Road to FI - Fourth exam sitting (CPL theory)

Ten months after the previous sitting, I was finally ready to attempt the remaining four exams. Most of the summer has been spent studying, using mainly BGS webinars and Aviationexam. The remaining subjects were AGK, GNAV, Performance and PoF.

As I said after the previous sitting, I needed a break. There was too much going on, and with my new job at the Norwegian Air Sports Federation, I simply didn’t have time. And on top of that our little family also expanded to a four crew operation this summer.

Luckily, I’ve also been able to do some LAPL instruction this summer, in between studying.

Training specifically for the exam

After failing General Navigation twice already, I simply couldn’t fail it this time. So I had to do things differently. I fully embraced my iPad and added a monitor and mouse to simulate the exam environment. This turned out to be very useful for both navigation and performance. In the exam you are not allowed to write in the CAPs or even on your own maps. But you do get transparent sheets and a red marker. You are not allowed to bring your own marker (I asked), which could be a problem if you get a bad marker (which I did the last time).

I got a box of transparent sheets for practicing, and found that if you put the sheet on the monitor, you can make it stay in place by wedging it in the space between the frame and the monitor itself. This trick also works on the exam center (at least the Norwegian one). Practicing this turned out to be highly useful in the real exam. I also made sure to practice using the transparent sheet with the Jeppesen maps.

Aviationexam has gotten much better

After starting to use Aviationexam again, I noticed a surprisingly large difference in both explanations and responsiveness from the staff in the comments section. On the positive side. The quality has greatly increased since last year. Speaking of the comments section, that’s where I found the humour I needed to keep going after seeing the worst questions. And sometimes also very useful information.

The questions are sometimes so stupid, with multiple correct answers, that the only way to really pass - is to practice using exam banks like Aviationexam. It also helps being prepared when you get questions about “fixed speed” and “constant pitch” propellers, or have to calculate distances involving coordinates 200 degrees east.

Trying something different this time

During the previous sittings, I’ve mostly done several exams per exam day. And spent as little time in the ara as possible. This time I figured I should listen to myself, and not do everything at once. So I booked one exam per day, spread across two weeks. Exam Tuesday and Thursday (times two), with Wednesday as a study day and a trip home during the weekend.

I swapped out my regular exam hotel with a cabin at Dal Gjestegaard, to give myself more space to practice between the exams.

The first exam day was Airframe, Systems & Powerplant, also known as AGK (Aircraft General Knowledge). It was strange being back again, and this time the exam center was full of other candidates. I had a later start time than usual this day, and had to wait what felt like forever before it was finally my turn. Didn’t take too long to finish this exam, and I ended with 88% - which is a pass.

Time to practice for the next one

The next day was spent running through questions, looking at maps and practicing drawing on the maps using the transparent sheets. The cabin was perfect for this!

Thursday came, and it was back to early morning booking. The subject this day was General Navigation, which I had failed twice already. This time I felt much better prepared (exactly like last time).

This exam is time consuming, and I spent almost every minute of the alloted two hours. I had two minutes left when I finally submitted the exam, after looking through the questions one last time.

The exam system kicks you back to the view of all the subjects after you submit, and I had to look around for the red line for General Navigation. Took a couple seconds before I found it, because it wasn’t red anymore. The green line said 79%, and I passed this time!

A lot of driving

I have to drive around 7 hours to get to the exam center, which is why I need a hotel/cabin when I’m there. After the second exam, I drove back home for a couple rest and practice days at home. Then all the way back to the cabin (a different cabin this time) on Monday.

The third exam was Performance, which I also failed the last time. However, last time I didn’t have time to practice at all due to various circumstances. This time I had practiced a lot. And that helped!

Once again, a later start this Tuesday - but not that bad a wait. This could be a time consuming exam, and the alloted time is not more than you need. So I had a strategy, which I believe helped me being able to finish in time - with one minute to spare.

I did the exam in stages, first I answered all the questions that didn’t require any calculations or drawing on the transparent sheet (which by the way worked wonderfully - much easier using the screen than using the CAP). Then I did the calculations, and then finally the ones where I had to use the transparent sheets (I asked for multiple, which was way better than drawing lines on top of other lines).

In the end, I got another green line - and 81% this time. A huge improvement from the previous attempt.

Another practice day

With the three first exams done, I only had one left. And that was the final one. I spent the rest of the time practicing, but it didn’t feel like I was where I should be.

Thursday came, and this could be it - the last attempt?

As with all the other exams, I could recognize several of the questions from Aviationexam. But I also got several I had never seen before, and one requiring calculations where I simply could not remember the formula. So I just guessed - and guessed wrong. I also clicked too fast on one I thought I remembered from the practice exams.

In the end, either one of those two cost me this attempt - as this one ended up becoming a new red line on the computer. 72% is only one question away from being a pass, but is still a failed.

And that was it, my fourth sitting is done - and I now need (at least) a fifth sitting. Even though I was prepared for this, it was hard to accept that I was this close - but yet not close enough. The drive home was long. Very long.

I complained

There was one other question I simply couldn’t stop thinking about, so I submitted an appeal almost right away. Surprisingly I got the reply within a couple weeks, and my appeal was not accepted. Because I had already given the correct answer for the question. It’s hard to argue with that, so of course I didn’t argue. I had finally accepted it by then.

Even more key takeaways

In addition to the previous ones:

• Ask for multiple transparent sheets if needed
• Use the entire sitting
• The CAP is useful for formulas and conversions
• Doing time consuming exams in stages based on complexity can help you get as much as possible done in the time you have

What’s next

With only one exam left, I can finally see the end in sight. We’re having a (very) late summer vacation this year, so it’s going to be a month until I can try again - but that’s a lot better than 10 months. I still have a few months of the hard limit that is set when you start the first exam, but I want to get it done before we get full winter in the mountains between me and the exam center.

The progress so far is 12 of 13 exams done (92%), and 4 of 6 sittings used (67%). So even though I failed the last exam, I have completed 92% in two thirds of the sittings available.

• PPL
• CPL-Theory