Transport Canada Written PPL Exam Prep

Study for the Transport Canada Written Exam
Aerotech, located in Mississauga, Ontario, has designed and produced a Complete Private Pilot Licence (PPL) Ground School Course. This interactive course is a CD based, user-paced, self-study program to help the student pilot study and prepare for the Transport Canada Written Exam.

Transport Canada Exam
Early in your student pilot flight training, you will begin your Private Pilot Ground School. Traditionally, this is approximately 45 hours of class-room training to develop your understanding of Aviation and Aeronautical general knowledge. You may now use the Aerotech Canadian Private Pilot Ground School Course on CD-ROM. This interactive Computer Based Training (CBT) will guide the student through the required Transport Canada PPL Ground School curriculum.

The Student Pilot must then pass the Transport Canada Written Exam. This is a knowledge based written exam covering the concepts and lessons covered in the PPL Ground School Course.

Transport Canada Exam Overview:

• 100 Multiple Choice Questions
• 3 Hour Time Limit
• Pass Mark of 60%
• Four Mandatory Subject Areas

The exam Candidate must achieve an overall pass mark of 60% on the entire exam, and also achieve a pass mark of 60% in each of the following Four Mandatory Subject Areas:

• AIR LAW: Air Law and Procedures
• NAVIGATION: Navigation and Radio Aids
• METEOROLOGY
• AERONAUTICS – GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: Airframes, Engines, and Systems; Theory of Flight; Flight Instruments; Flight Operations; Human Factors

Aerotech Private Pilot Ground School
The Aerotech PPL Ground School Course is well designed, following the Four Mandatory Subject Areas as outlined by Transport Canada. The course includes complete Study Notes of approximately 150 pages, and also four interactive CD-ROM’s for Computer Based Training (CBT).

The Study Notes exactly parallel the content of the CD based course, and the supplied notes also include supplemental reference material such as sample charts and reference tables.

There are four CD’s in the package, with each CD covering one of the 4 mandatory subject areas outlined. The companion Study Notes manual is also divided into the same four study areas. This logical break-down of the ground school material helps to keep things organized and easy to follow.

This self-paced study program was designed to fulfill the Transport Canada requirements of ground school training for the issue of a Canadian Private Pilot License (PPL). The Aerotech course allows the student pilot to study at their own pace, and without the restriction of having to attend pre-arranged classroom instruction. The course may also be used as an excellent supplement to the traditional classroom learning, or as a refresher course for pilots wanting to review essential course material from the comfort of their own home.

Aerotech Instructors
The purchase of the PPL Ground School Course includes additional Tutorial support available by email from dedicated Aerotech Instructors. As you proceed through your CD based ground school training, you now have access to essential tutorial support to answer questions or clarify any difficult topics you might encounter.

Upon completion of each major topic in the PPL Ground School Course, there is a sample test available to evaluate your understanding of the material. This will help you determine if you are prepared and ready to take your Transport Canada written examination. The student is instructed to request the sample (practice) test directly from Aerotech to evaluate their understanding of the course material covered. This is handled as an email request, allowing Aerotech to grade the practice test, and follow-up with the student to correct any mistakes. Aerotech interacts with the student to ensure proper understanding of the course material. When a student purchases the Aerotech CD-ROM Course, they will also receive email updates from Aerotech during the correspondence period to help keep the student current regarding potential new air regulations. This helps the student to keep current throughout their entire learning process.

Easy Course Navigation

The Aerotech PPL Ground School Course is designed for easy navigation and use. The student is easily guided through all the necessary topics, and a handy check list displays your progress and completed topics.

Menu Navigation
The Top Menu allows the student to quickly select the desired Chapter. From each Chapter, the student then has various Topic Selections. Within each Topic Selection, the student may easily and quickly page through the course content using a simple and easy to use Previous/Next paging links.

Each Topic Selection includes visual diagrams and illustrations on the left side of the screen, and the knowledge area text is displayed in the middle of the screen. The text is also narrated automatically, making learning easier and more effective. The student hears the information being taught, as they follow-along with the complete narrated text displayed next to the visuals.

A Picture is worth a Thousand Words!
The Course is well designed with many visual graphics. The Knowledge Areas include accompanying Visuals including diagrams, pictures and illustrations. These help the student to better grasp the concepts, and the excellent visuals improve learning, and help to build better retention of the material covered. The student can quickly understand the required concepts and the excellent visuals help to explain and emphasize the material.

Online Support
The Aerotech CD based material is a complete Multi-media, self-study Canadian Private Pilot Ground School course. Purchase of the course includes online support. The new 2010 Edition is now available!

Private Pilot Ground School Course Curriculum

AERONAUTICAL GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

• Licensing Requirements
• Airframes
• Aero Engines
• Theory of Flight
• Flight Instruments
• Weight and Balance
• Performance Charts
• Hazards to Flight
• Human Factors

AIR LAW

• Aerodromes
• Canadian Airspace
• VFR Weather Minima
• Rules of the Air
• Forms and Documents

METEOROLOGY

• Met Theory
• Weather Systems
• Obstructions to Vision
• Hazards to Aviation
• Aviation Weather

NAVIGATION

• Units and Measurements
• Aeronautical Charts
• E6B Flight Computer
• Canada Flight Supplement
• Plotting
• Navigation Log
• Radio Aids to Navigation

APPENDIX

• Sample Performance Charts
• Classification of Canadian Airspace
• Flight Plan / Itinerary
• Aviation Forecast Abbreviations
• GFA Weather
• CFS (Canadian Flight Supplement)
• Cross-Country Weather
• Navigation Log
• Navigation Quick Reference Chart
• Answers to Practice Calculations
• Navigation Log – Practice Cross-Country
• Exam Tips

Under $300
The Aerotech Canadian Private Pilot Ground School Course is priced at $279 CAD. This complete course will help the Student Pilot quickly prepare for the Transport Canada Written Exam, and it is an excellent self-paced study course.

Contact Aerotech to order your Canadian Private Pilot Ground School Course.

Aerotech
6-6855 Airport Road
Suite 159
Mississauga, ON
L4V 1Y9

Telephone: (416) 254-8331

Website: www.AerotechCanada.ca

Aerotech will be releasing their Instrument Rating (IFR) Course and Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) soon!

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Pass the Private Pilot PSTAR Exam with Flying Colours!

PSTAR Exam
Before you can SOLO, a Student Pilot must pass the written Transport Canada PSTAR Exam. This exam tests the student pilot’s knowledge of Air Regulations and Air Traffic Control Procedures. This ensures the student has a sufficient understanding of the necessary CARs (Canadian Aviation Regulations) and AIMs (Aeronautical Information Manual) before flying without their instructor.

PSTAR: Pre Solo Test of Air Regulations

The Pass Mark is 90%
Don’t panic. It may sound scary, but with some practice and hard work, the 90% pass mark should not intimidate you.

PSSST? Want an advance copy of the Exam?
I know what you are thinking… but please don’t get the wrong idea. In fact, Transport Canada publishes a study guide with 200 sample questions. This study and reference guide is designed to assist applicants in preparing for the PSTAR. Click here to browse the PSTAR study and reference guide.

The PSTAR guide is broken into 14 sections, including 200 questions. For your PSTAR examination, you will be given a sampling of 50 of these questions. Your written exam will include 50 questions from the pool of the 200 published questions.

The PSTAR exam is designed to test the student pilot’s knowledge in the following subject areas:

• Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs)
• Air Traffic Control Clearances and Instructions
• Air Traffic Control procedures as they apply to the control of VFR traffic at controlled airports
• Air Traffic procedures at uncontrolled airports and aerodromes
• Special VFR Regulations
• Aeronautical Information Circulars
• NOTAMs

The PSTAR study and reference guide includes a detailed reference section directing the student to the appropriate regulations to answer each question.

Question References
The references for each sample question will refer the student to the particular areas of the regulations the student should understand to correctly answer each question. Applicants should take the time to research the references provided for each sample question. This will help the student to determine the correct response to each question, and reinforce learning of the regulations. Do not solicit answers to the questions from others, until you have personally researched the applicable references first. If the student can determine the correct answer on their own, he or she will be much better prepared. A student should not be provided with the correct answers for the purpose of memorizing or resorting to rote learning.

14 Categories
The PSTAR study guide is divided into 14 categories including:

1. Collision Avoidance
2. Visual Signals
3. Communications
4. Aerodromes
5. Equipment
6. Pilot Responsibilities
7. Wake Turbulence
8. Aeromedical
9. Flight Plans and Flight Itineraries
10. Clearances and Instructions
11. Aircraft Operations
12. Regulations – General Air Space
13. Controlled Airspace
14. Aviation Occurrences

For best preparation, download the PSTAR study guide, and then look-up each correct answer by reviewing the references provided. Once you have researched the correct answers to the 200 questions, it will then be easy to review these questions over a few days. I found it very helpful to study with a fellow student pilot, and we quizzed each other. The day of the exam, I pre-tested myself by going through all 200 questions. A couple of hours later, when I wrote the exam, I found it easy to score 100%.

Here is a sample question for you now:

When an arriving aircraft is cleared “to the circuit”, the pilot should interpret this to mean join the circuit:

1. on the downwind leg.
2. from the upwind side of the runway in all cases.
3. on base leg if convenient.
4. on final for a straight in approach.

(Study Reference: TC AIM-RAC 4. 4. 2 – Initial Clearance)

Good Luck!

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