The most difficult subjects for me in the EASA ATPL theory course were Air Law, Operational Procedures и General Navigation. Meteorology is also rather challenging, but much more interesting. I don’t know what was in my mind when I booked the exam slots, but I have all these three in my current session.
Today I am taking the General Navigation exam. Yesterday I passed Operational Procedures and Air Law. I think that was the most challenging day in my entire EASA ATPL session, and I am so happy that it’s done now!
I’d like to describe all subjects in the session:
VFR Communications
The exam contained 24 questions, the time limit was 30 minutes, and I passed with 95% mark. It’s the easiest subject if you already have a PPL (Private Pilot License, which means at least 45 flight hours), and everyone who takes ATPL theory exams definitely must have a PPL. Of course, not all of these 45 hours were in the controlled airspace, but even on circuits we use some radio callouts.
There was some strange question about instruction sequence: clearance delivery, startup request, engines ready, request departure. I don’t remember exact wording, but isn’t it possible to get a clearance after startup?
Air Law
44 questions, 1 hour, my result is 93%. That’s one of my “favourite” subjects. The only way to pass is to memorize all the required information (which is really a lot). Of course I optimized it a little which led me to about 4 A4 pages of the most important facts, but the entire subject is a bunch of some information to remember. There is more than enough time for answers though.
Mass and Balance
25 questions, 1 hour, my result is 96%. The subject is easy, just requires very careful calculations. I am a little nerdy and meticulous, so I prefer to check and re-check everything, so it was greatly important for me to track my time and don’t sped too much on a single question even if I am not totally sure in the final result. Thank to my time management I made it on time, but barely on time, so I could say that proper time tracking is crucial for this subject.
Operational Procedures
45 questions, 1 h 15 min, my result is 84%. That is my second “favourite” subject. Again a lot of facts for memorizing plus some extraction from Meteorology, Air Law, Mass & Balance, Human Performance and Navigation. I had a strange feeling of taking the FAA CPL exam. I feel so relieved that it’s done!
General Navigation
60 questions, 2 hours, my result is 79%. The subject is not very hard and does not require a lot of specific knowledge. It’s totally enough to know how to solve about 10 types of typical problems, and that’s it. But you should think fast, be extremely careful and thorough, and pay close attention to the timing.
Actually I like the subject, it’s all about thinking and calculation. And I am ashamed of my result. But I believe that I was just too confident or even presumptuous about the subject. It’s not enough to KNOW how to do it. The subject requires to do it FAST, and the best way to succeed is to solve 5-10 problems of each kind before the exam. I concentrated on the questions which required knowledge – GPS, astronomy, gyrocompasses etc., but the exam mainly contained computational questions, and I spent way too much time not being used to the methods.
I advice everyone who is going to take the exam to create a table with problem types, find some question bank, and fill the table with question numbers. At about a week before the exam solve once more at least 5 problems of each type from the very beginning to the final result. It is not about knowledge only, it is also about a habit or skill. And it is not only about computational tasks, this is also applicable, for example, for timezone tables. You will spend one or two days for that (of course I assume that you were already ready for the exam knowing the methods).
Another advice for booking the slots – try to equally spread difficult subjects between sessions. Of course there are several attempts available, but better to pass from the first time. And good luck 🙂
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