GCAA CPL Theory Exam (GCAA) study guide
GCAA CPL Theory Exam · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The GCAA Commercial Pilot Licence theoretical knowledge examination is the ground-school hurdle that sits between a private pilot and the issue of a UAE commercial pilot licence. It is aimed at candidates who already hold, or are completing, a PPL and who intend to fly for remuneration, whether in a UAE operator, a flight training organisation, or elsewhere under a licence that recognises GCAA theory credit. The GCAA CPL Theory Exam study guide has 9 sections and about 3,539 words.
01Air Law and ATC Procedures
The Air Law and ATC Procedures paper tests the regulatory framework a UAE commercial pilot operates under: the ICAO Annexes as implemented by GCAA Civil Aviation Regulations (CARs) and the procedures published in the AIP UAE. Questions are definition-heavy - know the exact meaning of clearance, flight level, transition altitude, controlled airspace and readback - and be able to apply the rules of the air to a short scenario.
473 words, about 2 min02Aircraft General Knowledge - Airframe, Systems and Powerplant
Aircraft General Knowledge covers the airframe and its systems - structure, flight controls, hydraulics, electrics, pneumatics, pressurisation, fuel, ice and rain protection, fire protection, landing gear and brakes - plus the gas turbine powerplant and its limitations. The exam favours system purpose, power source, indications and the consequences of a failure rather than memorised schematics.
384 words, about 2 min03Flight Performance and Planning
Flight Performance and Planning tests mass and balance, take-off, landing and en-route performance, and fuel planning to CAR-OPS 1. Expect calculations using the Aircraft Flight Manual and the operational flight plan, plus judgement about regulated weights, performance-limited masses and reserve fuel.
389 words, about 2 min04Human Performance and Limitations
Human Performance and Limitations treats the pilot as a system component: hypoxia, decompression, hyperventilation, spatial disorientation, sensory illusion, vision and hearing, fatigue, stress, alcohol and drugs, and crew resource management. Questions ask for recognition, first response and the physiological reason behind it.
370 words, about 2 min05Meteorology
Meteorology tests reading the sky and the paperwork: METAR and TAF decoding, pressure and altimetry, stability and cloud, fog, icing, thunderstorms, wind shear, and regional weather such as shamal dust episodes and coastal or inland fog in the UAE. METAR gives wind in degrees magnetic and knots, visibility in metres, weather, cloud amount and height in hundreds of feet AGL, temperature and dewpoint in °C, and QNH in hPa.
407 words, about 2 min06Navigation
Navigation covers planning and determining position in flight: dead reckoning, the wind triangle, magnetism, altimetry, radio navigation aids, performance-based navigation and chart work. True to magnetic: magnetic = true minus easterly variation (variation east, magnetic least).
361 words, about 2 min07Operational Procedures
Operational Procedures is the flight-deck discipline paper: standard operating procedures, normal and emergency drills, performance and minima, the MEL, dangerous goods and the decision-making that goes with them. Flight plan and slot, weather and NOTAM, fuel and mass and balance, take-off and landing performance, MEL or deferred defects, alternates and minima.
381 words, about 2 min08Principles of Flight
Principles of Flight explains why the aeroplane flies and how it behaves: lift and drag, stability and control, high-lift devices, compressibility and load factor. Questions are usually conceptual, with one or two simple calculations.
418 words, about 2 min09Communications (VFR and IFR)
Communications tests standard radiotelephony for VFR and IFR flight, readback requirements, distress and urgency procedures, and the correct use of radio, transponder and datalink in UAE airspace. ROGER means received; WILCO means will comply; AFFIRM, NEGATIVE, STANDBY, DISREGARD, SAY AGAIN, CORRECTION and I SAY AGAIN have precise meanings and should not be improvised.
356 words, about 2 min