How I passed my ATPL exams with 98%

After sharing the ''3 major challenges of becoming an airline pilot'', I though it would be interesting to discuss the airline transport pilot license (ATPL) exams. To gain access to a frozen ATPL license, candidates must pass 13 theoretical exams, complying with the following rules:

• maximum number of sittings = 6

• maximum attempts/exam = 4

• the maximum period from first to last sitting <= 18 months

• minimum exam score = 75%

The 13 subjects, number of questions and exam duration are detailed below:

1. Meteorology: 84 questions/2 hours

2. General navigation: 55 questions/2 hours 15 minutes

3. Human performance and limitations: 48 questions/1 hour 30 minutes

4. VFR/IFR communications: 34 questions/1 hour

5. Instrumentations: 60 questions/1 hour 30 minutes

6. Radio navigation: 66 questions/1 hour 30 minutes

7. Aircraft general knowledge: 80 questions/2 hours

8. Air law: 44 questions/1 hour

9. Operational procedures: 42 questions/1 hour 15 minutes

10. Mass and balance: 25 questions/1 hour 15 minutes

11. Performance: 45 questions/2 hours

12. Principles of flight (A): 46 questions/1 hour 30 minutes

13. Flight planning and monitoring: 42 questions/2 hours

There is a total of 671 questions to solve... 🙈📚and not too much time available. So how did I pass all exams with a 98% average over 2 sittings? For sure not by isolating myself from the outside world during the 18 months! 😊🙊Let's take a look together and see how to pass the ATPL exams with flying colors...

• ATPL lectures and note-taking 📝

The ground school lectures usually take 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Sure - you are also allowed to take a 30 minutes lunch break! 🤓😂

The secret to take full advantage of the lectures is to be involved, not only a passive listener! (Even at 8 a.m. 👩‍✈️👨‍✈️😊) Write down the important practical examples and explanations you hear in class to review later on.

Although hand-writing is more time-consuming than typing, it improves both short and long-term memory.

Participate actively in discussions and clarify any grey areas before leaving the class. Before going home or during lunch break, review your notes and try to store them in your short-term memory.

Once home, organize all notes in the shape of: mental maps, charts or diagrams and highlight the important facts. If you need to, create flashcards and cheat notes with the hard-to-grasp concepts.

• Bank, but be wise!

There are many offers from different question bank providers to help you prepare for the ATPL exams. Some of them contain as many as 10.000 questions! (Many of them are available offline or even offer free trial periods) . So how can you make the most of your database ? Usually, question banks propose 3 different study modes: basic, advanced and exhaustive. When starting your preparation, work in the exhaustive mode to become familiar with all questions. Remember to exclude the wrong or outdated ones (unless you are interested in some concepts that are not evaluated anymore - which is totally fine 👌😉). Study the explanations and if required, take notes. It is important to understand the concept, as this will allow you to solve many more similar questions in the future.

When the exam date is approaching - narrow down! Work only on the basic database level/latest 100-200 real exam questions seen in your country. There is no more time to lose so remain focused and don't get lost in too many details 📚...

• The Pareto principle

Known as the 80/20 rule, it suggests that 80% of outcomes come from 20% of causes.

Use the Pareto principle in your advantage: If your flight school doesn't impose a certain set of subjects in a specific order, try to pass some similar subjects in the same sitting (such as air law/operational procedures, radio navigation/instrumentation, general navigation/flight planning).

Some subjects, such as general navigation or flight planning are easy to pass as long as you focus on the biggest topics (such as charts, time-distance and CRP-5 calculations). Understanding few important topics can secure you a passing grade. If you want to go the extra mile and improve your grades over let's say 80-85%, you can make flashcards with the most difficult questions or the ones you often got wrong. As long as they represent a small percentage (2-5% of the total number of questions), try to find a better explanation from another source. (YouTube videos or channels, websites or forums, different publications/book editions)

• Pomodoro technique

Knowing that the human attention span decays after only 20 minutes, an efficient way is to divide the study period into smaller sections (25 minutes study/5 minutes break, 50 minutes study/10 minutes break). This way, the brain doesn't get overloaded and will better assimilate new information.

I also found out that alternating different subjects can be useful (i.e.: 50 minutes of general navigation exercises followed by a 10-minute break and 50 minutes of reading the air law manual). I also added some flexibility by alternating difficult and easy subjects, especially when I needed a break. This strategy trained me for the real exam conditions (4/5 exams/day).

• Spaced repetition

Learning is an active process, so try to interact with your materials. If you have to pass the general navigation exam soon, dedicate some hours daily to practice calculations on your CRP-5. You can also back up your CRP-5 results with a calculator : train both methods, even for the easiest exercises. Learn by all means: podcasts, YouTube videos, ATPL books, question banks or flash cards, but never take long breaks! If you are tired of a particular subject, don't panick - pause and study something else. Spaced repetition is an evidence-based learning technique that gives you the chance to review a certain subject/topic at a pre-defined interval. As the intervals get bigger with time, the information is stored in the long-term memory, allowing you more spare capacity to integrate new subjects into your study schedule.

Remember to back up passive study methods (reading, listening) with participatory methods, where you put your knowledge into practice by discussing it with others, solving exercises or teaching someone else. ATPL exams are tough, but they will not last forever, so enjoy this period of your training, as soon you will have the best office in the world!