ATPL Aircraft General Knowledge

It is a computer-based multiple-choice examination taken at an approved examination centre, with four options and one correct answer per question. Your approved training organisation books the sitting. The authority sets the current number of questions and time allowed, and publishes these details on its own website.

Most candidates find it moderate: less mathematical than performance or flight planning, but broader. The difficulty is volume and precision, since questions often hinge on a single component or sequence. Candidates who understand systems logically tend to score well; those who memorise question banks without understanding the schematics usually struggle.

Both. Expect simple quantitative items such as electrical power and load sharing, hydraulic pressure and force, gas turbine temperature and pressure ratios, and fuel flow. The arithmetic is straightforward, but you must know which relationship applies and keep units consistent. Practise until you can estimate an answer before calculating it.

These are set by the licensing authority and vary between authorities and licence types, so no figure should be assumed. The current pass mark, validity period and any credit rules are published by the authority responsible for your licence, and your training organisation can confirm how they apply to you.

Retake rules, waiting periods and any limit on the number of attempts are set by the authority and by your training organisation's procedures. Check the authority's published regulations rather than planning around a rumoured waiting time. Many schools will require some remedial study before rebooking.

Start with basic electrics and the physics of pressure, temperature and gas turbine cycles, because later systems depend on them. Then take airframes and hydraulics, followed by engines, fuel and lubrication. Finish with pressurisation, ice and rain protection, fire protection, then flight controls, autopilot and landing gear, which combine several earlier ideas.

Confusing normal and abnormal operation, mixing up which pump or valve supplies which system, and forgetting the sequence in which components operate. Another frequent error is answering from memory of a diagram rather than the stated conditions. Read the question stem carefully: a small change in the scenario often changes the correct answer.

Use them as a diagnostic, not a script. After each set, write down why the wrong options were wrong and which system they belong to, then revisit that system in your approved material. Rotate subjects so you revisit older topics before they fade, and keep a short list of facts you repeatedly get wrong.

Many students sit theoretical examinations alongside or before practical training, subject to their training organisation's structure and the authority's rules on course integration. Confirm the permitted sequence with your school, because some authorities require a minimum amount of ground training before you sit the examination.