Ultra-light Aeroplane (ULTRA) study plan
Ultra-light Aeroplane (ULTRA) · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Air Law and Procedures
Map the Air Law and Procedures syllabus into a one-page topic list covering rules of the air, airspace classes, aerodrome procedures, and pilot licensing privileges for ultra-light aeroplanes.
Define and write out from memory the right-of-way rules, minimum VMC visibility and cloud-clearance figures, and cruising/semi-circular level rules applicable to ultra-light operations.
Build a personal glossary of at least 40 air-law terms and abbreviations (ATZ, CTR, CTA, TMZ, RMZ, SSR, ATC clearance, etc.) with a one-line definition each.
Answer 30 air-law practice questions and log every wrong answer with the rule or publication it came from.
Your checkpoint
A one-page air-law topic map plus a 40-term glossary and an error log of 30 answered questions with sources cited.
Air Law and Procedures
Rehearse the sequence of pre-flight, taxi, departure, en-route, arrival, and emergency radio calls, writing each phraseology template by hand.
Explain the difference between controlled, uncontrolled, and special-use airspace and state the entry requirements and clearance obligations for each.
Work through 10 short procedural scenarios (e.g., radio failure in controlled airspace, joining the circuit, transponder mandatory zones) and write the correct action sequence for each.
Self-test on week 1 glossary terms until you can define 90 percent without notes.
Your checkpoint
A written phraseology card set (at least 12 call templates) plus 10 solved procedural scenarios with cited references.
Meteorology
Describe how pressure, temperature, and humidity combine to set density altitude, and compute density altitude for five worked examples by hand.
Interpret a current METAR and TAF line by line, decoding every group including wind, visibility, cloud, temperature/dewpoint, and pressure trend.
Explain the formation and hazard profile of the four main ultra-light weather threats: low-level wind shear, convective gusts, reduced-visibility haze/mist, and mountain wave.
Read a surface pressure chart and a forecast chart and state wind direction, frontal position, and expected change over the next 12 hours.
Your checkpoint
A weather workbook containing five solved density-altitude calculations, three fully decoded METAR/TAF pairs, and one annotated pressure chart.
Meteorology & Human Factors and Flight Safety
List the personal minimums you will fly to (visibility, ceiling, crosswind, gust spread) and justify each figure against your own experience level.
Identify the physiological effects of hypoxia, hyperventilation, carbon monoxide exposure, and dehydration on pilot decision-making, and state one countermeasure for each.
Explain how fatigue, stress, and workload degrade scan and judgement, and describe the IMSAFE and PAVE checklists as pre-flight decision tools.
Analyse three accident narratives and label the human-factors chain (decision, perception, or skill failure) in each.
Your checkpoint
A written personal-minimums card plus a human-factors summary sheet covering four physiological and three psychological hazards with countermeasures.
Navigation
Convert between true, magnetic, and compass headings using variation and deviation, working 10 problems to within one degree.
Compute track, heading, groundspeed, and estimated time en route for a three-leg navigation plan with given wind, using a manual flight computer and the mental 1-in-60 method.
Plot a cross-country route on a chart, marking waypoints, safety altitudes, and diversion aerodromes, and measure distances and tracks accurately.
Explain the use and limitations of GNSS in ultra-light navigation and state what to do when the signal is lost or unreliable.
Your checkpoint
A complete three-leg navigation log with wind triangle workings, chart plot, and fuel/time calculations, checked against a second method.
Aerodynamics and Aircraft Operation
Explain how lift, weight, thrust, and drag balance in straight-and-level, climbing, and turning flight, and describe what happens to each when speed changes.
Describe the stall sequence, the factors that raise stall speed (load factor, weight, bank, contamination), and the recovery technique for a wing drop at low altitude.
Explain the cause and recognition of a spin, spiral dive, and incipient stall in an ultra-light, and state the correct recovery inputs for each.
Compute weight and balance for a sample ultra-light loading scenario and confirm the centre of gravity lies within limits.
Your checkpoint
An aerodynamics summary sheet with labelled force diagrams for four flight conditions plus one completed weight-and-balance calculation showing the CG inside limits.
Aerodynamics and Aircraft Operation & Air Law and Procedures
Rehearse the take-off, approach, and landing profiles including crosswind technique, go-around decision point, and short-field considerations, writing each as a step-by-step checklist.
Explain the effects of density altitude, runway surface, and wind gradient on take-off and landing distance, and calculate an adjusted distance for two worked examples.
State the aircraft documents, inspections, and maintenance intervals an ultra-light must carry and comply with, and check a sample aircraft against them.
Revisit the week 1 error log and re-answer every previously missed air-law question without notes.
Your checkpoint
A normal-and-emergency checklist set for the aircraft type plus two solved take-off/landing distance calculations and a cleared week 1 error log.
Air Law and Procedures & Meteorology & Navigation & Aerodynamics and Aircraft Operation & Human Factors and Flight Safety
Sit two full-length timed mock exams under exam conditions and record the score by domain for each.
Target the two weakest domains from the mock results and re-study only those topics, answering 20 focused questions per weak domain.
Recite from memory the key numeric limits (VMC minima, right-of-way order, stall-speed factors, personal minimums) in a single rapid-review pass.
Write a one-page pre-exam summary sheet of formulas, phraseology, and decision rules you will review on exam morning.
Your checkpoint
Two completed mock exams with domain score breakdown, a remediation log for the two weakest domains, and a final one-page summary sheet.
Milestones
Week 2: Score at least 80 percent on a 30-question air-law set, and deliver all 12 radio phraseology templates and 10 solved procedural scenarios without referring to notes for the right-of-way rules.
Week 4: Decode one unseen METAR and one TAF correctly group by group, complete five density-altitude calculations with no arithmetic errors, and produce the personal-minimums card and human-factors sheet.
Week 6: Produce a three-leg navigation log whose heading and groundspeed figures agree within 2 degrees and 3 knots between the manual computer and the 1-in-60 method, and a weight-and-balance result inside CG limits.
Week 8: Achieve at least 85 percent overall on both timed mock exams with no domain below 75 percent, and show a remediation log covering every question missed in the first mock.