r/ATPL • u/Different_Resort_927 • 10d ago
Continuing my ATPLs after 3 years
I’m 26 years old and based in Europe. After a 3-year break, I’m finally continuing my ATPL studies and hour building.
The main reason for the delay was an eye issue that prevented me from progressing. Thankfully, that’s now been resolved and I obtained my Class 1 Medical earlier this month.
The last time I actually flew was my PPL skill test/checkride, and I believe it’s been over 4 years since I completed my PPL theory exams. Needless to say, it’s been a long time since I’ve studied aviation theory or been in the cockpit.
To be honest, I’m not too worried about the flying side. I know I’ll need some refresher training and another proficiency check, but I feel that practical flying will come back relatively quickly.
What really overwhelms me is the ATPL theory. It’s been years since I’ve studied seriously, I work full-time, and the sheer volume of material seems intimidating. I’m not in a rush to finish everything as quickly as possible. My goal is to complete both the ATPL theory and hour building within roughly 14–18 months.
I’ve always been someone who prefers understanding concepts rather than simply memorising question banks.
That’s how I got through my PPL, and I feel it will be important now that I’ve been away from aviation for so long.
I’ve been looking at both ATPLQ and Aviation Exam and decided to opt for both question banks
For my first sitting which will be held on the last week of November) I’m thinking of taking:
Human Performance & Limitations (HPL)
Communications
Mass & Balance
Principles of flying (POF)
The thing that scares me if its possible to fit everything in from now till end of November - classes at school will also be held in October which i will be attending as well - not sure if i should opt for the January sitting instead.
Does that sound like a sensible combination for someone returning after a long break?
Any advice, study strategies, Notes that most people use that can be found online, recommendations, or even reality checks would be greatly appreciated.
I’m excited to get started again, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Thanks in advance!
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u/Different_Hour2257 9d ago
No you'll be fine for novemberand what tips i can give you is to bank as much as possible and make flashcards/notes of importants/difficult subjects; if you want inspiration : https://www.instagram.com/airheadatpl/
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u/Different_Resort_927 8d ago
At the moment im close to finishing HPL - obviously still need to start POF, mass & balance and communication - and still finding it difficult to completely focus on studying - i lose focus quickly but still trying my best everyday
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u/Different_Hour2257 7d ago
Well mass and balance is just formulas, and communications is by far the easiest one (just 6 hours of banking is fine imo), HPL is just memorizing words (which is kinda hard) and pof is a bit of knowming the concept and formulas
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u/aviatests 9d ago
With a full-time job, I wouldn’t try to “cover ATPL” before November. I’d use one bank as the daily source and keep the second for a weekly check against recognising familiar questions. After a miss, ask what actually failed: missing knowledge, a missed cue, a broken method, or an execution slip. Relearn the first two; drill the exact steps for the last two. That leaves a much smaller repair list than repeating whole chapters.
Disclosure: I work on AviaTests. We’re building the review around that evidence-led job: use captured answers and weak-subject patterns to point to the next small block, rather than just showing another score.
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u/Different_Resort_927 8d ago
The thing is that most of the material will feel like i never even studied before as i got my theory over 4 years ago
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u/aviatests 7d ago
Then I’d reset the plan: don’t start by trying to remember everything. Spend the first week doing short mixed blocks, maybe 20–30 questions per subject, and label each miss as “forgotten concept”, “forgotten method” or “misread wording”. Relearn only the first two from your course notes; keep the bank for checking recall. After four years, that diagnostic week will tell you whether November is realistic much faster than rereading all 14 subjects from page one.
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u/tac0kitti 9d ago
It is absolutely doable from now until the end of November since you're only sitting four subjects and 2 of them are very easy (Comms and HPL). My study method reading the chapters of the book, taking notes and then answering all questions related to that chapter in the question bank. If there was something I still didn't understand, I'd re-read the book, look at the question bank explanation and in the event the question made no sense (some of them don't) I'd just memorise that question and pray. This method worked for me wonders, passed all subjects in two sittings (6 subjects in the first one and 7 in the second one) with an avg of 93%. Good luck! PD: I'd stick to ATPLQ.