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PPL – Pre-test Day

Route

Redcliffe – Sunshine Coast – Jimna – CabooltureRedcliffe
Please ensure you have planned this route prior to the PreTest day, due to time constraints.
Full stop landings are planned for at underlined locations.

PreTest Day has arrived. Just as with the RPL Pre-test, the day will offer a chance to get a feel for what the actual PPL Test will entail.

Don’t underestimate the work required to prepare properly for your PreTest.  It will take considerable hours and even time at the Aero Club with the aircraft POH to ensure you’re properly prepared.

It’s a full day process that involves a route similar to that which will be flown on Test Day, a general handling airwork check, a ground knowledge check, paperwork and pre-flight planning exercises. Your goal is to gain a recommendation from your Instructor, so the CFI can sign the PPL Test Form and arrange a test date.

Booking Requirements

This sequence will require the following bookings:

  • 8am – 5pm slot with Instructor
  • 10am – 5pm slot with aircraft

Instructor requirement: Grade 2 or higher

Completion Checklist

This sequence will require the following bookings:

  • 2 hour briefing slot
  • 10am – 5pm slot with Instructor
  • 10am – 5pm slot with aircraft

Instructor requirement: Grade 3 or higher

Your briefing should be conducted at least a few days before the flight component to allow yourself time to practice the techniques learned.

Preparation

Structure of the day:

  • 1: Pre-flight planning check (weight, balance, declared density charts, take-off and landing distance calculations, pressure and density height, navigation planning etc)

  • 2: The PPL Questionnaire, General knowledge and PPL Test Form ground items

  • 3: The Paperwork (signing off the relevant syllabus papers, your Day VFR syllabus, completing the test form etc

  • 4: General handling airwork flight

  • 5: Navigation flight

The PPL Questionnaire:

You should have the PPL Questionnaire completed and printed for marking on the day. You will be required to modify and resubmit the Questionnaire if the quality of the responses leaves any doubt in the Instructor’s mind that your knowledge isn’t sufficient.

Approach this task with the attitude of having ‘the perfect’ responses, as tidying up errors takes time and could result in pushing back of your Test date.

PPL Test Form Ground Items:

Please write / type some responses covering the ground items on the PPL Test form so that you have a reference document to assist in answering verbal questions on the PreTest Day.

PPL General Knowledge Check:

Outlined below is a quick check list of your ground knowledge.  You will need to sit down with the aircraft POH and read it thoroughly, paying particular interest to the systems section (one of the boxes on your PPL Test Forms relates to your knowledge of the POH systems section), weight and balance and performance sections.

CAO 20.7.0 - Declared Density Charts

  • Can you determine Pressure Height & Density Height – Are you familiar with “declared density heights” as you will require the declared density height for your Flight Test ALA and hence determine a landing & take off distance.  Can you then take this declared density back to a C172SP performance chart (that uses pressure height) ?
  • Can you determine weight and balance calculations for your aircraft confidently
  • Can you determine performance calculation for your aircraft confidently
  • Have you reviewed the above general handling procedures i.e. do you recall how to do these ? i.e. PS & L etc
  • Can you answer / complete the ground items on the PPL Test form unassisted ?
  • Have you prepared some type of passenger brief that complies with the below regulations ?
  • Have you spent time with the FLIGHT MANUAL to answer your questionnaire questions ?
  • Have you spent time with the FLIGHT MANUAL to have a sound knowledge of your TEST AIRCRAFT’S systems ?
    • How many volts is the battery ?
    • Where is the battery ?
    • How is the fuel system vented ?
    • How many static vents are there?  Where are they ?
    • What colour is the approved fuel for your aircraft ?
    • What instruments / gauges will you lose if you have a flat battery in flight ?
    • What instruments will you lose if you have a vacuum pump failure ?
  • Have you reviewed YCAB in the ERSA & considered arrival, departure procedures for an UNASSISTED arrival ?
  • Have you written a paragraph of information on each KDR item ?
  • Do you know the minimum ALA dimensions a per CAAP 92-1
  • Do you know the privileges & limitations of a PPL ?  CAR 5.77 TO 5.86 &  CAO 40.0 para 2 & 3
  • Do you know the drug & alcohol requirements ?
  • Can you recall the HASELL checks ?
  • Can you recall the spiral dive & incipient spin recovery technique ?
  • Do you know your FLIGHT TEST AIRCRAFT’s airspeed limitations, speeds for best glide, short field landing & take off etc
  • Can you identify all the aerials attached to your aircraft? (ADF, VOR, VHF, GPS etc)
  • Have you reviewed the procedure in the flight manual for short field take-off & short field landings ?
  • If you achieved LESS THAN 80% in the PPL(A) Exam, have you booked a separate time (2 hr slot) with the Testing Officer of Chief Flying Instructor (prior to the test day) and after the general handling day to review & sign off on your KDR’s? Ensure you’ve addressed ALL the KDR items and written around 7-10 lines of information about the subjects in question. Ask your Instructor for assistance with this BEFORE the day if you require it.

Paperwork:

Once it has been determined in your Instructor’s opinion you would have today passed a PPL FLIGHT TEST, then it is time to sign all the paperwork.

Please ensure your logbook is up to date and you bring with you your licence, medical (and know your DAME doctor’s name…..It’s not on your medical, but it is needed for the paperwork.

Flight Component:

The flight today is a very short navigation exercise to consolidate the standard required for the flight test. It will be a short nav that includes the air work components that will also be assessed in your PPL flight test.

We recommend if you have not reviewed your ‘air work’ (steep turns, forced landings, flap less circuits etc) for some time, then it may be well worth private hiring an aircraft prior to today and reviewing all that GFPT type air work (except stalling) you may not have looked at for some time.

You will be asked to demonstrate the below sequences during this flight at some stage

  • Lost procedure
  • Diversion procedure
  • Use of NDB
  • Use of VOR
  • Use of GPS
  • Low Level leg
  • Stall, Steep turns, Forced Landing
  • Flapless Approach, Precautionary Search and Landing
  • Missed Approach, Short Field Take Off / Landing, Glide Approach, Engine Failure After Take Off
  • Whilst you have been given the route to plan and the sequence for the day.  You may be asked in flight or even on the ground for something a little different to the plan.  This may be to assess your “in flight decision making ability” and your ability to handle “those unforseen” events that pop up in flight.

Miscellaneous Items:

You will be expected to give a sound passenger briefing to your Instructor on PreTest day. It should comply with the legal requirements of a Pilot in Command. Please review the below items. (Hint: Make a Pax-Brief-Checklist so you don’t miss anything important)

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Redcliffe Aero Club - Operations Manual Passenger Brief Requirements

Download 22.75 KB

Civil Aviation Order 20.11 - Emergency & life saving equipment & passenger control in emergencies
Civil Aviation Order 20.16.3 - Air service operations - Carriage of persons
CAAP 253-2 - Passenger safety information

On this PreTest (and likely during your actual Test) you may be asked to use navigation aids to assist in determining your position after becoming lost. On the PreTest route, there are two very handy Navaids: Maleny VOR and Kilcoy NDB. Keep this in mind and remember to revise your Tune-Identify-Test procedures.

Good luck…

Instructor’s Tips

Remember the five P’s. Prior preparation prevents poor performance. The amount of time you invest in preparation will be a direct indicator of your performance on the day