After 2 months of part time study I passed the PPL with 91%! Pretty happy with the result.
The resources I used are Bobtait Volume 1 and 2, Bobtait online exam prep. Then after getting a bit worried because I felt the bobtait exams were too easy, i signed up for pilotpracticeexams.com
Some tips for future aviators:
1. I brought only VFRG and ERSA into the exam (didn't bother with the rest to save money - inline with feedback on the forum). This was sufficient for my purposes and i was willing to run the risk of losing a few questions if I needed to find some obscure thing in the AIP (but I was lucky this didn't happen)
2. Wind conversion charts are gone from the ERSA, my flight computer ASA E6B has the X-wind conversion charts on it, so I used that instead. However, you will otherwise need the AIP if you dont have an alternative source for that (very important as I got 2 questions on X-wind conversions)
3. I didn't find the questions to be overtly tricky - they were fair. In fact there is a lot of grace - there was a question where I calculated (think Charlie loading chart) full baggage kg for the answer, however this was not an available choice - and then I had t re-read and re-think the question again and find the "trick" - i.e. you were max-takeoff weight limited so you could not load up the baggage compartment to full. CASA could have easily included full baggage that as one of the answers and I would have gotten it wrong.
4. Got 2 questions on TEM!
5. Sadly never got anything on PNR or equidistance timepoints. Didn't see them in the practice exams too. Maybe this is random.
Basically, if you do the bobtait materials and score well in his exams, you will be fine in my opinion. His questions are at the right level of the real PPL exam. pilotpracticeexams whilst strictly not needed can be an additional resource once you finish his exams (more in depth supplement - i would attempt their exams and then fill in the knowledge gaps accordingly)
All in all though, to be honest at the end of it I was so stressed and so sick of it that I don't want to see anymore theory for a little while!
