PPL Aircraft Technical Knowledge (Aeroplane)

Understand how an aeroplane works, from airflow over the wing to the spark that fires in the cylinder. This course connects principles of flight, engines, systems and instruments so you can reason from the mechanism and recognise what cockpit indications are telling you.

You will work through the full PPL Aircraft Technical Knowledge syllabus in the order the aeroplane makes sense. After general technical knowledge and the atmosphere, you explore aerofoils, airflow and the origins of lift, then move through drag, lift limits and how a stall develops. From there the course covers the piston engine end to end: carburation and fuel injection, aviation fuels, ignition and magnetos, lubrication, exhaust and engine management, including why carburettor icing forms and what your gauges are telling you when it does. Airframe structures, flying controls, flaps, propellers, electrical and fuel systems and the ancillary systems follow, so you understand the aircraft as a whole rather than a collection of unrelated parts.

The instrument modules pull apart the pressure, gyroscopic, magnetic and engine instruments in front of you, explaining how each one senses what it senses and, just as importantly, where each one will mislead you. The course then covers the flight regimes you fly in every lesson, straight and level, climbing, descending, turning, stalling and spinning, before finishing with performance and weight and balance, where the theory turns into the numbers you work out before every flight.

Module review quizzes and a final practice exam help you check your understanding of the New Zealand PPL Aircraft Technical Knowledge syllabus. Worked explanations help you learn from mistakes and connect the theory with the aircraft you fly.