Questions about pilot ATPL theory

Question

How many sittings are you typically gonna take your ATPL in?

How many hours per day, approximately, are you studying?

Are you reading all the books or using the CBT and aviation exam questions?

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Answer

For those that are not familiar with the shortenings:

• EASA (European union Aviation Safety Agency)
• ATPL (Airline Transportation Pilot Licence)

How many sittings are you typically gonna take your ATPL in?

Most student pilots will attempt to take the ATPL exams in 2- 3 sittings. A “sitting” is usually spread out over a few days and you could go to more than one exam in one day.

BONUS INFO. In total you can have a maximum of 6 sittings and you can attempt to pass the same subject up to 4 times. There is also a time limit. From your first sitting you have 18 months to complete all exams. It is not often talked about but it is fairly normal for students to fail an exam and as long as you pass it within your 4 attempts and 6 sittings it rarely matters. If you fail to complete all exams within the 18 months deadline or if you fail any exams more the 4 times or need more than 6 sittings – all your exams (even those you have passed) become invalid and you have to start all over again. If you do start all over again it will be with a clean sheet, so a new 18 months from first exam, 6 sitting and 4 attempts at an exam.

The pass mark for an exam is 75% and the exam is made up of several multiple choice answers (4 options). It varies from subject to subject how many questions the exam consist of. It may sound easy to have a multiple choice exam but it can be quite tricky to pick the correct answer. Usually there is 1 of the 4 answers you can pretty quickly rule out but the challenge may be that there are 2 answers that both contain correct information, but you need to figure out which one is most correct. Also the language used in the exams can be like an english test. It happens often that students select the wrong answer simply because they did not understand the question or they misread the question. Theory instructors usually preach “RTFQ2” – Read the f***ing question twice.

This link will lead you to EASA’s website and give you a description of the EASA ATPL question bank (10.000 questions) https://www.easa.europa.eu/domains/aircrew-and-medical/european-central-question-bank-ecqb

How many hours per day, approximately, are you studying?

This would vary from person to person but there is quite a lot of material you need to go through so you can probably expect to do about 3- 4 hours of reading per day. Most pilot students will plan to go through their ATPL theory in less than a year. During that year they will also do actual flying. Most integrated flying schools have a 7 day study week and you may find that there will be last minute changes like “today is good weather for flying so we fly” or “today it is bad weather so we have theory instead”. Doing actual flying and ATPL theory at the same time is both a plus and a negative. It can be a plus as you can maybe better relate some of the ATPL theory when you are doing hands on practical flying. Another nice thing is that the practical flying gives you a break from the books which can be needed from time to time. Then over to the possible negatives. The practical flying requires preparation too which gives you less time to study your ATPL theory. Also it is quite normal for student pilots to feel really tired after a flight lesson so your body (brain) may just not be in ATPL study mode after a flight.

Some ATPL topics will maybe be easy for your while others gives you a struggle. What is true for all subjects is that you will be reading technical english which can be quite tiring in itself. The exams will be with no books so you will need to store all the theory in your memory.

You may find that if you just read and read and read, you will come to a point where you don’t remember what you have read. That is why it is worth figuring out where your limits are in regards to how many hours it makes sense for you to study. Also some students read better in the morning than in the evening and vice versa. It is all about figuring out how you study the best. There are several study techniques like making quizzes, taking good notes, come up with sentences (mnemonic technique) but most students will find that reading and studying in small groups is important to get through the ATPL studies.

This is rarely talked about but it is not unheard of that student pilots suffer a break down at some stage of their ATPL theory leading up to “hell week” (the sitting week).

Feeling “I just cannot do it”, “This is too much”, “I will never make it”.

This is where reading/ studying with someone else will help you as you can get emotional support when you need it.

Some have the mental capacity and strength to go through the ATPL studies “distance learning”. Distance learning means that you the majority of the time will be reading by yourself. Usually there are some revision weeks just before your exam sitting. A revision week is where an instructor in a class room raps up the essentials. You will maybe also become part of an online forum where you can catch up with other distance learning students.

If you already know now that you will struggle with technical English or you lack study discipline, going integrated will probably give you the best passing chances.

Are you reading all the books or using the CBT and aviation exam questions?

It is technically possible to just start to do aviation exam questions and pass with high marks. How ever this could be a short term solution as over time in your career you will probably find that some of the technical knowledge you should have had (things you should have learned) is simply not there. Also to just practice aviation exam questions may be risky as the question bank for the real exams is renewed by the authorities now and then. The best way forward, in our view, is to have a good read through the books at least once. If you have a CBT likewise take your time with this too but you can still expect to have to go into the books. If there are some areas/ topics you find difficult, go ask your fellow students or your instructor. The internet (for example youtube) can sometimes also be a great source for understanding something. Just be aware that there are some differences between FAA and EASA linked theory. That is why it is a good idea to be sure that the youtube video is FAA or EASA linked. You can usually pick this up fairly easy as FAA linked videos tend to have a thick american accent voice over. Going through aviation exam questions at some stage of your training is, in our view, a must as it will prepare you for the type of questions you will get asked. Rather than just learning the right answer it can be a good technique to go back to the books or CBT if you get a question wrong. This will help you understand why the answer you picked was incorrect. Of course this takes time which is why it is important to have a robust study plan and not get behind.

BONUS INFO.

• Are the ATPL theory pass marks relevant? Some say anything over 75% is wasted time? In our experience you will rarely show your exam results to anyone. Some airlines may ask you if you had “first time passes” – which means if you passed all your practical flying exams and ATPL theory exams in the first go. It could impact your chances of getting your very first job if you do not have first time passes. In our view, not having first time passes or pass rates near 75% is not the end of the world. That is not to say that you should not care about exam results at all. In our view, you should try to get good pass marks as it demonstrates you have learned the subject well and you don’t want to be close to failing a subject. Using another sitting and re-study a subject is not much fun and it will also cost you a small fee. Most likely getting your first job will more be down to networking, old fashioned luck and how you are able to present (sell) yourself. After you have had your first job as a pilot, you will rarely be asked about exam results. An employer is more likely to be interested in your flying experience and personality. Some flying schools take great pride in having students with average scores close to 95%. While this may sound impressive be aware that it could be an indication of a highly competitive training environment. You need to decide if this kind of school is the best way forward for you.

• There will be a lot in your ATPL theory that you will never really use after you graduate. When you start flying you will build practical knowledge and over time there will be a lot of the ATPL theory you will forget. Going through all the ATPL theory will give you a basic understanding of how a lot of things work in aviation. That is why we would recommend you to try to understand the theory and really learn the principles rather than just build up short time memory to be able to pass the exams. As a pilot you can expect that the learning never really stops throughout your career.

• Explaining the term “frozen and unfrozen“. Historically ATPL theory was known as “Captains theory” but as it was highly impractical  to go back to school when you progressed from First Officer to Captain, it was decided that you go through all the theory during your initial flight training. Frozen means you have got the theory to be an airline captain but you lack the flying experience. Once you gain the required flying experience and you pass a captains course and check ride your ATPL becomes “un-frozen”. What confuses a lot of people is that a CPL (commercial pilot licence) allows you to be captain. While this is correct, it is important to differentiate between types of captain. To keep it very simple – a CPL would allow you to be a captain on a single pilot aeroplane and you would need an ATPL to be a captain on a multi pilot aeroplane. Aeroplanes like for example ATR, CRJ, B737, A319 are all multi pilot aeroplanes requiring an ATPL to be a captain.

If you are keen on becoming a pilot, we would recommend you to invest in a book we have written to help you – take a look here https://askapilot.net/product/how-do-i-become-a-pilot/

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