Which Exam First

[Piper Warrior Pilot]

I had my trial lesson on Tuesday and hope to begin the PPL course in July. Ive been reading quite a few posts on the forum about the written exams and noticed that quite a lot of people are taking the exams before their flying training.

I have a fare amount of knowledge already in the various sections of the PPL course but i was wondering if anyone could give me any advice as to which exam i should sit first.

Also if they know what kind of things students are questioned on because the pilots manuals cover things in great detail and, although im not positive, i dont believe that all of the information in these manuals is presented in the exams.

If anyone could help me with this issue it would be greatly appreciated

[andrewc]

I'd go for Air Law first, most schools won't let you do first
solo without it,

-- Andrew

[Evo7]

This has been covered before.

My take, with hindsight, would be Air Law first (got to do it) then Human Factors (easy, slightly useful) and RT Theory(very useful one early on). After that, probably Flight Performance & Planning, Met and then Nav. I'd do Aircraft Technical last, because it's dull....

However, it doesn't really matter much - do them in any order you like. Just remember that your school may require certain exams to be complete prior to elements of the flight training - normally Air Law before going solo, Nav & Met before Navexs...

[mikegreatrex]

And do not forget that twelve months hence, you will have to take them again if you have not passed your ppl by that time

[BEagle]

Start with HP&L to get you used to doing exams. Then do Air Law and RT Theory together as many items are common to both. Then do Met, Nav and Flt Perf & Planning before solo navigation leaving only Ac Gen & P of F and the RT practical to do before the solo 150nm navex.

PPL exams must be completed within a 12 month period, when you've successfully passed the final one you then have to complete the rest of your PPL within 24 months.

[djk]

check with your school as they may require you to do Air Law first. also it depends on how frequently you will get to take lessons. if you're going to do your lessons after a period of time it might be wise waiting till you've got a few hours under your belt before starting your exams as you've got a year in which to complete all your exams and another year in which to complete the PPL.

I know 2 years sounds ample time to do it, but if you're anything like me and have had loads of cancelled lessons due to poor weather, it's no surprising I've only clocked up 30 hours within my first 18 months

[FormationFlyer]

As an instructor I would personally advocate

aircraft technical - This covers *so* much of the stuff which is vital to understanding your flight lessons

then

air law - to get you to be first solo ready

followed by

Communications (theory) - which will help you out airbourne

Hope this helps,
FF

[FlyingForFun]

Seems more logical to me to wait a little while before you worry about the exams.

You say you've noticed that quite a lot of people are taking the exams before their flying training. I think I'm right in saying that these people are generally planning on doing an intensive course to get their PPL in a very short time, often in America. Many people who take this route recommend doing the exams first, because there isn't enough spare time on the course to do all the studying that's required. But if you're flying for an hour or two a week, as most of us do, it's really not necessary to do any exams until you're at the stage where you might be ready to solo soon. This will also mean you'll have some practical experiences to back the knowledge up with.

Good luck!

FFF
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