During the first year of my degree, we had four hours a week of lectures studying the nine topics that the PPL grooundschool exams are based upon. We were also given the opportunity to sit these exams alongside the lectures and so it seemed silly to turn down the opportunity. The nine PPL exams are as follows:
– Air Law
– Meterology
– Navigation
– Principles Of Flight
– Aircraft General Knowledge
– Flight Planning & Performance
– Human Performance & Limitations
– Operational Procedures
– Communications
I am pleased to say I passed all the exams first time. Some exams are easier than others and it differs from person to person which exams are seen as difficult. Personally, I found both Navigation and Flight Planning and Performance the hardest. In terms of preparation, reading the Pooleys books and answering the end of chapter questions was extremely helpful. After reading the designated chapter, I then moved onto the PPL exams application which can be downloaded on android or IOS. There are different variants but they are all essentially the same. I found this helped consolidate my knowledge and helped me apply the knowledge to exam questions which are as close as one can get to the actual questions asked by the CAA. I would recommend using this method to study and prepare for the exams.
In terms of Navigation, getting your head around the CRP-1 or CRP-5 computer is quite challenging. I would recommend going through the CRP (Wizz Wheel) with your flight instructor and watching YouTube videos.
Aside from this, the exams are multiple choice varying between 12 and 16 questions that are usually sat within a maximum of 45 minutes. The timings given vary on the length and difficulty of the exam. Should you fail one exam, there are three papers per suject. If you fail all three, you have to go to the CAA’s Gatwick offices to sit a new paper.
Getting these exams out of the way as soon as possible allows you to crack on with your actual flying lessons without restrictions so it’s definitely worth doing them sooner rather than later!
Good luck!
Until next time!
MozzThePilot 