The PSTAR is an exam that students must take before being allowed to solo. It is made up of 50 questions taken from a publicly viewable list of 200 questions. Given that, it is not suprising that the pass mark is 90%.
All week I’ve been studying for it by using a couple of websites that give answers to the questions, and scheduled today as the date I would write it.
Unfortunately, Unal got stuck in his laneway, so he wasn’t at the Club, but I was able to write it anyway.
Just for the record, and for anybody reading this a few years down the road, the weather this weekend is and is going to be insane! This winter has already handed Ottawa 12 feet of snow accumulation, and it is only the start of March! The original forecast for this weekend was between 30 and 50 centimeters of snow, but has since been modified to around 40. The wind is crazy, too.
It seems to be taking forever to actually solo, but the end is in sight. I still need to write a short exam required by the Flying Club, and then go for a check flight with a special instructor, and demonstrate absolutely everything I have learned so far. The weather is the only block in the next week.
The site I used for studying is at http://www.flyingstart.ca/FlightTraining/PSTAR/PSTARIndex.htm. It lists the 200 questions and their answers, as well as explanations.
Good job, hope you passed with “FLYING” colours! Ace the next one, and you’re really in business. Say, can you link us to a good webpage for the exam prep you took, so we can get a taste of what you had to study?
That was fascinating. I went through a half-dozen pages of the questions, but bogged down when the test started to refer to “NOTAM”s and radio frequencies. It’s comforting to know that pilots have plenty of prior drill on emergency situations, rights of way, colour signalling when planes have already lifted off, and much more. Now, don’t keep us in suspense… did you ace the exam?