JAR PPL Exams
 

Hi all, just registered on pprune and glad to see a forum for ppls and students (like me at 50 odd hours and just starting my cross country nav flying)

I would be interested to hear how any other students who are training at a recognised FTO have been getting on in respect of their exams. Basically, I'm confronted with the situation that none of the instructors are apparently allowed to know whats in the exam papers (specifically, no-one knows whats in the flight planning exam !). I don't mean word for word, but having just passed the Nav exam, I was surprised to find a section on radio nav aids. (I passed most of those questions only because I have an interest also in Amateur Radio and the questions were mainly radio specific)

Some people might say, well its in the syllabus. But I spent perhaps too much time using the AFE Q&A book (supposed to be JAR compliant), and none of the 10 test papers for the Nav section had any questions on radio nav aids. So I didn't bother reading up on the radio nav section beforehand.

My point is that the instructors should point these things out to you, but they apparantly can't do so because they are not allowed to. Has anyone similar or related experiences? I would be particularly interested to hear about the flight planning exam, though not question specific of course !

Regards

EvoFlyer,Cannot be much help as I have only sat the Air Law paper so far.Used AFE Book as the main study aid.Then used The PPL Confuser to test myself.I found that the questions used in the Confuser similar to the JAR Exam.I will keep you posted as I go. PS What do you suggest as a reference for Human Oerformance?

EvoFlyer,

I would suggest that the PPL confuser is a great source for realistic exam questions. The only problem with the non-JAR version is the air law. Most is ok, but it dosen't include anything on the Chicago convension (which the exam does). With regards to the flight planning exam, the CAA technical exam has been split into two parts. I read the Jeremy Pratt books which I found to be very easy going, and the technical book has everything you need to know for the performance exam. As long as you can do weight and balance calcs, and you know that if the runway is up-hill, it will require a longer T/O roll, you will be fine.

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Pessimism : Don't try it, it'll never work

[This message has been edited by Welshbwoy (edited 24 August 2000).]

Hi,

Your instructors should be keen for you to pass, and because of that, it makes sense that they should help wherever possible. No one wants a cheat, but there is no harm in them pointing you in the right direction. It is still up to you to gain the subject specific knowledge, but anything they do to help can only be a good thing.

If they don't have a good idea of what you should be focusing on, I suspect that they haven't taken the trouble to have a good look at the new papers. you should be firm with them and get them to help. There is no reason why you shouldn't have a good idea of what will be expected of you.

The PPL confuser is extremely useful for practicing, but beware *it may get you through the exams, but you must understand what you are learning for it to be of real use in the air*. So, use it as a supplement, not a Bible. Ironically, when you have your license and you are flying more regularly, you may find that many of the subjects covered make a lot more sense in the real world!

The main thing is: don't panic, and remember that the CAA are tricky bastards when it comes to questions. Never assume that the answer is obvious because the question is often cleverly written to lure you into a false sense of security. Beware.

.......very best of luck.

Nish


[This message has been edited by Nishko (edited 24 August 2000).]

Thanks for the replies. To Nishko, your comments in the 1st 2 paragraphs summed up neatly my point; i.e there should be no harm in helping you to fully understand what you should be reading up on.

As it happens, I began my training at a flying club and didn't know the real difference between a club & a school. That is, till I went for the Air Law exam and found that the goal posts had moved re the new JAR rules (this was last year). Nobody had bothered to tell me about the differences so that racked me off no end! Because of this, I moved to a school at a major airfield to which I havn't looked back. The standard of instruction is high and I'm enjoying every minute.

To Delta Wun-Wun, I have used only the Trevor Thom books as they were recommended and I found that they certainly do contain all that is required. These alone have helped me through Air Law, Met, HP and now Nav. I've just bought the Technical book and shall start on the planning now.

Thanks again for all your comments.
Regards