hi everyone,I keep failed my school qualifying writtem exam,can't get my recommend letter to take the TC one.

the school pass mark was 70, and recently I failed again..because it's getting more difficult than last test.

the last mark was air law 65,GEN 63 ,MET 75,nav 85

I don't know what Can I do next... feels no Confidence for the next one..

thanks for read.

any good idea for me?

update: after I took lot of time read though the from ground up book,I finialy passed the school one and TC one..

got mark 81..

Study.

It can be tough. Especially because like you say missing it a few times will lower your confidence. Just try to stay positive and keep trying.

You can do it!

I was more nervous for my school "practice" exam than the actual exam over TC exam. i'd look at the positives you have a good mark in MET that was one of the tougher areas. just study and write it again. The thing i would also point out is the more times you write that test the better prepared for TC you will be.

For variety, try one or more of the study book/question books commercially available. These have banks of hundreds of questions - work your way through them and you will have done the equivalent of several exams. Mark yourself, then go back and work on the weak areas. Rinse and repeat, you'll get there with time and work.

They will also get you used to the 'language' of the exam questions, as some questions are quite confusing even for those of us who's first language is English!

What you need to know is pretty straight forward shit and there is no special way to "get it" other than putting your nose in the books and studying hard. TC lays it all out for you the topics of study...

If you're struggling with the concepts, I'd suggest sitting down with a (competent) instructor from your school and reassessing your weakest areas.

Somethings like Air Law you just have to know (I tried reciting the CARS over and over like some kind of sick prayer/mantra), but other things like Meterology or theory of flight or navigation you need to know the whys and hows, like why are fronts associated with lows? Why does Coriolis make the wind turn right? Why does the plane want to turn left when I apply power during the take off roll? You get the idea - find someone who can get you to picture what's happening.

I found that once I could imagine what was happening (visualise it), I could picture the scenario in the question and figure out the answer. That being said, it doesn't look like met and nav are your weakest areas.

Just remember you're paying your school for a service, it's their job to help you get through this, that's what you're paying them for! There's a lot of self-study needed too of course, but you should always be able to ask for help.

Good luck!
MGE

The short advice is study more.

The long advice is - you can't just keep taking the school test hoping to squeak by. Do you actually understand the material? What books are you using? Buy yourself a book of practice tests and a study guide if you need to, and as MGE mentioned, if you really don't understand what's going on find an instructor. Do the practice tests at home until you get a good grade. Then when the FTU and TC ones come you'll know you'll pass. I did 800 questions worth of practice and review before going to the FTU and TC.

My story is similar. Can't remember for the ppl, but for the cpl exam -- which is far harder as I remember -- I did 3 complete self study exams at - I think -- 300 or 500 questions each. That's a lot of questions for a 50 question exam. When I scored 96% on the last practice, I wrote the cpl -- and was mildly annoyed to score only 85 out of 100. (7 wrong). Then right at TC I went through every wrong one.

thanks for guys advise,it's always not in good mood after You failed few times,the Instructor told other student you better pass the first qualfyfing test otherwide the test it's getting harder and harder and more trick..

I think I will read the CARS flow the TC GUIDE again and again,and will read the FGP whole section to understand the Principle... I found the human factor and Aircraft Structures it's really hard for me ..

like from the last test ,the question was about "WHITE OUT" I never seen this word before... I mean maybe I didn't study hard or I missed that... so I didn't get that point..

anyway,I would study even more harder to prepare this coming test...

I wish I could help you with something easy but there is no magic for it.

This is true and I only quote it because I know I need to continue to study even though I'm finished and have my PPL.

altiplano wrote:What you need to know is pretty straight forward shit and there is no special way to "get it" other than putting your nose in the books and studying hard. TC lays it all out for you the topics of study...

I sure agree with jump154. Some of the language in those tests is confusing.

1. Just out of curiosity, is English your second language?
2. What challenges are you facing with the material?
3. Study your weakest areas.
4. Don't get discouraged. Every successful person has failed many times at whatever they did. See this as a learning opportunity. There's something you're not doing right and it needs to be fixed. Simple as that.

is English your second language?

Those of us, who's first language is English, can
often barely pass the TC written exams, which
are often as much as test of reading comprehension
as they are of aviation knowledge.

Not sure how many people here have written FAA
tests, but the difference is night and day.

Don't get discouraged. Work hard at learning the
material, and spend LOTS of time doing practice
tests, so you are experienced at deciphering the
trick questions, like:

Which of the following is the LEAST correct answer:
1) blah
2) blah blah
3) blah blah blah
4) all of the above
5) none of the above

a) 1, 3, 4
b) 2, 4, 5
c) 3, 4
d) 2, 5

Free advice: Read the question. Read ALL the
answers - don't jump at the first correct one.
Read the question again - slowly. Read all the
answers again. You can probably toss out one
or two answers as being wrong, and the other
two are probably just fine in the real world, but
one will be ever so slightly more correct. And
that's the answer.

If a question stumps you, move on. Don't spend
30 minutes on one question. Come back to it
later if you have time. If you don't have time,
choose (c) or the longest answer.

Don't change your answers. Generally your
first answer to a multiple choice question is
the correct one.

Note that all of the above has absolutely nothing
to do with aviation whatsoever. Welcome to
Canada, where the absurd is normal.

And don't let it get you down. Some of the best
pilots I've ever met, performed horribly on written
tests. I've never met an experienced pilot that told
me with a straight face that an ace on the written
test was always the best pilot.

there is no special way to "get it" other than putting your nose in the books and studying hard

Well.... Yes, being familiar with the content of the "book" is important, and you're going to have difficulty if you have not studied, but.... Why are you "studying the books? Are you studying so you can pass some tests, and then forget most of it? Or are you studying, because you want to learn it, and once learned, you're willing to demonstrate your new knowledge by taking an exam? There's a big difference!

If you know it, passing the exam is more easy. Do yourself the favour of studying to learn, not just to pass.

I don't like exams, I don't deal well with the stress - but that's my failing. I seem to manage, because I take an interest in the information, and it sticks when I read it (maybe the second time!). Read to learn, because it interests you, and demonstrating the outcome of your learning should be much easier than demonstrating that you studied something that you did not care about!

It'll come....

Colonel Sanders wrote:

is English your second language?

Those of us, who's first language is English, can
often barely pass the TC written exams, which
are often as much as test of reading comprehension
as they are of aviation knowledge.

Free advice: Read the question. Read ALL the
answers - don't jump at the first correct one.
Read the question again - slowly. Read all the
answers again. You can probably toss out one
or two answers as being wrong, and the other
two are probably just fine in the real world, but
one will be ever so slightly more correct. And
that's the answer.

As someone who has just (Friday) taken a TC written exam - a huge +1 to the above.

thanks for guys keeping post for help.

and as your guys probably already noticed,English is my second language. so during that test,some words I didn't know what that meaning,especially for general lol.

I will keep study hard for understand the theory,especially the engine ,and something about when you span which axis will rotate.

Here's what TC has to say on the subject.

The examination is not intended to be an intelligence test or a duel of wits between examiner and candidate, but rather a joint effort to establish the candidate’s knowledge of a particular subject. No one should be required to learn facts solely for use in an examination, therefore every question asked should be relevant to the duties which a successful candidate could be required to undertake.

http://www.tc.gc.ca/media/documents/ca- ... 66-001.pdf

It is a truism that people advertise their weaknesses.

For example, if you drive by a used car lot with a huge
overhead sign that says, "Honest Joe's Pre-Owned Cars"
you can bet that all the locals think Joe is a thief.

Similarly:

The examination is not intended to be an intelligence test or a duel of wits between examiner and candidate

That is the best description of every TC test I have
ever taken, and I think I have taken most of them.

The INRAT that I wrote, back in the early 90's, could
be best described as an IQ test. It was primarily not
a test of your aviation knowledge.

a joint effort to establish the candidate’s knowledge of a particular subject

Again, more advertising of weakness. Every TC test
I have written over the decades, measuring aviation
knowledge has come a distant second or third.

This cannot be a coincidence.

As I said previously, write some FAA tests and you will
be astounded at the difference. I have written the FAA
IFP and ATP exams and the simplicity and clarity of the
questions and answers was breathtaking in comparison
to the TC gobbledygook.

TC written tests always measure the following, in this order:

1) English comprehension skills
2) Intelligence
3) Aviation Knowledge

And the poor OP is tripping up on #1. I know that if
I wrote aviation tests in Mandarin, I would fail them all,
regardless of my knowledge of the subject.

On the subject of Mandarin ... in the past, there have
been some large puppy mills in Ontario which catered
to foreign students, who always passed the written
tests, but were not fluent in English. Ever wonder
how they did that? They were given all the questions
and answers to the written tests, which they memorized.
TC knew about it, and was ok with that.

After about 12 years of beying a student and 5 years of teaching, I can tell you a few tricks. To start, PilotDAR is absolutely right. Learn for yourself, not for the exam. Practicing exams may get you to pass, but you didn't learn eanything.

With learning, the trick is to build on previous knowledge and understand everything. There are just a few things to memorize, but you have to understand everything else. If you don't understand something, you don't have a knowledge base to build on. Build that base first, and always connect new thinghs with what you already know. This might mean going to other sources than flight manuals, but it is very important. NEVER go forward if you don't understand something. Usually, there are further topics based on that.

In some cases, you have to practice. For example, you just understood how to calculate pressure altitude. Go and practice pressure altitude calculations for different situations. This would help you settle that particular knowledge.

There are a few bonuses you can get if you follow this approach. One is that the language barrier dissapears into thin air. You also become smarter and smarter. Way smarter than people who memorize the correct answer for 1000 questions just to answer 50 and couldn't do it again in two days.

Also consider what CS wrote about answering the MC questions.

Moreover, try to eliminate things like luck and prayers from the approach to your exams and learning. They are a complete waste of time, contrary to popular belief.

As I said previously, write some FAA tests and you will
be astounded at the difference. I have written the FAA
IFP and ATP exams and the simplicity and clarity of the
questions and answers was breathtaking in comparison
to the TC gobbledygook.

Same here.

Here is the reason that I was given by a couple of TC drones from Ottawa when they were doing a random drop by of flight schools.

When I asked why their questions on exams kept changing they said it was so schools could not give their students the questions and correct answers.....their goal is to have a 27% failure rate on written exams and unless they make the exams difficult and change them the schools will give the students the correct answers.

So how do you deal with a mindset like that?

Practicing exams may get you to pass, but you didn't learn eanything

At the risk of repeating the obvious (again) ...

There is the real world, and the paper world. Do
NOT confuse the two. I have no idea where you
got the idea that passing a TC written exam would
increase (let alone satisfy!) your aviation knowledge
requirements. The TC written exam is a paperwork
hurdle which you must clear, so that you can acquire
your PPL and start to learn about flying.

TC written exams are all about gamesmanship and
trickery. Once you understand that, everything else
falls into place.

I have known some really good sticks who have
terrible problems with written exams, for whatever
reason. Keep in mind that a pilot is essentially a
blue-collar heavy equipment operator, who probably
doesn't need to know much about Shakespeare or
even Thoreau, for that matter.

Don't confuse written tests with aviation.

I agree some of the questions from the written are just like a English test.

I do understand in order to pass the PPL EXAM ,I have to handle the theory in stand of just learn the questions and hopping I will meet the same question in the next test.

Just little depressed , everytime I think I could able to pass the school exam,that always I had some questions that I had no idea how to deal with it,My Instructors told us,only the CPL would have question like " Calculate stalling speed according to the truing angle and regular stall speed",but I still had that in my school test ( I got that point though)... everytime always had something I didn't expect.

just can't figure it out why the school exam everytime is getting even more harder.. seems I have to do nothing but study hard lol

Instead of getting down on yourself. recognize that your marks are good enough to pass the TC exam. Your overall average is 72%. Maybe you ask the school if they can structure it like TC as long as your overall mark is above 70% but you have one or two week segments hopefully you can just re write the "failed" sections. Yuo could then study your weak areas and have less to study and stress about. Seems Nav/ and Met you do well. I would say study up on air law. That is a must even after you pass your TC exam you will always encounter situation that require law knowledge.

After reading all this I remembered something that I had forgotten in the years since I took my last aviation-related tests (written and flight). My recollection after doing each one wasn't that the tests weren't devised to see what knowledge you had... They seemed to be devised to confuse you in small ways to get you to make a mistake somewhere. Like they assumed you knew everything after all the time you spent learning, and this was just to make sure that nobody got 100% on anything.

I wrote a very obscure TC exam once, and recognizing that two of the answers are out to lunch, I had to select the more correct of the other two. They were both wrong, but indeed, one actually represented a violation of an air regulation, so the other one, must be less wrong, and thus the "correct" answer. Nope, the violation answer was the "correct" answer. So that, combined with some other oddities, entirely unrelated to the theme of the exam, compounded to a fail.

I complained to a very thoughtful TC person, that I thought it unreasonable that an answer which was a violation of an air reg, no matter how you looked at it, could be the "right" answer on an exam. With consideration, and a bit of puzzled hesitation, he ultimately completely agreed. It seems that TC had not thought their way around the regulatory side of the physics of the question. He complemented me on my in depth knowledge of the "subject matter".

Shortly afterward, a letter arrived in the mail saying that I had passed the exam! I got the new license.