GCAA Ghana CPL Theory Exam study guide
GCAA Ghana CPL Theory Exam · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Ghana Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) theory examination is the ground-school hurdle a candidate must clear before progressing to the CPL flight test and licensing with the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority. It is aimed at student pilots who already hold, or are completing, the Private Pilot Licence and are moving toward flying for remuneration. The GCAA Ghana CPL Theory Exam study guide has 10 sections and about 4,496 words.
01Air Law
Air Law is the rulebook paper: it tests whether you know which document governs a given situation, what the limits of your licence and medical are, who is in command, and what must be reported after an occurrence. Ghana is a signatory to the 1944 Chicago Convention.
476 words, about 2 min02Aircraft General Knowledge and Principles of Flight
This domain splits into two halves: the machine (airframe, powerplant, systems, instruments) and the physics that keep it flying (forces, stability, control and the phenomena that limit performance). A four-stroke piston engine produces power on the firing stroke; dual magnetos give independent ignition and are checked at run-up.
428 words, about 2 min03Flight Performance
Flight Performance tests whether you can predict what the aeroplane will actually do on a specific runway on a specific day at a specific mass - and whether you know which limit bites first. TORA is the take-off run available; TODA adds the clearway; ASDA adds the stopway; LDA is the landing distance available.
416 words, about 2 min04Planning and Loading
Planning and Loading covers mass and balance: what the aeroplane weighs, where that weight sits, and whether the result stays inside the structural and centre-of-gravity limits for the whole flight. OEW (or DOW) is the empty aircraft plus unusable fuel and trapped fluids.
410 words, about 2 min05Human Performance and Limitations
This domain tests the pilot as a system component: how the body behaves at altitude, how the senses mislead, how fatigue and stress degrade judgement, and how crew resource management prevents small errors becoming accidents. Hypoxia is the key exam topic.
405 words, about 2 min06Meteorology
Meteorology tests whether you can read the atmosphere well enough to predict what the aircraft will meet, and interpret the coded products (METAR, TAF, SIGMET) correctly. ISA at sea level is 15°C and 1013.25 hPa, with a lapse rate of about 2°C per 1,000 ft up to the tropopause near 36,000 ft.
404 words, about 2 min07Navigation
Navigation tests dead reckoning, the wind triangle, chart and compass work, and the use of radio and satellite aids to confirm where you actually are. Mercator charts show a rhumb line as a straight line, which is why they suit radio navigation; Lambert conformal conic charts show a great circle nearly straight and are common for topographical work.
391 words, about 2 min08Operational Procedures
Operational Procedures tests how you run the flight: standard operating procedures, aerodrome operating minima, abnormal and emergency drills, and the special situations that require a disciplined, pre-briefed response. Checklists are read-and-do or do-and-verify, and are never replaced by memory beyond the few drills that must be immediate (engine failure, fire, rapid depressurisation).
384 words, about 2 min09Flight Planning and Monitoring
Flight Planning and Monitoring is about producing a legal, safe plan before departure and then actively checking that the flight is tracking it - fuel, time and route. Start with weather, NOTAMs, AIP routes, aircraft performance and mass and balance.
398 words, about 2 min10Radio Navigation
Radio Navigation tests how ground and satellite aids present information in the cockpit, what their errors are, and how to turn a bearing or a deviation into a usable position or approach path. A VOR radial is a line measured from the station outwards: you fly outbound on the radial matching your track from the station.
784 words, about 4 min