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BENEFITS OF THIS COURSE

Tremendous “First attempt” pass rate. Most students pass all subjects on their first attempt. Be confident that you too can pass these examinations. Even if you do “drop a subject”, the help and support is still in place to ensure that you do pass the next time.

Access to our Australia wide, “1800 HELP LINE” is included with your purchase. Throughout your studies, you may need to use our FREECALL “Help Line” occasionally to overcome any difficulties that you encounter or even just to check an answer or two. So that other students can also use this facility, we request that you have your questions, working and books ready when you call. Alternatively, you may use our facsimile or e-mail facilities. You get help when you need it, from 0900 to 2130 EST. Gavin will provide assistance to ensure continuity throughout all of your studies.

Help is available (for up to two years), even if your studies are interrupted.

Practise examinations with answers are included for each subject as part of the examination package, so you will be thoroughly prepared for the real examinations.

Flexible timetable; you work as fast as you like or whenever is convenient for yourself. You can work quickly through the sections that you find easy to do and slowly through the more difficult sections, ensuring that you gain the necessary understanding.

Keep working while you study; in fact you may be able to complete some of the course at work during quiet periods or on charters and keep your holidays for holidays.

You can complete the course entirely from home, you do not have to travel to, and find accommodation in a major city such as Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne where the full time courses are available. If you move, then just take the course with you, even overseas!

You are given an excellent set of notes from which to work. You don’t have to copy notes down whilst in class. These volumes have been specifically written to guide you through each subject in easy, simple stages.

All amendments are included, so you are kept “up to date”. If the syllabus or examinations change, then we amend the course accordingly. Amendments and support is included for 12 months for individual subjects or 24 months if you purchase the full course.

THE COURSE COMPRISES

You study each subject at your convenience whenever, wherever you wish. This way you are not left behind by the set timetable of a class room or getting bored waiting for someone else to catch up. You study at your pace all the way. As you progress through each Volume, you will find a series of questions and practise examinations to ensure that you have learnt the material covered. These you send back to SECOMBE AVIATION (all postage is included) for marking and comment. This confirms your understanding of the theory and that you are correctly applying the procedures to solve the problems presented. As you complete each subject, a practise examination package will be sent to you to assist you to maximise your marks in the real examination.

WHAT YOU NEED

To complete this course you need to be able to study just one hour per day, three or four days a week. At this rate, you can expect to sit one or two examinations at each sitting and have your pass in six months. Put aside more time and you can have all your passes much sooner. We are quite happy for you to complete your studies on a “full time” basis if you wish. The faster you work, the sooner you see your passes come in. We assume that you already hold a CPL (A) and have available:

  
A pass in the ATPL (Aeroplanes) examination can open many opportunities for you. This course has proven itself by helping many pilots obtain their pass. Why not you? The future and career that you have dreamed of is possible! Take the next step, complete the forms at the end of this letter and forward them with your payment to Secombe Aviation Pty Ltd and make your dream a reality. Let us help you pass the ATPL examinations and secure your future career. Together we can do it!

Gavin Secombe

PS. Remember, most of our students pass each examination on their first attempt.

You can too!

ATPL COURSE CONTENT

NAVIGATION

Navigation leads you through the shape of the earth and how maps are developed into CPs (or ETPs), PNRs and LPSDs for all situations. There is an extensive section on basic pressure instruments and airspeed mach number theory including plenty of questions to practise on. From there it extends your understanding of conventional navigation aids; NDB, VOR, DME and ILS and goes onto explain how area navigation systems operate.

Next on the list is radar, covering basic principles of radar systems. Differences between primary and secondary radar, pulse and continuous wave radar are covered along with definitions of radar terminology. Airborne weather radar earns a section in its own right and shows the value of an iso-echo function to determine not just where the water concentration is greatest in a cloud, but also where turbulence is most likely to be found. Radar altimeters are also covered in the course, but under the altimetry section.

To finish Navigation, is a discussion on search and rescue, the criteria used to determine a search and the types of search patterns commonly encountered. Having participated in many searches, some good, and some bad, I’m sure you will find some of the tips in this section may prove useful, and hopefully help you to have a more successful search. Included at the end are four practise examinations to confirm your understanding of the principles taught within this Volume.

FLIGHT PLANNING

Flight Planning is broken into two sections, “Using the Boeing 727 Performance & Operating Handbook” and “Application of Planning Techniques”. Using the 727 Handbook takes you through each section of the 727 manual, covering take-off, climbs, cruises, descents, landing performance and fuel policy. This basic use of the manual must be mastered before you can successfully apply the planning techniques.

Application of Planning Techniques introduces you to the terms “Suitable” and “Acceptable” aerodromes and how they effect trip planning and alternate decisions. After which the use of estimates in trip planning are addressed leading into planning for a typical trip in a Boeing 727. Having completed the whole trip scenario, planning of PNRs (on-track and off-track) are covered which will allow you to plan for any PNR for any condition including change of wind and cruise techniques. This is extended to be able to plan for the worst case situation, ie maximum headwind component or the minimum tailwind required to be able to complete a trip.

Lastly, a dual cruise technique is covered. This allows you to plan for a change in cruise conditions and still continue on to your destination. This dual cruise planning is handy as you can determine at what point the aircraft could lose an engine, or depressurise and not have to turn around and go back (that is a PNR type situation) but can continue and finish the trip to your planned destination?

To assist you with Flight Planning, five practise examinations are included. These have graded solutions from complete, worked solutions with explanations and answers for the first examination; progressively reducing the amount of detail in the solutions until examination number five where you are then solo. Some of our students have had great success with Flight Planning gaining the fantastic result of 100% on their first attempt! WOW! See if you can do this too.

METEOROLOGY

Meteorology covers all the basics that you probably know already, the atmosphere and heat transfer, winds, thunderstorms and icing. How well do you understand stability, jet streams, upper level met reports? Can you really decode TAFs correctly? It might surprise you, but from past experience I find most students cannot consistently and correctly decode a TAF. An extensive section on decoding is included, this I'm sure will eliminate any troubles that you may have.

Included at the end of Meteorology is one practise examination to confirm your understanding of the principles taught within this Volume.

AERODYNAMICS & AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS

Volume 5 covers a variety of topics including, aerodynamics and flight control systems. Hydraulics, landing gear, brakes and aircraft steering get extensive treatment and includes the CASA diagrams for systems where appropriate. Aircraft electrical systems get a workout as well and pressurisation, air conditioning and ice protection are also covered. It then moves in to the cockpit, that area that pilots really should know about and covers Flight Management systems, auto-throttles and a variety of flight instrument displays, both conventional displays and the electronic variety, EFIS, EHSIs, Flight Directors and Auto-Pilots. Master Warning and Caution systems are covered, as are Traffic Collision and Avoidance Systems and Ground Proximity Warning Systems. To finish off, we have a look at cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders.

BASIC GAS TURBINES

The examination syllabus requires an understanding of Gas Turbine engines, their operations and limitations. This volume was designed for someone with no knowledge of gas turbines. It introduces you with basic principles of propulsion and the need for engines of greater power output than can be obtained from a piston engine driving a propeller. After introducing some terms used, the volume follows the air path through the engine, down the intake, through the compressor and diffuser, into the combustion chamber, out through the turbine and exhaust nozzle. It then examines noise and noise suppression as well as how thrust can be increased using water injection and afterburning. What about reverse thrust? Yes it’s covered too as are the fuel and oil systems, starting and ignition systems and bleed air services. The book finishes with a look at typical installations for a turbo-prop, helicopter and an Auxiliary Power Unit.

This is one volume that I’m sure you will find easy to read and understand, whether you already operate turbine engines or not. Two Gas Turbine Engine examinations are included as part of this volume. While there is no separate gas turbine examination, an understanding of their operation is examined as part of “Aerodynamics & Aircraft Systems”.

AVIATION MEDICINE

The notes on Aviation Medicine are produced with permission from the US Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration and are some of the best notes I have ever found for pilots to read. Simple and easy to follow. They start, quite predictably with the atmosphere and its composition, but this time looking at it from the medical side. It includes the gas laws, Boyle’s Law, Henry’s Law, Charles’ Law and a few more. It looks at the process of respiration, both external and internal and what use is breathing if the blood doesn't circulate around the body? So circulation comes in as of course our old adversary “Hypoxia” in all its different forms. Having Hypoxia in the course means that Hyperventilation must also make an appearance as do the consequences of high altitude flight, decompression sickness, trapped and evolved gases.

Aviation medicine is much more than just gas problems. What about visual problems, noise, vertigo and sensory illusions? All these are covered, as is oxygen equipment, and a variety of stress causes; alcohol, drugs, smoking and some recommendations about what you should do. A small section on physical fitness and survival is included and a brief description of a typical decompression chamber flight. Now a ride in a chamber is something DIFFERENT! If you ever get the chance to do one, take it! Even if it costs money to do it, it would be money well spent. An altitude chamber flight gives a whole new understanding to hypoxia, oxygen and much of this aviation medicine that you learn from a book. First hand experience is a GREAT teacher.

AIR LAW

This part of the course is perhaps the most frustrating section that you will do. Not because it is difficult, but because it requires you to spend time reading those thrilling books, the AIP, CAOs and CARs. You will find 125 multiple choice questions will get you thinking about a variety of aspects that perhaps you should know more about. To help get you going, a CAO Index is included. This Index, unlike that which you get with the CAOs is arranged into a logical alphabetical order and has cross references into the CARs and AIP where appropriate to help you find the answers quickly. It has proven its value many times and is sized so that you can trim it to fit into the front of your CAOs so that it is always available.

PERFORMANCE & LOADING

Your knowledge of the performance requirements is extended to include; take-off and landing requirements, obstacle clearance requirements and other problems. Mainly from CAOs but the explanations make it easy to know that you are planning a flight legally.

Weight and Balance! On a large aircraft like the 727, it is surprisingly easy, quite similar to that of a light aircraft, but of course with a few changes and one or two novel differences. This section discusses the effects of shifting the centre of gravity on the aircraft and its performance.