Suggested ATPL course Study Order

We are often asked if we have a suggested order to study our ATPL courses. We sure do! A couple of things to remember, once you pass your first ATPL subject, you have 3 years to complete them all in order to acquire an 'ATPL written examination credit'. This has a validity of 10 years. 

It's a great plan to get some early 'wins' when studying towards your ATPL subjects. For this reason we have recommended the following order for about 9 years! However - everyone is different and there is no 'right' order to study these courses.

ATPL Meteorology

This syllabus is closely aligned to CPL Meteorology, so it makes sense to get started on this course first - IF you are current with your CPL Meteorology. If not, start with ATPL Human Factors - then do ATPL Meteorology.

ATPL Human Factors

While this is a large syllabus, it is not particularly difficult. Like ATPL Meteorology, it has similarities to the CPL Human Factors syllabus. Most students who study our ATPL Human Factors course often score in the high 90%'s. So - great to get this done early and get a 'win' on the board.

ATPL Navigation Aids

Now the ATPL syllabus really starts to kick in. Things deviate away from the CPL syllabus. This course is large, interesting and not too hard to get a good result. Now is a good time to sharpen the brain and prepare for the next few ATPL courses.

ATPL Navigation

Always considered one of the top 1-2 harder ATPL subjects, our course consistently sees our students scoring very high in their ATPL external exams. ATPL Navigation is actually not that hard - it just takes a bit of time to understand the concepts. Good to get this done now.

ATPL Flight Planning

The other course considered in the top 1-2 harder subjects. Now that you have ATPL Navigation completed, you can focus for a month or two on carefully learning all the important aspects of this syllabus. Careful attention to detail is needed, so take your time working through this course. We don't recommend you study any other course while completing ATPL Flight Planning (including ATPL Navigation). In order to get a great result (which many of our student's consistently achieve), don't rush, take your time and ensure you do not skim over any sections. You REALLY need to understand this topic inside out to score well. 

ATPL Advanced Aerodynamics and Aircraft Systems

A few new concepts here to work through, but you are now on the home stretch. This course is designed around the Boeing 777, so it is very interesting and very different to other subjects. It has a very large syllabus, so you will need to take your time to assimilate all the information in this course. For this reason, we do not recommend you study another course at the same time as ATPL Systems. 

ATPL Law

Always study this course last. It's a large syllabus, but not too difficult. Its a great course to finish you ATPL study with. Also - it will hopefully be the very last external ASPEQ examination you will ever take! ATPL Law only has a five year validity, so unless you acquire your ATPL licence within 5 years, you will need to resit this one at some point. Work hard to avoid that from happening.

Remember, once you have passed all 7 ATPL courses, you have this 'ATPL written examination credit' effectively frozen for 10 years, except ATPL Law, which you will need to renew after five years to keep your ATPL written examination credit current for another five years.

Hope that helps! Happy studying.