CPL ops and performance.. Help

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Jkh14
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CPL ops and performance.. Help

Postby Jkh14 » Thu Oct 10 2019, 07:06

Hey Guys/Girls,
Just wondering how everyone is getting on with the new fph exam... what’s the pass rate through schools etc. I’ve failed it twice now just seems that there’s not enough time. Had 28 questions 23 were calculations. I’m a ppl pilot and not new to the whole set up. It just seems it’s gone to far..
Nighthawks
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Re: CPL ops and performance.. Help

Postby Nighthawks » Thu Oct 17 2019, 22:44

AFT Sunshine Coast have a course starting Nov 22, I can highly recommend them and their pass rates as a student of theirs. Good luck it’s a tough exam if maths isn’t your thing.
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Re: CPL ops and performance.. Help

Postby jturner » Thu Oct 24 2019, 05:50

Of the 7, I also found this the most difficult. I failed it twice aswell. My best advice. Learn how to use a calculator as opposed to the whizzy for PNR, ETP and fuel loading questions. Also. do these questions first. they are at the back of the exam like question 20 to 28. and probably the strangest but most helpful part which got me over the line. Have a huge fatty breakfast. bacon, eggs, sausages etc. The first time i had a light breakfast due to nerves and i was mentally exhausted by the time i was at question 20. Having the big breakky i powered through it and felt fine afterwards. Thats what helped me. Good luck mate
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Chang739
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Re: CPL ops and performance.. Help

Postby Chang739 » Thu Oct 24 2019, 07:34

I have it booked in two weeks, I'll be better informed to give feedback after. I've found the practice questions in the AFT text to be pretty straight forwards, had no issues answering those except the occasional time I had to take a peek at the working out.

My issue came when I tried the AFT online practice exams; the style of the questions and even some of the content was completely left-field and I was stumped more than once. I assume the CASA exam will be in this format. I have between now and then to study!
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jimiemick
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Re: CPL ops and performance.. Help

Postby jimiemick » Thu Oct 24 2019, 13:09

Every CASA exam I always skip the first 4-5 questions as they are designed to throw you off your game.

With ops and planning I used my calculator. Not the wiz wheel.
Work your way through the question, write each part down if needed (it helped me) then once you have the answer see if they have that answer there.
If in don’t work backwards once you have the answer.

I’d expect the casa exams to still be close to the aft ones.
If I’m doubt call Lionel Taylor in moorabbin. And buy some practice exam questions off him
He knows more about the exams than anyone at CASA
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Thunderbird_1
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Re: CPL ops and performance.. Help

Postby Thunderbird_1 » Thu Oct 24 2019, 23:41

Another thing that I found useful during my exams was the CASA feedback page. For each exam type they show some stats and (more usefully) give a list of the topics that were not handled well by past candidates. In my experience there were always some questions (sometimes tricky) on the topics listed, so if you know those topics well then that's a good start.

Here's a link to the feedback page: https://www.casa.gov.au/standard-page/a ... pass-rates

Good luck with your exams :)
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Chang739
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Re: CPL ops and performance.. Help

Postby Chang739 » Fri Oct 25 2019, 03:43

I had a question where, unless you can remember trigonometry in your head, it was impossible to solve without a Whiz Wheel (see attached). Needed to use the Whiz Wheel to work out GS as the wind was given in normal format instead of the simplified 'xKT tail/head wind'. Unless i'm mistaken and you're allowed to take a calculator into the exam with sin/cos/tan??
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homersimpson
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Re: CPL ops and performance.. Help

Postby homersimpson » Fri Oct 25 2019, 06:09

1. Where will you be confronted with that information to work out in real life??

2. I don’t think the exam guys are trying to trick you with the first questions. They don’t have an agenda like that. At most they are seeing if you’re reading the question properly.

3. I think you guys need to stop blaming CASA and work harder if you want to pass these exams. They’re not supposed to be easy. They are after all testing if you can work out how far you can go after you got yourself lost while stressing about pax/your boss/weather...
Jkh14
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Re: CPL ops and performance.. Help

Postby Jkh14 » Fri Oct 25 2019, 06:16

Should be able to use your ERSA to figure out your wind component? Did you pass?
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Re: CPL ops and performance.. Help

Postby DADFA » Fri Oct 25 2019, 23:24

Figure out your ground speed using the whiz wheel, and apply the formula

SGR = GS/Fuel flow after converting fuel flow from kg/hr to lb/ hour

Simples.

Rough calculation ( I don't have a whiz wheel with me) is 0.49 nm/lb so I'm thinking option d is the answer. After all its only worth 2 marks so its not going to be complicated.

Navigation equipment, which includes a whiz wheel is among the allowed material for this exam.
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Chang739
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Re: CPL ops and performance.. Help

Postby Chang739 » Mon Oct 28 2019, 05:18

Yeah the question wasn't hard, I was just pointing out that the only way to solve it was with a Whiz Wheel in the exam, given that you can't take a calculator capable of trigonometry in.

Jkh14: What part of the ERSA would help you work out the tail/head component of the wind?

Cheers
zzodr
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Re: CPL ops and performance.. Help

Postby zzodr » Mon Oct 28 2019, 06:12

ERSA GEN-CON-6 Wind Component Table
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Chang739
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Re: CPL ops and performance.. Help

Postby Chang739 » Mon Oct 28 2019, 06:33

Thanks for the response zzodr, it looks like the table is for headwind only, but it looks like if you just reverse the numbers it will give you tailwind too. ie. for the above question, heading 049T and wind 14KT 270T which puts 139 deg between the two bearings.

180 - 139 = 41 deg off of a straight tailwind, therefore from the chart the tailwind component is approx. +9KT, giving a GS of 127KT

That gives an SGR of 0.518 so seems about right.

Cheers
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Chang739
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Re: CPL ops and performance.. Help

Postby Chang739 » Tue Nov 5 2019, 01:18

Having just completed the PERF exam, here is some feedback:

- The AFT practice tests (in the text) are OK, but not quite to the level required by the exam.

- The AFT online practice exams are actually more difficult than the real exam (I failed 3/4 practice exams, achieved a better mark in the real thing) which is a good thing because it forces you through the hard yards

- In relation to the point above, only once was a wind given in the GPWT format which required my Whiz Wheel (which is allowed in btw). All other questions gave a TWC/HWC which is one less thing for you to do

- None of the AFT content touches on planning for alternates at all, which granted is more of a fixed wing thing, but required knowledge nonetheless. I had to quickly flick through CAAP 234-1 (2.1) to figure out if variable reserve applies to alternate fuel on a charter flight (it doesn't). The only time this is mentioned in the CAAP is at the very start where it defines 'Variable Reserve'.

- At the start of the exam, open your ERSA immediately to CON and leave it open for the whole exam. Always use the values shown there, even if some are simplified

- Learn your PNR and CTP like the back of your hand, these are the big topics

- Manage your time wisely; some questions required looking up performance charts or writing out a complete W&B but were only worth 2 points. Skip those and come back at the end. Most of the 1 pointers are very quick to answer. Go straight for the big questions first, you'd be surprised at how much some are worth and how little time they require to solve.

I have walked out of every exam so far with 30-60m spare. This was the first one where I clicked 'submit' with about 2m to spare. I wasn't rushing or panicked, I also didn't get hung up on any particular question, I kept a steady pace through the whole thing and barely made time. Definitely skip what you're doing if its taking too long to figure out.

Cheers,

Chang

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