Frequently Asked Questions about PPL Groundschool and the Exams

Introduction

We've put together here a list of questions that are quite typical from our years of experience in this area. They refer to the PPL ground school study subjects and the exams that you will need to take to demonstrate your theoretical knowledge to the authority. You will need to pass all of these exams in order to gain your Private Pilots Licence. We hope they help you!

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1. What subjects are required to be studied?

There are a total of nine subjects that you will need to study, and pass an exam in each of those. These are:

Air Law & ATC Procedures
Operational Procedures
Aircraft General Knowledge
Principles of Flight
Human Performance & Limitations
Meteorology
Communications
Navigation
Flight Performance & Planning

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2. Which is the best order to study the subjects?

Some of the subjects overlap slightly, and some complement each other, so it makes sense to either study them together, or one directly after the other. The biggest recommendation we can make is to certainly make sure you leave Flight Performance & Planning until last!

In addition, it also makes sense to study the subjects in an order that approaches the flying training syllabus.

There is one more consideration and that is to ensure that any legal or recommended requirements for your flight training organisation are taken into account. This will almost certainly be that you need to pass the Air Law & ATC Procedures exam prior to your first solo, and probably Communications and Navigation prior to your first solo navigational flight.

For this reason, we recommend the following order of study and exam-taking:

Air Law & ATC Procedures
Operational Procedures
Aircraft General Knowledge
Principles of Flight
Human Performance & Limitations
Meteorology
Communications
Navigation
Flight Performance & Planning

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3. Do I need to study for more than one subject (and take those exams) at the same time?

In short, No. There used to be a time when there was a requirement to pass all nine exams in "six sittings", but that has now long gone. So your best bet is to take one subject, study for it, and then take that exam. Then move onto the next subject.

Remember though, you only have a total time period of 18 months from attempting your very first exam to achieving a pass in all 9 subjects!

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4. Is it best to use more than one study resource to ensure I have everything covered?

Strangely, No! We have a lot of feedback from students who attempt this method of study, and quite simply, it just doesn’t work!

The problem is that different resource providers cover the material in different ways, and this can actually lead to confusion! It’s far better to stick with one known, good, trusted resource provider that shows you the best way to understand a subject or work out a piloting problem (methodology and mathematics).

We could also add that if you use some well-known books, then we know that actually some of the material presented in there is not only out of date but is also factually incorrect! But we didn’t mention that. Did we? Oops.

By far your best resource touse for your study material is right here at this site.

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5. Is it ok to just use question banks to study for the exams?

Afraid not! You won’t stand a very good chance of passing the new CAA E-exams if you only try to study question banks. And here’s the reason why.

For starters, if you are using anything other than a completely up to date resource provider, then you’ll find that the questions in those question banks will be out of date, not written in a similar style to the new CAA E-exams, and certainly won’t cover the syllabus in enough detail to assure you a pass in the real exam.

In addition, most (but not all) "question banks" don’t provide thorough explanations, and nor do they have a "time pressure" allocated to them like the real exams! (Ours do by the way)!

The CAA constantly add new questions and revise questions on a very regular basis, and also ask questions in every nook and cranny of the syllabus for a subject. In other words, you need to know the subject – not just answers to questions!

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6. What format are the official exams in?

The format of the new CAA E-exams are still "multiple choice", but with a twist!

Some questions now ask you to select any of the answers that are correct (i.e. more than one answer).

We’re glad to see that old questions that tested your ability to understand English grammar, as opposed to a technical understanding of the subject, have all been removed from the new exams.

We also don’t think it will be very long before the CAA introduce a couple of other question formats – these being to ask the user to state a numerical answer (and the mark is awarded for an answer within a certain tolerance of the "correct" answer) and perhaps even a "free text" answer where certain keywords are being looked for as a marking method.

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7. Can I sit the new online E-exams at home now that they are "online"?

No. Even though the exam are online, you still have to attend an approved centre (normally your training organisation) in order to be able to take those exams on a dedicated PC at that location in a controlled environment.

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8. How will I be invigilated and can I use a search engine or access other sites such as NATS or AIS during the exam?

An invigilator will be present with you during your exam to ensure that no other site is accessed by you other than the CAA E-exam system.

All of the information will be presented to you either online as part of the CAA system or for the Flight Performance & Planning exam, in the form of a Student Workbook that will contain factors and graphs for you to use and draw on!

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9. What questions can I expect for a given subject?

The bottom line is that the CAA add new questions regularly to the new E-exams. You can't expect to have "seen" every question prior to the exam whichever training resource you use. So, to be honest, it's little point in asking the question "what's in the exam and what does it cover for a given subject?".

The exam questions can cover every nook and cranny of the subject. That's why you need to know the subject and use a good resource that teaches the syllabus in enough detail in all of the syllabus areas that will then let you pass the exams.

And yes the course and the question banks of our system right here are kept completely up to date on a daily basis. We hear time and time again from students that books and other study resources (online well-known apps) just fail to prepare them in the way required to pass the exam (unfortunately)!

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10. Some students are saying they have not seen some questions before, so where can I get a good question bank?

Don’t fall into this trap! You will not find any question bank for the new CAA E-exams that have all of the questions in them!

Having said that, we know we keep our system here right up to date and certainly add questions of a similar vein to the CAA questions when we come across them.

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11. What’s the process for getting to sit an official exam?

You’ll need to register with the CAA on their portal system, and once access is gained, you then need to request the "PPL E-Exams Service".

Once this is done, you’ll need to "Request Membership" to your Training Organisation within the PPL E-Exams Service on the CAA Portal.

From there, you book a date with your training organisation for you to sit the official exam. The Training Organisation is the only entity that can actually book the exam with the CAA that will then allow you to take that exam.

Note: Your Training Organisation has a legal obligation to ensure that they have ascertained you have a reasonable chance of passing the exam by assessing your knowledge of the subject beforehand. This can be a bit cumbersome from your perspective because it might mean that you will have to spend some time with an instructor who can check your understanding. And they will usually charge you for this. But there is a better way!

By using our system, we automatically provide you with an "Exam Readiness Certificate" once you have met the appropriate criteria (you can see what that is by clicking here). All you then have to do is to present your "Exam Readiness Certificate" to your Training Organisation as proof of readiness, which they will gladly accept and then let you sit the official exam!

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12. When do I get the exam results and what about feedback?

On completion of the exam, automatic marking occurs and you’ll get an email pretty much straight away with your results.

Alternatively, you can ask your Training Organisation to logon to their E-Exams Organisational Portal with the CAA and they can also get your results for you.

If you fail an exam with 50% or less, then you will not get any feedback other than to say you need to re-study the entire subject prior to attempting a resit.

For all marks in excess of 50% (pass or fail), feedback is given to you for the syllabus area references containing questions you answered incorrectly. Your Training Organisation will have access to the relevant document that gives a one-liner description of the syllabus area concerned for that reference. For example:

010.06.01.01: Altimeter setting procedures (including IACO doc. 7031 – regional supplementary procedures)

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13. How many attempts at each exam do I get?

You get a total of 4 attempts at each exam. If you fail the 4^th exam then you’re in for a surprise! In this situation, all of the exams you have taken so far (even the ones you have passed) are declared null and void. You have to enter a three-month cooling off period, and then you start the whole exam process and timescales all over again – from scratch! You really don’t want to be in this position!

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14. Are there any timescales that apply to the exams?

Yes! When you attempt your first exam (pass or fail) a timer starts. You have to pass all 9 exams within 18 months (to the end of that month) from your first attempt. If you fail to achieve this, then all of the exams you have taken so far (even the ones you have passed) are declared null and void. You have to enter a three-month cooling off period, and then you start the whole exam process and timescales all over again – from scratch! You really don’t want to be in this position!

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