Bristol, Bristol, Bristol!

Your teachers will tell you that they have all the questions and you don't need Bristol, they lie!

I'm no genius and just scored 100%, 96% and 84% in my first three exams. All thanks to Bristol!

Fon

Nothing much has changed in the ATPL's since I first ordered my manuals quite a few years ago now (they gathered dust for a good year or so before I pulled finger!). It is all down to the quality of the feedback that the schools have and always has been. I remember a mate of mine struggling through with a small school, he was working his butt off and missing the odd exam with low 70's. He commented that he just hadn't seen so many of the questions and in the more technical exams like MET he didn't even know where to start to go about answering them as he just wasn't taught these areas. The CAA are constantly updating the CQB and unfortunately more and more questions are only "loosely" falling within the learning objectives. I remember one MET question that got queried about 4 months ago which the CAA had to refer to a obscure Swedish MET textbook as their defence for having the question in. Hence the need for something like the Bristol database to help get you over that last 10% or so in the exams.

ATPL Ground School study material: books, DVD etc.
 

No doubt this has been covered, however I need to write my FAA ATP written test within a week can anybody give me any crash course advice as to what is the best book out there. Is this written fairly straight forward? I know its online down in Farnborough I think. help

DD

I used ASA's ATPL software to prepare my self for the written exam. Worked great for me, much better then using a book IMHO.

I used a cd called gleims. Must have worked as I passed the exam. :}

:ok:

try FAAtest.com

I'm sitting my IR and CPL tests in Farnborough this Tuesday... used the faatest.com software and backed it up with the ASA books. Will let you know if the formula worked. I only had a week to study too!

METAR

PPL Confuser - ATPL exams
 

Anyone else use the PPL confuser and really regret it?

I used it in Florida as i found it hard to study for all the exams within the three weeks. Regret doing it now however as I will be starting the ATPLs distance learning soon. I reckon its highly likely i will struggle since I didn't cover all the subjects properly. I relied on it heavily for Nav and Met.

Has this happened anyone else? Will it be possible to keep up?

Thanks,
HJ

The best thing to do is to read the text book for the subjects you are studying at the time and then after a good understanding use the confuser or any other question banks as just an aid to revision. Not a first choice to learning.

;)

ah ye well i wouldnt argue with that now. lesson learned!

what stage are you at in your flight training ! maybe you can help me ! are you just starting your atpl's ?

I agree. The confuser will get you to pass the exams. But will not give you the knowledge.
Having said that, some of the questions in the papers test your ability to read and decifer the question, more than actually testing your knowledge.

Passing the exam doesn't mean you know it all. The confuser will take you through, and there's nothing wrong with improving your knowledge even after you've passed the test.

Are you serious? You intend to use the PPL Confuser to help you with your ATPL studies? Please tell me this is a joke...

You will be given the appropriate study material by your Ground School. Use it, together with any online question bank and brush-up courses they may offer. Do not use PPL study material for the ATPL. You are hoping to be a professional. Start acting like one.

Scroggs

Looks like I have been misunderstood.

Scroggs, I certainly have no intention of using the confuser for the ATPL exams. My point was, I relied heavily on it for the PPL exams and might struggle now when I begin studying.

Turned into a crap thread anyway but I was just hoping to hear from someone in my situation as I noticed a good few people just getting through with the confuser.

HJ.

You shouldn't have too much problems, if you only used the confuser.
The notes I'm using for the ATPL's seem to start off at an "intro level" for the first few pages before going into more detail as you progress.
I'm sure all the notes from the various would be similar, get everybody at the same level before the :confused: stuff appears.
D'OHnt worry about it Homer Jay

I'm finding that the ATPL goes over most of the old PPL ground theory.

Take it easy this time though, eh?

As some of the replys mention above, dont worry too much at this stage. as long as you are prepared to put the study in, most of the ATPL theory books provide detailed explanations from the view of a zero hour student. Some are far more detailed than others (the Oxford books i used were very detailed), i have heard the Bristol books tell you what you need to know. Dont rush, if you need longer on a certain subject, then do so, and learn as much as you can. There is a database to help you with the exams available, but you cant fly commercially on the back of a database.its many many hours of study and sacrafice.

There are also CBT disks available produced by Oxford if you need to brush up on Maths including trig, Nav and physics ect.Use all the resources at your disposal to help you.

Good Luck!

Your situation is by no means uncommon. In fact the vast majority of students starting JAR ATPL(A) modular couses have learned virtually nothing from their PPL theoretical knowledge studies. This just makes it more difficult for them to get to grips with the ATPL material.

The good news is the fact that you appear to have recognised your error. Now providing you do your best to learn and understand as much as you can from your ATPL course, no permanent damage will have been done.

Unfortunately a small proportion of students carry the "just learn the answers" approach on to their ATPL studies. In most cases this does not prevent them from passing the exams, but they gain nothing more from the process.

You should try to learn and understand as much as you can from your ATPL course. Some of the material is over the top, but much of it will be useful in developing a wider understanding of your chosen career.

Past students sometimes ring to tell me about their interviews and type rating courses. They often comment on how much of the apparently irelevant material from their course proved to be very relevant. Curiously enough I have never had such a call from the small group who have concentrated on learning only the answers to the exam questions.

Thanks to all above, the feedback has been very helpful. This was one of the problems with me commencing the course especially distance learning but the advice has been reassuring. Lesson learned anyway from the PPL exams will know better when i begin the ATPL's.

Just a quick note for anyone thinking of using it, no point in telling yourself you will study the books when you get home because you wont.

Cheers,
HJ

ATPL Course Prep
 

Hello all,

Sorry if this has been answered before but I tried the search and got little info!!

Im off to NAC in Florida in Jan to do their Full time ATPL theory course. I Currently have a PPL with 120 hrs.

Since I now have a couple of months before I head off, is there any form of Prep that i can start studying before Heading off? I have a few Theory books that i picked up along the line and I have been looking through them. Is there any other info i can start preparing for?

Many thanks

My advice to you is to enjoy the time off that you have now.
There are risks involved with "pre-study"

If you are the only one who has done it in the group - you will first be looked upon as cool, but after about an hour of always having your hand up, you will quickly go from cool to tosser!

Work with the group and help each other out. You'll enjoy the bonding and the exam nerves.

Some of the goodytwoshoes will disagree with me I'm sure!

JAR Professional Pilot Studies by Phil Croucher has the whole syllabus in one book.

Gord

Yeah i will enjoy it but im working right up to the time i go!!! :ugh: At least ill have xmas at home!!
Never looked at it in that way? But alas there will be some people there better than others anyhow? Some will have gone and got college degrees and be used to absorbing large amounts of info? Others will not!! (ME!)
Gorden ... thanks for the book tip. I will look into it

Do you want to pass the exams or worry about what other people think of you? The subject matter is about A level standard but there is a lot of it - the more you can get in, the better! A friend of mine went through Naples and said they sell it there, which is how I got it, but it's in Transair.

Personally I learn better outside the classroom, but each to his own.

Good luck!

Gord

I am in the same boat. I purchased 'JAR Professional Pilot Studies' by Phill Croucher and have read quite a bit.

I am hoping to go to EFT in Jan/Feb 2008 so I figure if I can revise as much as possible now (over the next 14 months) it'll take some amount of pressure off me so I concentrate on my flying when I get to the states.

I studied A' level maths and about 6 months of A' level Physics and have a passion for engines etc, To say the truth I am quite enjoying the revision process.

I think making the best of your time is wise, I don't think I'll be putting my hand up all the time in class for the reasons above. But it's always nice understanding and enjoying what the groundschool is all about. :8

Best of luck guys.

Andrew
(Still saving the pennies)

Just what i was thinking really. Im there to pass 14 exams .. not to make friends!! Thats the reason im travelling abroad so i have minimal distractions (work, mates etc). Just purchased the book there from pilotstore online so i should have it shortly.

Thanks for the advice guys .. keep it coming!! :ok:

I found myself in the same situation as you are now before I started studying for my ATPL’s back in May of this year. I felt that I could use the time I had to get ahead but the flight school that I had chosen would not release the books in advance. I am so glad they didn't because I am nearly at the end of Ground School now and would probably have found myself totally burnt out! 6 months is plenty of time to learn the subjects and if your basic Math’s and Physics are up to GCSE level then I can't see what you need to do. Maybe instead you could get yourself some good aviation books and magazines to keep up to speed with current aviation events.

Best of luck with the course mate! :E

Thanks Aviator,

I currently work in aviation in an operational capacity so Im pretty up to date on that side of things. Well im gonna get my hands on that book ... it cant do me any harm? :{ :{

Id use the time to prepare urself for the harder subjects, as some of them contain concepts that take time to get your head round. Getting your head round such concepts at an early stage will make your life a hell of a lot easier in Naples.
Have done nearlly all the ATPL subjects myself, and reckon it would be a good idea to pre study:
Principles of Flight, General navigation and Performance, as these subjects are more about understanding concepts rather than learning. Once you have understood them once, most of the hard work is done and the concepts will be ingrained in you brain for the future course.
It would be less useful I think to pre study things like Air Law and Operational Proceedures, as these subjects are based on pure learning of facts, which you will forget in five minutes and have to relearn fresh when you start the course.

Whilst the Aviator says that 6 mths is plenty of time to learn the subjects from fresh, I have felt very pushed for time during my ground school course. Anything that you can learn now and stamp onto your brain will make your life a lot easier later on.

Just my opinion, hope it helps.

Badboy.

There has been a lot of stuff posted over the years on pre course study so do a search. I think you will probably find some info on the various websites from the schools that offer ground school as well that should point you in the right direction. Manipulation of algebraic formulae to a reasonable standard (nothing to hard), having a fair idea of how the CRP5 works and a bit of basic physics should put you in good stead. Failing that read over your Trevor Thoms. There is a surprising amount of PPL level stuff that crops up in the ATPL's that you generally skipped over without completely understanding.

I am not sure what Farrell is on about, but there are no risks with pre-study.

I would suggest that you are up to speed with all your PPL material. The ATPL study is an extension of your knowledge to a higher level, which is not A-Level standard, more GSCE.

Enjoy it. All the best.

Farrell is not on about anything really.
Was just my tuppence worth. :)

EIDW - I'm the author of the above-mentioned book - it is good for dispatchers as well. I'm not sure if the version with the blue cover has got through to pilotwarehouse yet - PM me if you get an orange one. That's the one BALPA liked, but the blue one is more up to date.

Phil

PS - anything in italics has something to do with exam questions ;)

"AVIATOR" Software.
 

That sounds promising:With many questions (approx. 800) in learning ads, such as MASS & BALANCE, PERFORMANCE, METEOROLOGY, GENERAL NAVIGATION, OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES and PRINCIPLES OF FLIGHT, the solution methods are explained in detail and learned easily

hi all

i just orderd the cd , and spoke to the company, the cd look very promissing with over 7000 to 8000 q's if you order multi cd.

anyway i am looking for actual vedio lucture for atpl i ,they were made by previos ground school ppsc which closed down , does any body knows where we can find these cds or vedio for atpl subject.
thnks

Atpl Dvd Or Video
 

hi all

i am looking to purchase video tapes or dvd for atpl ground school luctures.

i got info that ppsc school used to produce them and sell them in the market , any where i can purchase those tapes so i it can help me study for distance learning ground school.

thanks

ATPL Study Strategy
 

Bought a set of ATPL exam questions off eBay to supplement those provided by OAT...and found a text file on the disk explaining a strategy of working out which specific topic areas came up in every exam and simply learning those in depth. Using this technique the guy achieved at least 93% in all exams - apparently.

Curious to hear any views on this. Sounds too good to be true of course, but perhaps there is some mileage in studying different areas to varying depths???

Just learn the whole lot in depth then you take the chance out of it!:)

From personal experience, I used the Bristol QB and got 90% average.. no secret to it other than learn the material and revise the question database..