Aviation Services PPL exam difficulty

[FlyingKiwi]

There are a few people who did a couple of my PPL classes who had done all their CPL papers, but only some of their PPL papers, and then the law changed before they sat their CPL flight test, so they had to go back and do PPL theory, for the papers they had missed.

[mailman]

Do you know what the reasoning was behind that change??

I mean, what is covered in the PPL that isnt covered in greater depth in the CPL exams?

Mailman

[chopper_nut]

I just think it was a money thing. Nelson Aviation College runs a really good ground course on CPL theory. Thats what I was going to go and do, spend 10 weeks or whatever doing that and then not having to worry about the exams at all. It sounds bad but I really do think that too many people were doing it and they wernt sucking as much money. The prices for the exams went up at the same time.

[ZK-Brock]

We get a lot of CPLs-in-training from the nelson aviation college round NZNS (theyre based at NZMK). In fact I believe my instructor was fresh out of the college when she started instructing.

[FlyingKiwi]

Do you know what the reasoning was behind that change??

I mean, what is covered in the PPL that isnt covered in greater depth in the CPL exams?

Mailman

Nah I don't really know. As you say, pretty much everything in PPL is covered again in CPL and then expanded on further.

[ZK-Brock]

Anyone know when i could expect my results?

[kiwiflyboy]

You can check on their website http://www.aviation.co.nz and i think its usually within 10 days or so....... (they are useless though)

[mailman]

Anyone know when i could expect my results?

MARKING AND RESULTS
Normally, multi-choice examinations will be marked within 7 working days from the date of sitting. Long answer examinations will normally be marked within 10 working days from the date of sitting.

Note their wording...MARKED! They will mark your work within 7 or 10 days. Nothing there about when you will actually receive your marks!

And lets be honest here, its a f8cking template for short answers, how hard can it be to mark the tests on the day or even straight after the exam and give the results back to you on the spot OR within 5 working days (even taking in to account 3 days for postage!).

This is one of the many reasons I think these guys are c8nts! They have a monopoly and because of this they dont have to provide you with a service! IF they had some true competition they would be forced to pick their game up and actually provide a service!

Bunch of f8cking w8nkers!

There, I feel much better now

Mailman

[ZK-Brock]

Good to know Mailman

Anyway I cannot find my acceptance slip for the exam, and therefore my slip number. This means that I cannot use the online results tool. Surely there would be another way to get the results? I mean, not everyone has the internet so how would they get their results

Brock

[BerG]

Surely there would be another way to get the results? I mean, not everyone has the internet so how would they get their results

Brock

By mail.

[ZK-Brock]

Do they send it to me automatically or do I have to pay for that too

[chopper_nut]

They send the results on paper to your address, you have to give these to the aeroclub or whoever you are flying with and thats the official record. I just got my results for tech, and I am not happy. I passed with 80% but after doing the sample exam and doing all the exercises in the book, the way the questions were written was totally different. Mailman is right, these guys are a bunch of bandits.

[ZK-Brock]

So I CAN expect the results to come in the mail?

[kiwiflyboy]

Yeah, it will have your KDR's (Knowledge deficiency report) which you must write about, and get signed off by a B or A cat instructor, before sitting any flight test. I'm doing my commercial ones now........ What a pain

[ZK-Brock]

Yeya, 88% in the FRTO. That's 22/25, the same as FlyingKiwi. However I'm confused about this deficency report thing. It says "syllabus objectives for which your knowledge deficiencies have been identified are listed. See AC61 for pilot syllabus references". IOt then gives the following "syllabus references":
2. 12.2 (a)
2. 12.2 ©
2. 16.8

What's this all about? I looked at the CAA AC61 but its broken into many different parts and I'm getting confused!

[kiwiflyboy]

http://www.caa.govt.nz/Advisory_Circulars/ac61-1_3.pdf page 13, has the FRTO on it. each number has a different thing, so look for 2.12.2a and write out displaying you know what it is...

[BerG]

Yeya, 88% in the FRTO. That's 22/25, the same as FlyingKiwi. However I'm confused about this deficency report thing. It says "syllabus objectives for which your knowledge deficiencies have been identified are listed. See AC61 for pilot syllabus references". IOt then gives the following "syllabus references":
2. 12.2 (a)
2. 12.2 ©
2. 16.8

What's this all about? I looked at the CAA AC61 but its broken into many different parts and I'm getting confused!

You should have an Advisory Circular stating all you need to know for the exam, which has the numbers with the corresponding information.

They really are bandits with the way some questions are written.

Some of the stupid things that came back to me on the KDRs for PPL was:

-Descibe the clock direction thingy (You know, "Cessna in your 3 o'clock, 5 miles")

The most simple thing ever. The only explanation I can think of for how I got that wrong is that they worded the question stupidly.

[ZK-Brock]

Thanks guys. I've read through all this and remembered the ones I got wrong. One was as simple as whether to read back the time or not when the controller says 'time 32'

[towerguy]

after reading all of the above and being involved in the aviation field for over 25 odd years now all I can say is

" welcome to the real world of aviation"
and remember

" the reason god gave pilots a nose is so they have something to pay through!"

just remember

"1-if it moves - it needs a pilot - if it needs a pilot he needs a licence - we can charge him!
2-if it doesn't move - then its broke - it needs an engineer - the engineer needs a licence - we can charge him!
3- it will then move - see number 1!"

just some truisms picked up over beers between sobs

[ZK-Brock]

Heheh thatnks Towerguy, but reading PPrune has slowly but surely depressed me enough