ATPL theory- how long does it take?

[MCT]

Before the JAA, flying schools in the UK would advertise 6 - 8 week ground school courses for a CAA ATPL. Now Oxford etc are advertising 26 week courses.. Why the considerable change in length...????

[herniair]

It happens- when you're being shagged.

[Flyingspaniard]

You should go to the CAA website www.srg.caa.co.uk and see the learning objectives.

It will then become clear!!

[chewinggum]

why don't you do it at home in 4 weeks like the caa guys did.after all there techs were at bcpl level.

[RVR800]

I only took three days off to do my
CAA ATPLs Tue Wed and then back to resit
one on a Tuesday 2 months later.

The PPSC correspondence course must
have been good..

Its those men in Hoopdorf again - campaign for an AOPA driven N-ATPL

[Rote 8]

How long a day do you spend studying

Just a quick question to everyone out there who are working on ATPL distance learning courses. How long, roughly a day would you say you spend in the books?

Have just started myself with Bristol and trying to do 3 hours a day during the week with weekends off.

Cheers

[Megaton]

Just wasted 2 hrs (including a bit of ppruning) completing the Air LAw amendments. No mention of when I'll get an amended CD-ROM.

[prob30]

3 hours a day and weekends off for distance learning??!!! I am doing full time. 8hours in the classroom followed by another 4 hours at night, the same on saturday, off sat night and sunday. I hear distance learning is harder than full time and i can't see you getting thorough the work. Depends on how much time you have available i guess. good luck though!!

[essex_boy]

3hrs per night weekends off for flying. Oats
say 15 hrs (min) per week per frame but it has taking me 20-25hrs per frame some of the
important stuff I record on to MD so i can
listen to it when i,m quite a work.You will find what works for you good luck


EB

[Delta Wun-Wun]

Also studying at Bristol.Workdays I try to do 3hrs,(and take some notes with me to work...he...he...he).Days off are full time study days.Like today,I have so far managed 5hrs.Having a break reading Prune then a couple of hours more.If you can get by on 15hrs a week...Great.I can`t...there is a lot to learn and I only want to go through this once.If I pass then it will be worth it.

[Snigs]

Rote 8, it all depends on how long you want to take to complete the course. From my experience, if you study at the rate that you've suggested then you'll finish the full (14 subject) syllabus in about a year. Nothing wrong with that, if you've got 18 months then you can cut it down even more. Beware of forgetting the early stuff in the subject if you do take your time though.

Just for you to gauge, I studied a correspondence course full time (not class room, but my spare room!!) and I completed the course and passed the exams in a period lasting about 7 months, and that was working an average of 8 hours a day, six days a week!!

[nunos]

3 hrs each day during the week seems fine if your a 9 - 5, married man with 2.5 kids. WHAT ABOUT THE WEEKENDS ? do you party @ the weekends? if so pack it in because you are not determined enough (what a waste doing nothing, nil, O, none, silch, at the weekends can't understand it)goodluck anyway!

[avrodamo]

Im on a 12 hour shift pattern 4 on 4 off. I spend 3 hours per night studying on my dayshifts. I get 6 hours done in between days and nights. I spend my half day after nightshifts as a home day( Keep the wife happy and mow the lawn etc) I then spend 2 of my rest days as whole study days. I start at about 8am and go right through thw day to about 10pm, obviously with breaks for meals and brain rest in between. Im on schedule with that and it usually works out to about 26-30 hours per week. I should finish in Dec, and then will revise for 2 months before going down to Bristol and then exams in March.

[mad_jock]

try and do 2 hrs a night after a 10hr shift. Usually work 2-3 nights aweek depending

Weekends are my best time, out for a beer or 2 on friday night and a bit of a shop on sat morning then hit the books. So 3 hours decent stuff afternoon out in the evening no booze, then sunday up early to the bakers then 10hrs. Going full time in 2 weeks should be done and dusted in 1 month phase 2 OAT depending how much flying / HGV driving i do.

MJ

And Nunos which modular training course are you applying yourself to just now? And also as well could you tell us the work commitments you have?.

[ 18 July 2001: Message edited by: mad_jock ]

[Rote 8]

Guys

Thanks for all of your replies. Most of my boring posts fail to attract much attention. Although I have only just started down this road it seems reasonably clear that I need to put in a bit more study which is exactly what I am going to start doing.

Anyone out there doing less than 3 hours a day and getting by?

[Whirlybird]

Rote 8, people vary quite a lot. I did the old CAA exams so things may be a bit different, but not that different. For the navs, I did about 10 hours a week for a couple of months, then a month's course at Bristol, then 2-3 hours a day for the two weeks before the exams, and passed 7 out of 9. I knew people who did a lot more, and some who did less. For me, fairly short but concentrated work periods with breaks worked better than long periods where the stuff would go in one ear and out the other; I have to learn a lot of new stuff in my day job too, so I felt as though my brain was constantly close to overload if I tried any other way. I also found it better to read it all through and get a general feel for it, then go back and learn it properly. But some people would say the complete opposite. You need to find a study system which works for you. It may be useful to make yourself a plan of what you want to have learned in a particular time period, then see if it works. If it does, fine. If not, you need to do more, or study differently, no matter what anyone else is doing.

Hope that helps and doesn't just confuse!

[Steve McNair]

ROTE 8

I've recently started with Bristol ( just about to send in frame 5 ) If you are spending 3 hours a day studying with weekends off how long is it taking you to complete a frame ? I'm studying about 4-5 hours a day and it's taking me about a working week.

Any ideas as to where you're going after Bristol?

Regards

[Nishko]

I agree with Whirlybird.

I am just finishing the ATPL NAVS with Bristol and am about to go for the 2 week brush up course. I gave up my job to study at home (supposedly full time) but have found my study patterns to be very erratic. I am not very good at spending long periods every day in the books, and instead just do what I can when ever I can. This means that some days I do loads, and on other days some times nothing at all.

I first completed the whole course, and then went back over it all a second time, finding that I understood lots of it far more easily the second time around. It can be surprising just how much you are learning without you realising it. I have a concentration span for study that is about as long a it takes to drink a cup of tea. Then, I get up, stare out of the window, walk around the house, and make another cup of tea - then hit the books again. I feel that I have been making the progress that I hoped for, but I will only truly know once the first exams have been taken.

Everyone is different. I know people that went on full time courses and spent 8 hours a day in the class room for 3 months, and still didn't really understand half of it. And, these people are not stupid in any way, but some people just have an ability to relate to the subjects, and therefore retain the information, and more importantly be able to apply it.

Personally, Climatology is my Nemesis. I'm fully prepared to have to sit that one more than once, but if that's the case so be it - it won't be the end of the world. Hopefully though the brush up course will help me get a better angle on it.

Good luck to all.....

Nish.

[Rote 8]

Macky

I am only on frame 2. Like I said I am new to all this. That is really the reason why I posed the question. I finished the first frame fairly quickly, after 15 hours and thought I did OK. The second frame seems to be a bit tougher going.

I cant help wondering to myself if it all gets progressivley more difficult or wether the frames are generally balanced.

One thing is for sure. I have no idea how I will be able to remember the stuff that I did last week in 8 months time (or however long it takes).

[GonvilleBromhead]

Another one with Bristol DL, currently only on frame 3, did the first two and tests a week a piece, studying about 3-4 hours a night midweek, try to keep my weekends free (ish) of study, but I appreciate the further I get into it, the more I will have to refresh ground already covered i.e. weekends.

Not found it too bad so far (expecting it to get more involved as time goes by), how did everyone else find it as you progress up the frames ?

cheers,

GB.