hi Bob! and everyone else on the forum.
I was really glad to find this forum and just gave my first cpl exam on HPL today.
To my disappointment, I failed by 1 question.
The exam was not that difficult and contained around 8-10 TEM questions and alot of questions about ears and eyes.
I managed to get a 68%.
I am absolutely gutted as if i had gotten one more question right i would have PASSED.
As this is my first CPL exam i am rather disheartened.
I will be resitting the exam on the 5th of September as that is the earliest date on my KDR.
Anyway i was wondering what the best method is to deal with a FAIL?
And how should i approach my studies for my 2nd attempt?
Any feedback would be appreciated
Thanks!

Sorry to hear mate, but don't be too disheartened.

Sometimes it might not even be about inadequate studying, it could be misinterpretation of the question or simply misreading it - once you do a few CASA exams you will notice that questions can sometimes seem a bit ambiguous. Sometimes it will also be about rereading the question so you don't miss something i.e. silly mistakes.

The KDR's are a good place to start. I also found that if I could get a good mark in Bob's practice exams that I was well prepared for the CASA exam.

TEM is pretty tricky imo, and its one of those topics that you really need to knuckle down on and spend sometime getting your head around it.

Goodluck with your next attempt, I'm sure you will pass it with flying colours and the rest of the exams aswell! Just make sure you have a good night's rest beforehand and read the questions carefully during the exam.

Alos have a read through the Human Performance section of the forum, will help alot with exam preparation and what others have experienced.

hey guys...
looks like i did it again. attempt 2 was unsuccessful.
I am absolutely gutted as to be honest i thought i had it in the bag this time.
And i did even worse than i did the 1st time.
I am seriously beginning to doubt my ability to become a pilot.
The exam was a lot harder this time. but looking at my KDR alot of the stuff seems to repeat between the first two times.
I studied my KDR pretty hard. And used Bob's book for my practice exam and my TEM study.
I thought i had a pretty good grasp of TEM. but the situations posed in the exam were very confusing.
There were about 13 questions on TEM.
I am not allowed to sit the exam for a fair while now.
and am planning on giving MET on monday. but as ive been studying for HPL am worried about that one.
I did the two practice exams in BOB's book as well as the Rob Avery ones and did really well in them.
Cant figure out how i did worse in attempt 2.
Anyway any help would be appreciated guys.
Cheers.
Safe flying!

Hi Ozzy,

Sorry to hear about that. Sure it is disheartening but do not let it make you question your abilities as a pilot. These are theory exams and it's how you apply the theory in practice that counts! Exam technique for CASA exams is quite tricky since questions are often ambiguous on first reading and at CPL level, the incorrect answer options can appear very correct indeed. However there will always be some subtle reason why they are wrong or "less correct" than the answer CASA wants.

TEM trips up a lot of people so don't be disillusioned. If there was a lot of crossover between your two KDR's you now have a very clear picture what areas you need to focus on for your next attempt. That is a major advantage for you. It would be trickier if there was no overlap.

Why don't you consider looking at another subject for a while and give yourself a break from HPL if it is a source of frustration. Students can become their own worst enemy if they focus too intently on the past failures and keep banging their heads against a wall. Sometimes a break and a fresh approach later down the track makes all the difference. You'll have more exam experience by then and may later wonder what all the fuss was about.

If you want to have another go, make sure you know CAAP 5-59 sections 13 and 14 backwards - and since you are allowed the CAAPs in the exam, why not highlight all of the examples in those sections. The questions often use scenarios with examples taken word for word out of that CAAP.

We also have a CHUF Exam Prep module which has fully explained answers for everything - including a TEM specific "Bonus" Exam. You might want to consider that if you feel it might be helpful.

Keep your chin up mate. You are not the first to fail an exam once or twice and you certainly won't be the last. There are a hell of a lot of professional pilots out there who didn't nail all their exams first time so 2 strikes no way means you are out!

Cheers,

Rich