Study Hacks for Your CAAP License Review
Feeling lost in your review?
It’s very common for AMTs and AVTs to get overwhelmed with all the coverage for the CAAP License Exam. According to our survey, this is primarily because of the enormous number of items that everyone needs to review.
To give you a hint, here’s a brief overview of what we’re trying to say:
- 3,500 items to review for AMT (A&P Rating)
- 2,700 items to review for AVT (Avionics Rating)
- 52 Subtopics (for AMT) and 45 Subtopics (for AVT)
- Additional review materials for some extended topics.
But what if there’s a strategy? What if there’s a systematic way of approaching these things? What if you can enjoy more free time rather than spending it all on your studies?
Now that’s a lot of “what if’s.” But with Skilltech, you can stop wondering and start doing things the better way. We are here to provide you with the most elaborate and time-saving techniques that you can use to master everything in no time.
In fact, just by having our CAAP License Exam Reviewer, those numbers will easily turn into this:
- 2,200 items to review for AMT (1,300 lesser)
- 2,100 Items to review for AVT (600 lesser)
- 34 Subtopics (for AMT) and 36 Subtopics (for AVT)
- No need for additional manuals
Are we cheating? Nope! This is what we call strategic optimization. Or in simpler terms, a study hack. We already did the math. All you have to do now is to follow the strategies and enjoy a hassle-free CAAP License exam review.
Here are the contents:
1.) What to Expect in My Review
2.) The Subject Combination Strategy
3.) The Balanced Difficulty Strategy
#1: What to Expect in My Review
Before we leap into learning the strategies, you need to understand some of these things first:
- Subjects. These are the main topics which the CAAP Knowledge Test is being divided into. For example, the coverage for the CAAP Knowledge Test is composed of these different Subjects:
| AMT | AVT |
|---|---|
| Air Law | Avionics Rating |
| Airframe Rating | Air Law |
| Powerplant Rating | Aircraft Engineering |
| Aircraft Engineering | Aircraft Maintenance |
| Aircraft Maintenance | Nat/Sci |
| Nat/Sci | Human Performance |
| Human Performance |
- Subtopics. Every Subject is broken down into smaller units called the Subtopics. These are the more specific parts of the review coverage.
| Subject: Powerplant | No. of Subtopics: 8 |
|---|---|
| Powerplant Fuel Mechanism | Engine Carburetion |
| Powerplant Instruments | Blades & Propellers |
| Fuel Control Mechanism | Engine (Recip) |
| Ignition Mechanism | Engine (Turbine) |
- Items. Each Subtopic contains different numbers of review Items. They can range from 12 items, up to 133 items each.
| Subtopics | No. of Review Items |
|---|---|
| Protection & Covers | 12 Items |
| Aircraft Structures | 133 Items |
What’s the big deal?
Well, you have to remember that the number of items you need to review greatly differs from the number of items in the actual exam. They will be selected randomly by a program that is set up by CAAP based on a fixed number of items per subject. Here’s an example:
| Subject | Coverage for the Review | No. of Items in the Exam |
|---|---|---|
| Powerplant Rating | 700+ Items | 50 Items |
| Airframe Rating | 650+ Items | 50 Items |
| Avionics Rating | 600+ Items | 40 Items |
Using these basic comparisons, it is now very clear that without any strategies in place, you have to expect that it will take more effort and time to be fully ready for the exam. If you’ll ask us, that’s a really big deal.
TIP: Our CAAP License Exam Reviewer has Mock Exams that are modeled from the real Knowledge Test. We follow the same criteria like the number of items, passing rates, and time limits so that you can be more ready for the actual exam. Check it out!
#2: The Subject Combination Strategy
This strategy is mainly based on combining two or more subjects to shorten the number of subtopics you need to review. To fully understand this, it’s essential to discuss what’s the reason behind the approach.
Let’s start with how these reviewers are being structured by using this brief example. In a standard reviewer, Subjects and their corresponding Subtopics are being grouped like this:
| Subjects: | Subtopics: | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Landing Gears | Fuel Mechanism | Paint & Coating | Protection & Covers |
| Aircraft Maintenance | Engine Carburetion | Engine (Recip) | Landing Gears | Fuel Mechanism |
| Powerplant | Engine (Recip) | Ignition Mechanism | Engine (Turbine) | Engine Carburetion |
At first glance, it looks like a typical list of review items. But with a little re-arrangement, you will immediately notice that different subjects may have the same subtopics in them (Duplicate Subtopics):
| Subjects: | Subtopics: | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Landing Gears | Fuel Mechanism | Paint & Coating | Protection & Covers |
| Aircraft Maintenance | Landing Gears | Fuel Mechanism | Engine (Recip) | Engine Carburetion |
| Powerplant | Engine (Turbine) | Ignition Mechanism | Engine (Recip) | Engine Carburetion |
By applying this method to the whole reviewer, we were able to find the best combinations of subjects that you can try. Using these combinations will effectively eliminate the redundancies during your review:
| Combination of Subjects | Duplicate Subtopics Found | Result (when combined) |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe + Aircraft Maintenance | 5 Subtopics | 520 items lesser |
| Airframe + Aircraft Engineering + Aircraft Maintenance | 2 Subtopics | 426 items lesser |
| Airframe + Aircraft Engineering | 6 Subtopics | 386 items lesser |
| Aircraft Maintenance + Aircraft Engineering | 5 Subtopics | 370 items lesser |
| Avionics Rating + Aircraft Engineering | 2 Subtopics | 210 items lesser |
| Powerplant + Aircraft Maintenance | 2 Subtopics | 151 items lesser |
| Powerplant + Aircraft Engineering | 1 Subtopic | 125 items lesser |
| Air Law + Human Performance | 1 Subtopic | 38 items lesser |
| Air Law + Aircraft Maintenance | 1 Subtopic | 37 items lesser |
As you can see, combining the right subjects will greatly lessen the number of items you have to study repetitively as compared to studying them separately.
What’s the goal?
Combine as many subjects as you can in one review session. That way, you can build more progress in just a single study time. This strategy can be as flexible as you want it to be. Just pick the amount of coverage you’re comfortable with, and you’re good to go.
TIP: Want to stop worrying about studying the same topic twice? Then check out our CAAP License Exam Reviewer. It is equipped with Practice Exams where you can save your activities anytime, and automatically syncs your progress to all the duplicate subtopics. Just let our app do the strategy for you.
#3: The Balanced Difficulty Strategy
Many exam takers ask us about which CAAP subjects are more difficult than the others. In fact, according to our interviews, the majority of them are becoming afraid of taking more than one subject at a time since it might lower their chances of passing the exam.
To get the best answer, we surveyed people who already took the exams. Here are the results:
| AMT | AVT |
|---|---|
| Air Law | Air Law |
| Airframe Rating | Avionics Rating |
| Powerplant Rating | Aircraft Maintenance |
| Aircraft Maintenance | Aircraft Engineering |
| Aircraft Engineering | Nat/Sci |
| Nat/Sci | Human Performance |
| Human Performance |
*Note: Subjects are arranged from hardest to easiest (according to our survey results).*
By following this arrangement, and by considering other factors like number of items, general familiarity of the subjects, and more, we were able to come up with our own level of difficulty gauge. They are rated using 1-10 (where 10 is the most difficult).
Level of Difficulty Gauge:
| Subjects | Level |
|---|---|
| Air Law | 10 |
| Airframe Rating | 9 |
| Powerplant Rating | 9 |
| Avionics Rating | 9 |
| Aircraft Maintenance | 7 |
| Aircraft Engineering | 6 |
| Nat/Sci | 5 |
| Human Performance | 2 |
How does this help me?
By taking note of these difficulty levels, you can have the best guide in completing the exams quicker. Because studying more subjects (to finish it faster), or lesser subjects (to make it easier) doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing a good job. Here’s why:
More Subjects = More Difficult = Harder Completion
Lesser Subjects = Less Difficult = Slower Completion
By strategically grouping the subjects together, you can evenly divide the load of the exam’s difficulty while making sure you can still finish it in the most effective and timely manner:
Balanced Grouping = Balanced Difficulty = Faster Completion
Again, this strategy can be used both for your review and for taking the actual exams. After all, you will mostly base your review on the subjects you’re planning to take. This is what we meant by faster completion. By balancing the difficulty, everything becomes a lot simpler.
Finishing the Exam in 2 Days (Fastest)
| First Exam Schedule | Level |
|---|---|
| Air Law | 10 |
| Aircraft Maintenance | 7 |
| Nat/Sci | 5 |
| Human Performance | 2 |
| Total Difficulty | 24 |
| Second Exam Schedule | Level |
|---|---|
| Powerplant Rating | 9 |
| Airframe Rating | 9 |
| Aircraft Engineering | 6 |
| Total Difficulty | 24 |
Finishing the Exam in 3 Days (Easiest)
| First Exam Schedule | Level |
|---|---|
| Air Law | 10 |
| Aircraft Engineering | 6 |
| Total Difficulty | 16 |
| Second Exam Schedule | Level |
|---|---|
| Airframe Rating | 9 |
| Aircraft Maintenance | 7 |
| Total Difficulty | 16 |
| Third Exam Schedule | Level |
|---|---|
| Powerplant Rating | 9 |
| Nat/Sci | 5 |
| Human Performance | 2 |
| Total Difficulty | 16 |
As you can see, balancing their levels will give you the best chance of passing the exams faster, without the unnecessary and unwanted difficulty.
Note: We limited the options up to a 3-day completion only since the main goal of this strategy is to complete the exam in as few days as possible.
Note: For AVTs, you can use the same procedures shown above by replacing them with subjects that belong to your exam. These groupings are made only to show you an example of how to apply the strategy. You are always free to change them up to what suits you best.
Study hack rocks!
Some of you might be thinking by now, “Aren’t we supposed to study all the topics by heart without taking any shortcuts?”
First of all, nobody says you shouldn’t study. You’re trying to become a Licensed Airman now, and it’s your responsibility to acquire the knowledge that is required to become one.
And second, who are we kidding here? We’ve been in your shoes too. We were once AMT and AVT new graduates who were trying to find ways to achieve the same goal. We understand that it’s not easy, and you all need every help that you can get.
These strategies, or as some would like to call them “study hacks” were not created to encourage anyone to study less. But rather, to only give you better options in reviewing for the exams.
Think of it this way. If someone will ask you to inspect all the rooms of a 100-floor building, will you take the elevator, or use the stairs? The choice is obvious, right?
Strategies are like using the elevator. You still have to be on all 100 floors to inspect all the rooms, but you’ll get there without breaking a sweat. And here at Skilltech, we specialize in building high-speed elevators for your aviation careers.
Get that license, Airman!
