EASA & UK CAA · PPL(A) theory exam

PPL Human Performance & Limitations exam

The pilot as a system: hypoxia and hyperventilation, vision and spatial disorientation, fatigue, decision-making, and the SHELL model and CRM.

12questions
25 mintime limit
75%to pass

Syllabus

What the exam covers

Pocket Pilot teaches Human Performance & Limitations in eight lessons, about 46 minutes of reading in all.

01
Atmosphere & Human Physiology
6 min
The atmosphere we live in · Dalton's Law · Boyle's Law · Henry's Law · Temperature and cold · Acceleration and G-forces · Hydration · Vision and altitude
02
Hypoxia & Hyperventilation
5 min
Four types of hypoxia · Symptoms of hypoxia · Time of Useful Consciousness (TUC) · Susceptibility factors · Treatment · Hyperventilation: the opposite chemistry · Symptoms of hyperventilation · How to differentiate and treat · Carbon monoxide: the silent killer
03
Vision & Visual Scanning
6 min
The retina: cones and rods · The day-blind spot · The night-blind spot · Dark adaptation · Empty-field myopia · The visual scan · Navigation lights: reading traffic at night · Glasses and contact lenses · Illusions
04
Spatial Disorientation & Illusions
6 min
The vestibular system · The leans · Somatogravic illusion · Somatogyral illusions: the graveyard spiral · Coriolis illusion · Inversion illusion · Visual illusions on approach · Treatment of disorientation · Practical: VFR pilots in IMC · Motion sickness
05
Hearing, Noise & Communication Fatigue
4 min
The ear and pressure · Barotrauma · Hearing loss · Hearing protection · Voice communication accuracy · Cognitive load · Practical noise hygiene · Acoustic startle
06
Fatigue, Sleep & Circadian Rhythm
6 min
Types of fatigue · Symptoms · Sleep: the biology · Circadian rhythm · Jet lag · Practical fatigue management for PPLs · IMSAFE · Stress · Substance use · Medical certificate validity
07
Decision-Making & Airmanship
8 min
How the pilot processes information · The hazardous attitudes · The DECIDE model · The 3P model · Risk management · The accident chain · Reason's Swiss cheese model · Sterile cockpit · Continuation bias · Currency vs proficiency · Building good airmanship
08
The SHELL Model & CRM
5 min
The SHELL model · CRM in single-pilot operations · The PEAR / IMSAFE refresher · Threat & error management (TEM) · Practical CRM for the PPL pilot · The dirty dozen · Closing thought

Format

How the exam works

Human Performance & Limitations is one of the nine PPL(A) theory exams. Each is a separate multiple-choice paper, sat at your school or at a test centre approved by your national aviation authority. This one has 12 questions in 25 minutes, and you need 75% to pass, which is 9 correct answers.

You have four attempts at each subject before further training is required.
You must pass all nine within 18 months of your first sitting, in no more than six sittings.
Your passes then stay valid for 24 months, and your skill test must fall inside that window.

The Human Performance & Limitations mock exam in Pocket Pilot has the same question count, time limit and pass mark, drawn from a growing bank of practice questions.

Sample questions

Try three exam questions

From the Pocket Pilot Human Performance & Limitations question bank, each with the app's explanation and the source it cites.

01 / 03
What makes hypoxia particularly dangerous in the 'disturbance' stage (about 15,000 to 20,000 ft)?
1. AIt causes sudden sharp chest pain
2. BThe pilot feels euphoric and fine while judgement is severely impaired
3. CIt always causes immediate unconsciousness
4. DIt only affects passengers, not pilots
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer B. In the disturbance stage the pilot experiences euphoria and a false sense of well-being while judgement, coordination and vision degrade. The symptom is misjudgement itself, and you cannot use a misjudging brain to detect it. That is what makes hypoxia insidious.
Source
ICAO Doc 8984 (hypoxia)
Lesson
Hypoxia & Hyperventilation
02 / 03
In IMC, after holding a gentle turn for some time then rolling level, a pilot feels strongly that the aircraft is now banked the other way. This illusion is known as:
1. AThe somatogravic illusion
2. BAutokinesis
3. CThe leans
4. DThe Coriolis illusion
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer C. This is 'the leans': a prolonged, gentle turn is too slow for the semicircular canals to detect, so returning to level flight feels like a turn in the opposite direction. The cure is to believe the attitude indicator, not the sensation.
Source
ICAO Doc 8984 (spatial disorientation)
Lesson
Spatial Disorientation & Illusions
03 / 03
Two aircraft on a steady collision course will appear to each pilot to have:
1. AAn increasing relative bearing
2. BA decreasing relative bearing
3. CAlternating bearings as range closes
4. DA constant relative bearing in the windscreen while growing larger
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer D. Constant relative bearing with decreasing range is the textbook collision-course geometry. The threat does not appear to move in the canopy, only grow. Manoeuvre immediately.
Source
UK CAA Safety Sense Leaflet 13 (Collision Avoidance)
Lesson
Vision & Visual Scanning