while ago. It's a scandal; how many people failed the Isihara plates and gave up, never knowing it's a useless test of any practical colour vision ability.
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To all who responded to my original question,
Many thanks to you. I really appreciate your advice. The various links still haven't revealed the actual PPL syllabus and the theory books seem to differ on the matter with varying amounts of detail. It appears to be a SECRET!
My next question is in relation to CATS (Cranfield Aviation Training School).
Has anyone attended the week long PPL residential theory course? Was it any good? What did/does it cost? My work situation means that one week's intensive study would suit me far better.
Kind regards
Greg
Many thanks to you. I really appreciate your advice. The various links still haven't revealed the actual PPL syllabus and the theory books seem to differ on the matter with varying amounts of detail. It appears to be a SECRET!
My next question is in relation to CATS (Cranfield Aviation Training School).
Has anyone attended the week long PPL residential theory course? Was it any good? What did/does it cost? My work situation means that one week's intensive study would suit me far better.
Kind regards
Greg
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Greg
I may be wrong, but FWIW I don't think there is a detailed PPL syllabus in the sense you are asking. I base this on various JAR-FCL documents I've trawled through over the years, more on the post-PPL ratings and licenses.
In general, they don't seem to publish a detailed syllabus beyond the high level "list of subjects". This is also true in the ATPL theory. The detailed syllabus is de facto what is in the quasi-public domain databanks of questions and in the standard texts.
rgds
421C
I may be wrong, but FWIW I don't think there is a detailed PPL syllabus in the sense you are asking. I base this on various JAR-FCL documents I've trawled through over the years, more on the post-PPL ratings and licenses.
In general, they don't seem to publish a detailed syllabus beyond the high level "list of subjects". This is also true in the ATPL theory. The detailed syllabus is de facto what is in the quasi-public domain databanks of questions and in the standard texts.
rgds
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Beagle, most of the PPL multiple choice exams took me between 15 and 20 minutes each. Followed by about the same amount checking my answers, but I never went back and changed one as a result.
They're just not very hard, once you're ready for them.
They're just not very hard, once you're ready for them.
