17 April 2013
The UK CAA has published details of changes to the ground-based exam programme taken by students training for a Private Pilot Licence (PPL). The changes include an increase in the number of exam papers and an increase in the time allowed to sit the exam. These new syllabus will take effect from 1 September 2013.
According to the CAA, the changes follow extensive consultation with pilot representative bodies.
Under the new exam schedule, the number of exam papers sat by a student will increase from seven to nine. This increase is to accommodate new regulations from EASA, which require students to undertake at least 100 hours of theoretical knowledge training, including a certain element of formal classroom work as well as other interactive forms of training. Each exam will feature between 16 and 20 questions, with a pass mark of 75%.
The CAA is also extending the definition of a ‘sitting’ to ten days to help students cope with the increase. Rather than the current classification of a sitting being one day, the new arrangements will allow an exam sitting to take place over ten consecutive days. However, only one attempt at each subject paper is allowed in one sitting.
The CAA said it had responded positively to industry concerns over its initial intention to define a sitting as three days, which some flight examiners felt would be insufficient for many students.
Ray Elgy, Head of Licensing and Training Standards at the CAA, said, “The new exam syllabus which will take effect in the autumn offers a practical and fair arrangement for student pilots training for a PPL. We very much welcomed input from industry in formulating these changes which represent a constructive outcome for everyone involved in pilot training.”
The CAA will publish in due course details of arrangements for students who find themselves midway through their exams on 1 September 2013.
David Phillips, Airfield Manager of Booker Aircraft Operations and former CFI, commented, “I personally think the requirement to complete a formal but pragmatic ground school element for the PPL is probably long overdue and, on the whole, welcome the changes. Many schools and clubs already provide ground school, whether this is as formal classroom lessons or club training evenings and these organisations should be able to adjust to the regulations with some ease. Other schools and clubs may struggle in an environment where they are already faced with the additional challenges brought about by having to attain ATO status. There is also an inevitability that many students will be asked to pay for formal ground school packages and I am slightly concerned that the increased cost of PPL training may have a negative effect on an already fragile market. The rules regarding sittings and re-sits will undoubtedly catch out the unwary and I think that CFIs will quickly develop their own training packages and routines such that students are taught and tested the right subjects at the right time.”
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