ATPL 040 Human Performance exam-day guide
ATPL 040 Human Performance · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Valid photo ID
Bring the identity document your examination centre requires (typically a current passport or national ID). The exact accepted documents and any name-matching rules vary by authority and centre - confirm with the provider before exam day, and check that the name matches your registration exactly.
Admission confirmation / appointment letter
Carry the booking confirmation or admission document issued for your sitting, printed or on your phone as the provider allows. It carries your candidate number, session time, and centre address. Confirm with the provider whether a printed copy is mandatory.
ATPL 040 syllabus and your weak-topic list
One page listing the Human Performance sub-topics you personally get wrong most often - for example oxygen cascade calculations, time of useful consciousness figures, Gz tolerance factors, or circadian/SAR shift patterns. Read it, do not re-learn it, in the last hour.
Formula and figure sheet you built yourself
A single sheet with the relationships you must recall from memory: alveolar gas equation, oxygen content, cabin altitude vs. time of useful consciousness, Gz acceleration tolerance and the effect of anti-G straining, and the standard hypoxia/hyperventilation comparison table. Writing it yourself is the revision; verify each figure against your approved training manual.
Scientific calculator (if permitted)
Some authorities provide an on-screen calculator and forbid personal devices; others allow a basic non-programmable calculator. Confirm with the provider what is allowed and whether it must be shown at check-in. Do not assume your usual calculator is permitted.
Timing plan for the paper
Know the number of questions and total time for your sitting and write down your target pace (minutes per question) plus a checkpoint time. Confirm the current question count and duration with the provider, as these differ between authorities and question-bank versions.
Logistics: route, parking, arrival time
Reconnoitre the route the day before and note the arrival time the centre asks for, which is usually earlier than the start time for ID checks and seat allocation. Confirm the required arrival margin with the provider.
Sleep and caffeine plan
Decide in advance your caffeine intake and cut-off time for the night before. Keep the morning dose at your normal level - an unusual dose on exam day changes arousal and fine tremor, which is exactly what Human Performance questions ask you to reason about.
Clothing and comfort items
Dress in layers so you can adapt to room temperature, and bring water if the centre permits it. Dehydration and thermal discomfort degrade sustained attention; confirm the centre's rules on drinks and personal items at the desk.
Leave prohibited items behind
Phones, smart watches, notes, and study material normally must be switched off and stored outside the test room. Confirm with the provider which items are banned and where they must be left.
Post-exam plan
Note how and when results are released and how to appeal or re-sit if needed. Confirm the provider's result timeline and re-sit rules rather than relying on second-hand information.
Plan the day
Stop learning new material. Work only from your own error log: redo the questions you got wrong and write one line per error explaining the underlying principle (for example, why hyperventilation raises alveolar PO2 but lowers arterial PCO2, producing tingling and dizziness). Aim to close recurring error patterns rather than raise your overall score.
Do one full timed paper under exam conditions - no notes, no pauses, same time of day as the real sitting. Mark it, but spend more time on the reasoning for wrong and guessed answers than on the score. Confirm the paper's question count and duration match your actual sitting; if not, adjust with the provider's current information.
Rehearse the memory items you cannot derive: times of useful consciousness at given cabin altitudes, the standard Gz tolerance figures for unprotected and protected crew, the visual and colour-vision limits used in the syllabus, and the definition of circadian desynchronisation. Check every figure against your approved training manual - do not trust recall alone.
Do a second, shorter session on your two weakest areas only, then stop. Re-read your one-page weak-topic list and formula sheet and tidy them into the final version you will carry.
Light review only: your weak-topic list and formula sheet, roughly 45 to 60 minutes, finishing early in the day. Confirm the centre address, start time, required arrival margin, ID requirements, and permitted equipment with the provider if any point is unclear.
Prepare everything physical: ID, admission document, calculator if permitted, water, layers, and transport plan. Put them in one place. No new question banks, no late-night cramming - sleep is the single highest-value preparation in the last 24 hours.
Eat normally, keep caffeine early, set two alarms, and go to bed at your usual time rather than unusually early. If you cannot sleep, rest quietly; lying calm is worth more than last-minute revision.
Eat a normal breakfast and take your usual caffeine dose. Arrive at the centre with the margin the provider specifies, carrying only permitted items. Do not discuss question content with other candidates in the waiting area - it raises arousal and can spread errors.
Read each question and its stem carefully, watching for negatives and for the single best answer among plausible distractors. Answer what you know, flag what you do not, and move on. Keep to your planned pace and check your time at the halfway checkpoint.
For numerical items, write the relationship first, then substitute, then sanity-check the magnitude and units - a respiratory or oxygen-content answer that is off by a factor of ten is almost always a unit slip. Show your working on the provided material if allowed, so you can recheck quickly.
Return to flagged questions. Change an answer only when you can name a concrete reason - a misread word, a recalled fact, a unit error. Unjustified second-guessing usually lowers scores.
Ensure every question has an answer; there is no advantage to blanks. Check that your answers are recorded correctly on the answer sheet or system before submitting, then stop working when instructed.
Rules to check
Bring the exact identity document the provider requires and check in advance that the name matches your registration. If you are unsure which documents are accepted, confirm with the provider rather than assuming.
Arrive at the time the centre specifies, which is normally earlier than the start for identity checks. A late arrival may be refused entry; the exact cut-off is set by the provider, so confirm it.
Phones, smart watches, and study notes must normally be switched off and stored away from the desk. Confirm the provider's list of prohibited items and follow invigilator instructions immediately.
Use only the calculator and reference material the provider permits. If you are unsure whether a device is allowed, leave it behind and confirm with the provider beforehand.
Do not communicate with other candidates during the test, and do not attempt to record, photograph, or share question content afterwards - most authorities treat this as misconduct.
Ask the invigilator about toilet breaks and what happens to the clock before the test starts. Rules on breaks, pausing, and time compensation vary; confirm with the provider rather than relying on hearsay.
Scoring and pass marks are set by the licensing authority, not the training provider. Confirm the current pass standard, whether all questions are equally weighted, and whether there is negative marking before you sit.
If you feel unwell or believe there is a technical fault, raise it with the invigilator immediately and ask for it to be recorded. Confirm the provider's policy on incident reporting and re-sits in advance.