Following on from our blogs on the topic of ‘ranking’ the exams, what follows here is a bit more on the subject, but from the heart, not from the statistics.
How tricky or difficult a topic is depends hugely on the individual. For example, a young lady candidate left the exam room at BGS after 25 minutes having completed – and passed – General Navigation. Whereas most of us would come out after 2 hours 15 minutes wishing it had been 3 hours 15 minutes. Different strokes for different folks.
So, what follows will be subjective, not objective. You may not agree with the opinions of this crusty old author, but opinions are what is on offer. People defy pigeonholing – thank goodness!
In terms of pure content size AGK Systems and Meteorology are both huge. That is really obvious to those who have hard copies of the BGS courseware. So let’s start with a look at those two in turn.
AGK is an easy topic for the mechanically minded, but a nightmare for those who raise the bonnet of their car and gaze in wonder at what lies beneath. It is also a generational thing. This author spent his formative years pulling car and motorbike engines to pieces and reassembling them. Sometimes they even worked afterwards! But nowadays you take your car to a garage, they plug in the onboard diagnostic computer, and that tells them to replace box ‘B’. So, we have a whole generation or two of folk who do not know a dipstick from a gearstick. Extra-curricular study on engines and electrics through the medium of YouTube (other video-sharing sites are available) will pay huge dividends in helping you understand those two major topics within AGK.
Meteorology is massive – and so is the exam. At 84 questions it is the biggest of the exams, just pipping AGK with 80. But it is hugely important to you as an aviator – arguably more so than AGK. All very well understanding the principle of a diffuser in a carburettor, but it’s not as if you can fix it in flight, is it? But Met can and does impact everything you will do in your aircraft on every flight. All of the training providers out there, including BGS, teach the Learning Objectives (LOs). But broadening out your studies by using extra-curricular resources will really help you to understand the topic, not just be able to parrot the required answers in the exam room. We don’t need parrots on the flight deck – we need skilled, professional aviators.
A good source of extra material in Meteorology is the UK Met Office. They have produced a series of short films on individual topics. A few examples are in the links below. They are aimed at the general public but are excellent for expanding your knowledge and understanding.
Perhaps not borne out by the statistics, but the subject that strikes terror into the heart of many students is General Navigation. In fact, since the LOs review that gave us what we now refer to as the ‘2020’ LOs, Gen Nav has been simplified considerably. Out has gone grid nav with its convoluted calculations; 60 questions have shrunk to 55; and best of all a two-hour exam is now 15 minutes longer. But it is still one of the topics that is perceived as being tricky. Once you have the basic formulae in your head and have become comfortable with calculating them, Gen Nav falls into place quite well. Oh, and if you have yet to discover the joys of the ‘DMS’ function on your calculator, do so today – it will change your life. Well, it will at least make Gen Nav more bearable…
Probably the most complained about exam subject in recent years is Principles of Flight (PoF). Especially PoF(H), which seems to have caused more angst among the student population than any other single topic. Once again, being comfortable with the formulae and calculations is key.
When you enter that exam room, for whichever exam, and however much you might fear that subject, just remember that you are there because you want to be. The pain along the way is well worth it for the privilege of joining a profession that has given this author thirty years in the sky, and one which will repay your efforts many times over. Happy days!
Here’s a list of helpful study materials:
The Genius of Invention – Power
Met Office – Global Circulation
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