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Where can I find the deeper level of details of Theoretical Knowledge CPL(A)?

Forum,

I am progressing on my search on more info on the modular CPL training. As mentioned in previous posts, I’d like to find the way of least classroom training for the theoretical knowledge part, as my goals in (only) to progress from CPL to FI. Distance learning is the obvious route.

One of the questions still bugging me: where can I find a detailed description of the theoretical knowledge required for CPL.

I have found the following in EU Law , but I seek the detail layer a level below this list:

FCL.310 CPL — Theoretical knowledge examinations
An applicant for a CPL shall demonstrate a level of knowledge appropriate to the privileges granted in the following
subjects:
— Air Law,
— Aircraft General Knowledge — Airframe/Systems/Powerplant,
— Aircraft General Knowledge — Instrumentation,
— Mass and Balance,
— Performance,
— Flight Planning and Monitoring,
— Human Performance,
— Meteorology,
— General Navigation,
— Radio Navigation,
— Operational Procedures,
— Principles of Flight,
— Visual Flight Rules (VFR) Communications.

and

THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE
6. An approved CPL theoretical knowledge course shall comprise at least 250 hours of instruction.

So is there a description of what is entailed into “Air Law”, … etc ?

Thank you for helping with my search.

Niner Mike

Abeam the Flying Dream
EBKT, western Belgium, Belgium

What you want is the list of learning objectives. I don’t think these have significantly changed since the days of JAR, so these should give you a good indication.
These are listed in detail for each of ATPL, CPL and IR on the JAA website

The CPL LOs for Aircraft can be found here

FlyerDavidUK, PPL & IR Instructor
EGBJ, United Kingdom

Thank you very much DavidC. That’s exactly what I was looking for !

Abeam the Flying Dream
EBKT, western Belgium, Belgium

I believe the question bank (QB) has never changed, since c. 1995 when JAR-FCL was being developed.

Every post-PPL aviation exam is based on this QB.

The ATPL uses it whole. The CPL cuts out maybe 30%. The old JAA 7-exam “private” IR cuts out maybe 60%. The CB IR cuts out maybe 80%. But all these use questions which come directly from the original ATPL QB.

An extra factor is that some national CAAs have removed the poorly worded, ambiguous or simply plain wrong questions. The UK CAA certainly has, and I believe the Germans have too. My wild guess is that they have removed 20% of the original JAA QB. But nobody has published which ones they have removed, which is why the online QBs are always significantly harder than the actual exams (a fact which is immediately obvious when you sit down in the exam room, after spending a month wading through the large % of crap questions in some online QB). One could laugh at this by saying the UK exams, at about €80 each, are worth every penny, compared to e.g. sitting the “same” ones at Athens for €5

There have been suggestions that some national CAAs have added some new questions. I have never heard that from anybody close to the business. It is probably true for the PPL syllabus, whose exam papers have leaked so many times, resulting in e.g. the PPL Confuser book (found on Ebay).

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I had understood that if a question is consistently getting a 95-99% pass rate it is reviewed and either tweaked, or re written.

The exams are now computerised, so this makes sense as the FAA adds as a matter of practice around 10 % of new questions which are being tested for difficulty. You don’t know which ones they are, and they are unmarked.

With computer based testing facilities there is no reason why they can’t churn the QB on a regular cycle, and also calibrate questions against a curve.

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

When I took the IR exams the past spring, one of the questions I got was about the channel spacing in the VHF COM band. 8.33 kHz was missing from the answer alternatives. I answered 25 kHz which is wrong but apparently was the expected answer. Amazing…

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

You can (and should in that case) query the question during the exam, which should flag up the error for review.

Well at least you could do that when I sat them using the paper form (in the UK).
I don’t know if this is still possible under the new computer marking system.
(It needs something similar to the “report this post to the moderator” button on this forum)

FlyerDavidUK, PPL & IR Instructor
EGBJ, United Kingdom

I was using a computer marking system. It had a possibility to report questions and I did.

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden
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