Private Pilot License Exam Australia (PPL)

Aspiring to be a private pilot in Australia? One of the key milestones is passing the CASA PPL (Aeroplane) theory exam. This article collates the concepts and formulas I found most useful while studying. It is not a complete, official guide — treat it as a set of revision notes that summarise the high-value bits, and always confirm the current rules with CASA and your flight instructor.

About the CASA PPL(A) theory exam

The PPL(A) aeronautical knowledge requirement is a single, integrated CASA exam (exam code PPLA) — not seven separate subject tests like the RPL. It is sat under supervision at an approved exam venue.

Questions: ~55–65, a mix of multiple-choice and numerical "fill-in-the-box" answers (the numerical ones are roughly 10–15% of the paper).
Time limit: 3 hours 30 minutes.
Pass mark: 70%.
Knowledge areas covered: Air Law, Meteorology, Navigation, Aerodynamics, Aircraft General Knowledge (AGK), Human Factors, and Flight Planning & Performance.

Anything you get wrong is recorded on a Knowledge Deficiency Report (KDR). Your instructor must brief you on every KDR item before you progress — so a pass with KDRs still means there is follow-up work to do.

Eligibility & the path to a PPL

The theory exam is one piece of the puzzle. Broadly, to be issued a PPL(A) you need to:

Be at least 17 years old (you can fly solo from 16).
Hold at least a Class 2 aviation medical certificate (or a Basic Class 2 / RAMPC, with its restrictions).
Log the required aeronautical experience — a minimum of 40 hours total flight time, including set amounts of dual, solo, cross-country and instrument time.
Pass the PPLA theory exam, then the flight test with an approved flight examiner.

Exact hour breakdowns and conditions live in CASR Part 61 and change from time to time — verify them on the CASA website before you plan your training.

Quick-reference formulas

The exam is heavy on flight-planning and performance maths. These are the formulas worth having at your fingertips.

Pressure, altitude & ISA

DA   = PA + 120 × ISAd
PA   = (1013.25 − QNH) × 30 + A
ISAd = OAT − ISA
ISA  = 15 − (2 × PA / 1000)

Density altitude is what the aircraft "feels" — the hotter or higher you are, the worse the performance. Roughly 1 hPa ≈ 30 ft, and ISA temperature drops about 2 °C per 1,000 ft.

DA — Density Altitude
PA — Pressure Altitude
A — Altitude (elevation)
ISAd — ISA Deviation (how far the day differs from standard)
ISA — International Standard Atmosphere temperature
OAT — Outside Air Temperature
QNH — altimeter setting that makes the altimeter read height above mean sea level

Altimeter settings — QNH & QFE

QFE = QNH − (Elevation / 30)

Set QNH and the altimeter reads altitude above mean sea level (so on the ground it shows aerodrome elevation). Set QFE and it reads height above your chosen datum — it shows zero on the field.

QFE — pressure setting referenced to field/aerodrome level
QNH — pressure setting referenced to mean sea level

Banked stall speed & load factor

Vs(bank) = Vs(level) × √(Load Factor)
Load Factor = 1 / cos ø

Stall speed rises with bank angle because the wing must work harder to hold you up in the turn. At 60° of bank the load factor is 2 g, so the stall speed increases by roughly 41%.

Vs(bank) — stall speed while banked
Vs(level) — stall speed in level flight
ø — angle of bank

Local Mean Time (LMT) & UTC

UTC = LMT − Arc-to-Time

For first/last light, read LMT from the VFRG graph using the date/month and latitude. Then convert to UTC using the Arc-to-Time value from the VFRG table, which depends on your longitude.

LMT — Local Mean Time (from date/month + latitude)
Arc-to-Time — longitude-to-time correction (from the VFRG table)

The 1-in-60 rule — tracking

TE   = (d × 60) / D1      (track error so far)
CA   = (d × 60) / D2      (closing angle to regain track)
TTI  = CA + TE            (total alteration to intercept)
Drift = HDG − TMG

The 1-in-60 rule says 1 nm off track over 60 nm equals about 1° of error. Use it to spot how far you have drifted and how much to turn to get back on track.

d — distance off track (nm)
D1 — distance flown from the last fix; D2 — distance still to run
TE — Track Error; CA — Closing Angle; TTI — Track To Intercept
TMG — Track Made Good; HDG — Heading

Point of No Return (PNR)

EFT  = Usable Fuel / Fuel Burn Rate
GSr  = TAS ± Wind        (ground speed returning)
GSo  = TAS ± Wind        (ground speed outbound)
PNRd = EFT × GSr × GSo / (GSr + GSo)
PNRt = PNRd / GSo

The PNR is the furthest point you can fly out and still return to the departure point with your usable fuel (and reserves).

EFT — Endurance (usable fuel ÷ burn rate)
GSo / GSr — ground speed outbound / returning
PNRd / PNRt — PNR distance / time

Equi-Time Point / Critical Point (ETP/CP)

ETPd = Total Distance × GSr / (GSo + GSr)
ETPt = ETPd / GSo

The ETP (or Critical Point) is where it takes the same time to continue on as to turn back — the decision point if you need to divert.

GSo / GSr — ground speed outbound / returning
ETPd / ETPt — ETP distance / time from departure

The wind triangle — heading & TAS on the E6B

You rarely fly the track you point at: wind blows you off, so the heading you fly differs from your desired track by the wind correction angle. The flight computer (E6B/CR) solves the wind triangle from three knowns — desired True Track, True Airspeed, and the wind velocity (W/V) — and gives you the heading to steer and the resulting ground speed.

Heading   = True Track ± Wind Correction Angle
Ground Speed = TAS adjusted for the head/tail component
TAS       = CAS corrected for altitude and temperature

A headwind reduces ground speed; a crosswind component creates drift that you cancel by laying off the wind correction angle into the wind.

Weight & balance — loading systems

Before every flight you confirm the aircraft is within its weight and centre-of-gravity (CG) limits using the loading system in that type's flight manual. Manufacturers present this in different formats — often labelled Alpha, Bravo or Charlie loading systems — but they all do the same job:

Add up the weights (empty aircraft, crew, passengers, baggage, fuel) to get the gross weight, and check it is at or below the maximum take-off weight.
Multiply each weight by its arm to get a moment, sum the moments, and divide by total weight to find the CG.
Plot weight against CG and confirm it sits inside the published envelope — for both take-off and the forecast landing weight, since burning fuel moves the CG.

Operational meteorology

Pre-flight, a VFR pilot pulls together the standard Australian weather and NOTAM products to decide if the flight is legal and safe:

METAR/SPECI — actual aerodrome observations; TAF — aerodrome forecast.
GAF (Graphical Area Forecast) and GPWT (Grid Point Wind & Temperature) — area weather and winds.
ARFOR / TTF / SIGMET — area forecasts, trend forecasts and hazardous-weather warnings.
Key VFR concerns: cloud base and visibility minima, wind and crosswind components, freezing level, and area QNH.

Useful resources

CASA — PPL (aeroplane) exams (official exam details).
VFRG (VFR Flight Guide), ERSA and the AIP from Airservices Australia — your primary reference documents for the exam and for flying.
Practice-exam providers and study guides to drill the numerical questions before you sit the real thing.

These are personal study notes, not official CASA material. Always check the current regulations, charts and exam format with CASA and your instructor before relying on anything here.