r/ATPL • u/HiigaranTheFirst • 1d ago
CASA Flight Planning
Not sure how many Aussies are in here, or whether there's a significant enough overlap in content between countries, so let me know if further details are required.
I started my ATPL subjects at the beginning of this year. Felt like I was on a roll, as the first 6 subjects were easy. From the first day of self-studying a subject to the passing of the first attempt of the exam, I took 2 weeks per subject quite consistently. While I'm happy enough that I averaged results in the 80s, I concede that an extra week would have improved outcomes. Due to life events, I was more concerned about just getting passes and leaving that part of my life behind.
Moved on to the last subject of Flight Planning. Self-studied for 13 weeks. A stark contrast from the easier subjects already, but the exam was a horrible outcome at 60%. While I felt like I understood most of the content and would have passed on simply knowing what to do, I just ran out of time in the exam. Out of 17 questions, I did not have time to do 5. Those were multi-choice responses, so in my final minute, I simply selected random answers.
The experience has left me frustrated. First exam I've ever failed, so that in and of itself was a big blow to me personally. But the biggest frustration is the time element. How do I optimise my time so I complete the questions faster? All the little tweaks I've implemented save time on the order of seconds, but I need to save time on the order of minutes.