MCAA ATPL Theory Exam study plan

Work through the full mass-and-balance workflow: compute CG position, check forward and aft limits, and recompute after a last-minute load change, for at least 20 load sheets.

Solve 30 take-off, climb, cruise and landing performance problems from aircraft data in your study material, recording the entry values you used for each.

Build a complete fuel plan for a 500 nm sector (taxi, trip, contingency, alternate, final reserve) and repeat it with a 25 kt headwind and a 4,000 ft cruise change.

Drill standard VHF RT phraseology: readback of clearances, position reports, frequency transfer, and the full MAYDAY and PAN PAN formats, spoken aloud 30 times.

List every flight-planning formula you used this week on a single A4 sheet with units and the condition under which each applies.

Decode 40 METAR, TAF and trend reports including colour codes and change groups, stating flight category and the trend for each.

Interpret SIGMET, AIRMET and significant weather charts: identify embedded CB, CAT, jet-stream position and forecast movement for 10 chart scenarios.

Calculate cloud base, freezing level, pressure altitude and density altitude from temperature and dew-point data for 15 aerodromes.

Apply the MEL and dispatch rules to 15 defect scenarios, deciding whether dispatch is permitted, and state the operational or maintenance restriction.

Work through cold-weather operations: de-icing and anti-icing holdover, contaminated runway (RWYCC) take-off performance, and brake-friction corrections.

Solve 30 triangle-of-velocity and dead-reckoning problems, giving heading, ground speed, drift and ETA, and verify each with a second method.

Plot and interpret 5 navigation legs on a chart at scale: measure track, distance, and apply variation and deviation correctly.

Explain the operating principle, indications and failure modes of VOR, DME, NDB/ADF, ILS and RNAV/GNSS, and answer 40 questions covering them.

Trace the pitot-static and gyroscopic instrument systems from sensor to display, and describe the indications in a blocked-static and a partial-panel case.

Map electrical power distribution: batteries, generators/alternators, bus bars, external power and essential services, and state what is lost after each likely failure.

Summarise the ICAO Annex structure and, for Annex 2, state the right-of-way rules, cruising-level tables, minimum safe heights and intercept signals without notes.

Work through 30 air-law questions on licensing, ATC clearances, separation minima, SSR transponder operation and SAR notification.

Derive the lift curve, CL-alpha relationship and stall from first principles, then explain the effect of flaps, slats, spoilers and ice contamination on each.

Explain static and dynamic stability, control effectiveness and the effect of CG position on stick force, and answer 30 questions on them.

Describe high-speed effects: critical Mach number, shock stall, Mach trim, sweep and buffet margins, and how each is handled in normal operations.

Trace hydraulic, pneumatic, fuel, pressurisation and ice-and-rain protection systems from source to user, and state the crew action for each listed failure.

Describe piston and turbine engine operation, starting, ignition, fuel control and abnormal indications, and answer 30 questions on powerplant systems.

Explain landing gear, brakes and propeller operation including feathering, constant-speed governing and beta range.

Explain hypoxia, hyperventilation, decompression, spatial disorientation and the sensory illusions encountered in IMC, and the recovery for each.

Apply the SHELL and Reason error models to 10 accident summaries, naming the active failure, the latent conditions and one defence that would have prevented it.

Re-sit a full timed mock for each of Domains 4, 6 and 7 and compare sub-topic scores against the week 4 baseline.

Re-work every question missed in those three domains, writing the correct reasoning rather than the correct letter.

Rebuild your formula sheet from memory and check it against the week 1 version; add anything you could not recall.

Drill 60 rapid-fire numerical items mixing performance, weather calculation and navigation to build speed under timing.

Re-sit full timed mocks for Domains 1, 2 and 9, and mark each against the official answer key with the reasoning written out.

Rehearse 40 rule-based questions on right of way, cruising levels, airspace and clearances until the answers are automatic.

Redraw the key aircraft systems and the lift/stability derivations from blank paper twice without reference.

Run two complete mixed papers back-to-back to build the sustained concentration the real exam day demands.

Close every gap left on the week 7 ranked list, spending no more than 45 minutes per item and re-testing each immediately.

Re-sit full timed mocks for Domains 3, 5, 8 and 10, focusing on the short papers that are easiest to lose marks on through carelessness.

Complete two final full-suite mock exams under real conditions: correct timing, no notes, no breaks, one sitting.

Review your error log end to end and confirm that no error type has recurred since week 4.

Prepare exam-day logistics: confirmation of venue and time, permitted materials, ID and a rest plan for the two nights before.