PPL Confuser? - CONFUSED alright!!
 

Guys, (I need some support here :eek:)

My confidence has been torn to shreds! After diligently learning PPL Air Law (AFE books) and getting between 90-100% on the chapter questions and also on the 3 practice tests in AFE's PPL Simplifier, I thought I should try more questions.

So I bought the PPL confuser as everyone seems to rave about it. Suddenly my average for Air Law went to something ridiculous like 65%!!!! I hardly understood the questions. A lot of the regulation/law questions were things I haven't seen before - and I cross referenced this with the AFE Pratt books.

When you read an explanation of the answers, it obvioulsy copies word-for-word the exact description in either the ANO or ICAO Chapter X Paragraphy Y.

Should I be reading the ANO and ICAO- every page and chapter too?? My confidence has really taken a hit with this book. What is more like the real thing- the Pratt AFE books or the PPL Confuser? My confidence has really taken a hit here.

Please let me give you an example question from the PPL Confuser:

Q28 (Pg6)

An a/c that is registered in the UK when undertaking an International Flight, must have on board a certificate of airworthiness that was issued by ..(A)..and validated by ..(B)..

a) The UK.CAA....any ICAO contracting State
b) any ICAO contracting state...any ICAO comtracting State
c) any ICAO contracting state...the UK. CAA
d) The UK. CAA...the UK.CAA

The answer is C. The explanation given as such:

8(1) Subject to paragraph (2), an a/c shall not fly unless there is in force in respect thereof a Certificate of Airworthiness duly issued or rendered valid under law of the country in which the a/c is registered or the State of the operator, and any conditions subject to which the certificate was issued or rendered valid are complied with.

Now I may not be a lawyer but exactly what part of "valid under law of the country in which the a/c is registered or the State of the operator" is equal to "any ICAO contracting state?"

Guys, even without this example question, my confidence has really taken a hit with the PPL confuser.

confuser
 

When I sat my ppl exams, the comfuser was an excellent guide to the actual questions, work those example questions until you can get them all correct, and make sure you know why they are correct and you'll be able to pass the air law exam with a 90% pass.

IM

One thing I found with studying PPL and ATPL theory is that you read all you can to gain as much working knowledge and personal understanding of the subject as you can.

The PPL Confuser as with Bristol Question Bank taught me how the questions for the exams are asked and how they are supposed to be answered if you get my meaning.

Don't let them get you down.

Personally i would not recommend the AFE books to anyone studying for their ppl exams. :ugh: I have a copy of the 2006 books and they are awful! :yuk: I would go for the OAA ppl books. At the end of each chapter there are actual ppl exam questions, learning points are drawn attention to via coloured boxes and this combined with the ppl confuser will help you ace those exams. I'm not taking my Air law exam until the end of April but currently i am getting 98+% on all exams.

Q28's answer is correct. You need to go back and learn that chapter again.

Chin up and remember that the questions in the confuser are more than likely to pop up in the exam so if all else fails learn a,b & c.

:p

I did the PPL exams as part of an intensive course and managed fine with the AFE books and the simplifier book you mentioned. If I recall there are 3 practice papers for each exam and I found that if I was passing the 3 comfortably I would pass the exam with >90%. I had the confuser too but never used it. If I had more time and had felt the need to try and get 100% I would have done all the confuser q’s to but I never got round to it.

There may be better books on the market but I found the AFE ones fine, I still use them as a reference now they always seem to have the information I need.

Although for my IMC I used the IMC confuser which is the same deal as the PPL one and found it excellent.

Gav28. That is encouraging.

But I was truly shocked today. I read the AFE book and I've always had a good memory hence why i got high marks in the AFE simplifier and practice tests.

But upon answering the PPL confuser questions it was like I was reading a foreign language!!!! AFE is CAA lasors recommended. No offence to J Pratt but I wouldn't recommend it based on my results on the PPL confuser. Am I being a tad harsh? I really don't mean to be but I was truly shocked.

I'll remember the PPL confuser of by heart so I'm not at all worried about failing (she says!) but I just don't like reading "text books" to only find out that 30-40% of the exam can not be answered by the said text book.

skyhighbird,

I had questions just like that in my Air Law exam. I used the Oxford PPL books and their exam prep CD-ROM - and an old Trevor Thom for comparison. Can't comment on the AFE books as I haven't used them.

While the Oxford books and CD were good preparation for the real exam, I was still surprised at the level of minutiae.

It may help to know that the answers are whatever it says in the ANO, ICAO conventions. Exactly what it says. Not similar. Not even the same plus a seemingly logical extra bit. :ugh:

While all the answers were in my books, a lot of the questions were on the more obscure and arcane sections of the text.

Try the Confuser. I found that the AFE books go into quite a bit more detail than you will need to pass the exams and it's more 'for your information'. Also the structure in the Confuser is more alike to those in the exams. :)

I just recently passed my PPL with the AFE books (including AFE simplifier) and the PPL Confuser.

I didn't use the AFE Simplifier.

I worked through each chapter on the AFE PPL books and then answered questions on PPLQUIZ.org and the PPL Confuser. Got all my exams passed at pretty high averages. The confuser isn't wrong.

I don't recall having any problem with the confuser after reading the Pratt books. I suggest the problem may be a bit closer to home, think you'd be best to re read them as it sounds like they may not have sunk in quite as well as you think.

They give you more info than you need but if you have understood it you shouldn't have a problem with the PPL simplifier, confuser or the exam.

Again, thanks for all the comments.

JamesD, as you said the AFE books give more than you need, so the fact that I am getting good passes using the AFE questionis and the AFE simplifier practice tests must show that it has sunk in.

Which is why I was surprised with the Confuser questions. I'm not syaing it was wholly different. What I mean is I realised that I was getting an extra 5-6 questions wrong using the PPL Confuser questions which brought me to a fail - so 68%-74% somethign like that. When I went to cross reference with the AFE book, it was simply not covered.

Anyway, I'm using the confuser now for my practice tests.

Having taken a bit of a break from ground studies (for various reasons)for the last four years, I would guess that my PPL Confuser from 6 years ago, is out of date. Any steer on the what number the current version is, as I guess that, particularly Air Law, has been updated since my copy.

I wouldnt rely on the Confuser i did my Airlaw exam in May last year and found only around 25% of the questions to be alike to the exams questions luckily i had read the Thom book cover to cover and got a pass of 90%.

HOWEVER i took my Met exam again reading Thoms book still used the confuser would pass 98% on all the question but again the exam was no where near the confuser on any questions that came up even had a question regarding the (MOON:confused:) i told my instructor and he said the exam was a new one that the caa had issued the month before and the study information had not filtered down to the study books yet:eek:

I failed by one mark:{

I used the questions and answers simplifier for Human performance and was word for word the same as the exam!! same for aircraft general both of these i past with high marks but sadly now ive been credit crunched and cant go any further with my training so very gutted

If i could give you any advice it would be to do a ground school i did all mine self study a friend did his ground exams with Derek Davidson passed all his exams in no time but he did read through all the books before taking the groundschool good luck

SORRY im should have said i used the Exam secrets guide for human performance and air craft gen not the questions and answers simplifier:\