Sheldon

At least a mark in the 70s is a pass, but I can understand your frustration when you feel that you know the subject matter. You didn't say what subject you got 73% in but I assume it was Aerodynamics. I get a lot of similar feedback about Aerodynamics where people feel they have a good grasp of the subject but are disappointed at the CASA exam result. It seems the actual wording of the questions makes it difficult to be sure just what is being asked. Of course if the problem is with 'getting' the question maybe slowing down and taking more time over the wording might help. If you finished in 25mins it is possible you misinterpreted the questions by not reading them carefully enough.

Anyway, thanks for posting on the forum and I'll be interested to see if you get any other responses on this topic. Good luck with the rest of your study.....

Bob

thankyou for you input Mr Tait, I wil take it on board! I also find it frustrating that at the end of an exam they (casa) should allow you at least a brief time limited review of all your mistakes , when you feel good about an Exam (expecting 80's plus) its a real problem to see a lower mark and be given such a general statement saying you need to review a whole chapter completly, I find a bit strange. I understand the need for KDR's and being tested on them during the flight test, but an Exam should be a learning tool and To walk away puzzeled and confused ...when 2hrs before you felt ready for anything is a real confidence killer. A pilot without confidence is a major problem in my eyes.????

Hi Sheldon,

A lower than expected mark is disappointing but when talking about the CASA exams, finishing fast is definitely a recipe for disaster. You're lucky you knew your stuff so well. A lesser man might have even missed the 70% mark! Knocking out a 90 minute CPL exam (assuming it was Aerodynamics) in 25 minutes is quite an effort. If that was me, I would be worrying I'd missed a page of questions :laugh:

As Bob said, CASA's wording often need careful deciphering before answering and that sometimes isn't possible after a quick read.

... A pilot without confidence is a major problem ...

Good luck with it mate and keep us posted!

Rich

I studied Aerodynamics, bought the cyber pactic exams for this subject and was feeling quite confident that I would get a good mark as I had got between 83% and 97% for all four practice exams. When I sat the actual CASA exam I was horrified to see the majority of the questions were nothing like the practice exams. Whilst doing the practice exams, I was of the opinion that Bob based these on the 'important stuff' - but my real exams had lots of stuff about tabs, spoilers, differential ailerons, and a whole lot of 'non essential stuff'. there was even one about vortices and 'close to the ground' - can someone please define 'close to the ground'..... in relation to what?
I believe CASA are trying to be 'smart' and confuse people - but really, is this in the interest of "Safer skies for all"? as they say. I checked the VFR Day Syllabus and the majority of my questions were based on the "C" class of Additional information.
Yep, I failed my AD exam - and that was a bitter pill to swallow after feeling comfortable with the practice exam results. Bob, can you up-date your practice exams to be more in line with the current CASA exams - it really doesn't feel good to fail after feeling that we are on the right track....
I am doing it (AD) again this Tuesday - can you send me any additional questions to help please?

Judy

As you know I do not have access to the actual CASA exam questions. I have found with students in face-to-face classes there is often a tendency to try to 'learn the questions'. If too much emphasis is placed on just learning the answers to dozens of questions, without actually reading and understanding the associated content, it is often the case that a question that is differently worded or on 'non essential stuff' can cause problems. I understand your frustration [you are not alone on this] and I intend to refresh the Aerodynamic questions. Unfortunately I will not have this ready by Tuesday. I suggest you give the questions a break and concentrate on carefully reading the text, making your own notes and summaries etc. All the best for the resit. I'll say a little prayer for you [although I haven't had too much direct contact with God lately].

Look forward to hearing some better news on Tuesday. We're thinking of you mate...

Hey guys,

I had the same problem with Met (which I failed.. couldn't believe it! I had done so well in the practice exams in the book!) However I found the aero's study guide covered everything I was asked very well. Didn't score what I wanted but felt 85% wasn't too bad. Especially when I got 68% for met =( I think understanding the whole power=time=rate and thrust=angle thing really helped me. Not that there was a ton of questions on it but that gave me a bit of confidence going in I guess.. It's funny to see in the CASA exam the EXACT questions you were asked in the prac exam, then the next questions seems familiar, just worded quite differently and that throws you out a bit.

I found I really need to thoroughly understand the subject matter otherwise I have no chance. Good luck for those with up and coming exams..

By the way, they're a rip off! $$

You did eventually pass Met didn't you? The CASA exam question data base seems to spit our exams of very different degrees of difficulty. I often find people who did the same class and performed at about the same level in class, end up with quite different results in the CASA exam. There certainly is no substitute for having a good grasp of the subject matter, and very carefully reading the exam questions. Unfortunately, while ever the exams are in the multi-choice format, English analysis, grammar and interpretation of the written word will always have an impact on your performance. I'm sure that in a face-to-face interview, many students would have no problem convincing an examiner that they have a good grasp of the subject.

Haven't done it yet Bob, got it on Tuesday. Couldn't organise it around work til now.. But i will pass =)

G'day All,

Bit of a late resurrection of this thread, Rich, if you have a more appropriate place to put this post feel free.

I just wanted to share some information for those of you studying for PPL and CPL examinations. Bob and Rich would have seen this link, however I wanted to share it with others studying for exams.

CASA has very kindly (aren't they just lovely?) posted on their website the recurring things that pop up in KDR's (knowledge deficiency reports) when people go to sit their exams, along with the average pass rates, as well as the average time used to complete the examination.

For example, for PPL examinations it says that the following are some area's where people are being let down in the examinations.

[img] [/img]

These reports are listed up to and including ATPL subjects. Don't rely on it too much, but still interesting nonetheless.

Here's the link - [url= http://www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:STANDARD::pc=PC_90061 ]http://www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:STANDARD::pc=PC_90061[/url]

All the best with your studies.

Ben

Thanks for that Ben. I'm sure all students will find that information both interesting and helpful. I'll make sure I include it in the coming CPL theory course.

Thanks Ben, that is a great link. So good in fact that we have laid on a new forum, [url= http://www.bobtait.com.au/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=62&func=showcat&catid=25 ]Helpful Tips and Resources[/url] in the Questions-and-Answers section. I have put a quoted version of your post in there as a sticky.

Cheers!

HI GUYS
When it comes to exams and CASA, I think a lot of you are far to hard on yourselves. In my experience with CASA exams, I have noted that the authors seem more interested in trying to trap you with irrelevancies (for the most part)rather than actually fine out what you know. They are far more interested in trying to 'trick' the candidate with really badly worded questions that are open to ambiguity and rely on really abstract and unrealistic situations designed to 'impress' the candidate with just how clever they must be. The content of some questions seldom bears any relevance to day-to-day flying challenges. I'm not sure if its a 'Public Service' mentality or a belief that by making questions as difficult and confusing as possible they are some how doing a better job. I don't have any particular axe to grind with CASA, as I have easily passed my few tests on the first attempt - but I have seen the trail of debris they have left with very poor questioning techniques submitted by nitwits who think they are being clever by setting 'semantic word traps' in their questions; and CASA readily excepts these questions because, either they don't have the skill to evaluate the quality of them OR worse still, they don't care! Because its the public service mentality at work - nothing will change I'm afraid because they have a job to do in setting the exams but the people making the decisions are neither qualified or interested other than simply meeting their required work agenda. I say all of this with 3 Education Degrees and a background of 40 years as a Teacher, State Curriculum Writer, examiner of trainee teachers and researcher into teaching pedgogy. I have always been impressed with Bob Tait's attention to detail and practical reality in his teaching; and over twenty years I 'know' he has taught a lot of students things that have actually saved their lives. I'm one of them! So ultimately, the point I'm trying to make is this. Don't listen too closely to CASA-just jump throught their short sited, bureaucratic and unthought-through hoops to pass the exam - you may only get 70% but that's enough to get a licence....but [u]far more importantly[/u] keep listening and learning for the [u]rest of your life [/u](especially to people like Bob) BECAUSE one day that might just save your life! CASA doesn't make you a better pilot - YOU DO! so why listen to a group of unqualified Public Servants who think they understand teaching and learning because they flew an aeorplane once! 🙂

Well that certainly made me feel better =) Thanks mate!

Hey Guys,

I thought after reading your posts, I would register and provide my view on the problems raised. I have bought all of Bob Taits BAK, PPL and CPL Books. I have solely used Bob's books for my CPL studies, nothing else. Everything has been self studied at home.

Let me begin by saying, I think Bob's books are absolutely brilliant. They are so simple and easy to understand, which is the beauty of them. Most concepts are accompanied by pictures, diagrams, drawings etc. which help create a mental picture of what's being said in text. Another positive is that none of the texts are based on assumed knowledge, which means anyone can open the book without any prior knowledge of the subject learn the syllabus.

I have done all of the 7 exams thus far, my results were as follows:

PPL: 92%

Aerodynamics: 88%
AGK: 83%
Performance: 96%
Meteorology: 88%
Navigation: 93%
Air Law: 100%
Human Factors: 90%

I was never academically brilliant at school, but tried to do my best to work hard. Anyone can achieve over 90% if they study hard enough. All my exams so far have taken an average of 2-3 weeks to study and probably closer to 4 for performance, due to some personal circumstances.

Below i will try to give some help and advice which i believe helped me along the way and answer some of the concerns shledon.haigh, zulu.gurl and captainellzy had.

*Buy yourselves a CASA Day VFR Syllabus. REMEMBER CASA can only ask you questions based on the syllabus. Bob's books are there to cover the Syllabus points. They do so spot on. After you have finished studying a topic, go back to the syllabus and check that you have an understanding of every point and cross reference it with where it located in the text (ESPECIALLY AIR LAW). UNDERSTAND every point in the syllabus and you will have no problem in the exam.

*It is very IMPORTANT that you UNDERSTAND every concept to the best of your ability thats covered in all the texts. It took me 2,3 or sometimes 4 times of reading over and over the same stuff before it finally got to me. Remember, the brain will not always pick thing up the first time you read something, it may do so on 2nd,3rd or 4th time. Try to draw yourself a mental picture of what is being said. Most oncepts have a drawing or diagram attached to it, as mentioned previously. If your still have trouble ask your instructor.

*It seems that some of you are trying to learn the questions being asked rather than understanding what they are asking, and the reasoning for the answer. Once again, Bob's texts explain the reasoning for the correct answer. Make sure you understand this. VERY IMPORTANT. The questions are there to NOT for you to expect them to be in the CASA exam, but to give you an idea of the types of questions asked.

*Learning the syllabus is only 60% of exam preperation. You HAVE TO DO as many questions as possible. I also bought all of Bobs practice exams, except Aerody. Yes CASA can ask some simple questions, which are worded in a complex form. However if you have a clear understanding, you will have no problem. For example, the performance book almost NAILS the questions that were asked in the exam. Practice as many questions as possible. This is especially true for subjects like Performance and Navigation, where there is a lot of maths involved. The questions in Bob's books were very similar to that of the actual CASA exam.

*Another important point when doing exams is, to ALWAYS DRAW what the question is saying. For example, Aerodynamics has a lot of Diagrams, Drag Curves, Power, Thrust etc. ALWAYS draw what the question is asking, because a lot of the questions refer to you being able to recite these diagrams. Don't try to visualise always DRAW DRAW DRAW. This helped me a lot.

*You must always use up as much of your exams time as possible!! I finished my nav exam in appx 50mins. However, It took me the whole exam to go back and check everything. Almost every time i checked back, i picked up one or two mistakes!!

Hope this helps.

Andrew