The theory phase of the PPL(A) license is intended to lay down the foundation of knowledge for the future aviator.
What are the 9 PPL theory exam subjects?
The EASA PPL(A) theory phase covers 9 subjects, listed here from easiest to hardest based on real exam pass rates:
- Communications
- Human Factors
- Operational Procedures
- Air Law
- Aircraft General Knowledge
- Flight Planning and Performance
- Meteorology
- Principles of Flight
- General Navigation
During the course, the student will attend the theoretical classes taught by his flight school. Once the classes are finished, he will prove the knowledge acquired in the different subjects by taking internal exams at the school. With the internal exams passed, the student will be able to take official exams.
How do PPL official exams work?
You have 18 months, 6 sittings, and 4 attempts per subject to pass all 9 PPL theory exams with a score of at least 75%.
To successfully pass these exams, three requirements must be met:
- The student has 18 months to pass all the exams, counting from the end of the month he took his first exam. This is, if our first official exam was the 16th of May, the 18 month-period starts to count from the 31st of May.
- The student has 6 sittings available. Each sitting lasts 10 working days. This means we can distribute the 9 subjects in 6 different sittings.
- The student has 4 attempts per subject. We can fail an exam a maximum of three times, on the fourth attempt we would have to pass it.
These rules also apply when sitting for the official ATPL exams and are common for all students from different countries under EASA legislation. In case of running out of time, sittings or exam attempts, the student must restart his exams, but before attempting again, he must have attended a refresher course at his flight school.
How many questions are on PPL theory exams?
PPL theory exams have between 8 and 24 multiple-choice questions per subject, with time limits from 15 to 40 minutes. The pass mark is 75% across all 9 subjects.
The exams are all multiple choice with four possible answers a) b) c) d). Marking an incorrect answer or leaving it blank does not add points but does not penalize either, we therefore recommend answering all questions. To successfully pass you need a score of at least 75%.
Each subject is assigned a different number of questions and time available. The distribution is as follows:
Air Law 16 questions/0:25 h
Human Factors 8 questions/0:15 h
Meteorology 8 questions/0:15 h
Communications 8 questions/0:15 h
Principles of Flight 16 questions/0:25 h
Operational Procedures 12 questions/0:20 h
Flight Planning and Performance 16 questions/0:35 h
Aircraft General Knowledge 24 questions/0:40 h
General Navigation 12 questions/0:25 h
Navigation has the highest fail rate of all PPL subjects. Our E6B / CRP-5 tutorial walks you through the wind calculation problems step by step.
Taking theoretical exams is much more complex than you may think and you may still have some doubts left. To avoid making the article very long, Private Pilot Exams has created a list of the most common F.A.Q. from our students.
We hope you enjoyed the reading. See you up in the air!
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