How long to plan for each ATPL subject
How many hours each of the 14 EASA ATPL theory subjects takes to study, and how to group them into exam sittings.
EASA ATPL theory is 14 papers, and the clock starts when you first sit one. You then have 18 months, counted from the end of that calendar month, to pass all of them (Easy Access Rules for Aircrew).
You don’t take the papers one at a time. Your examining authority offers sittings, which are windows of no more than 10 consecutive days, and you can attempt each paper once per sitting (AMC and GM to Part-FCL). So you group the 14 subjects into a few sittings, and the study for each group has to be finished before that sitting. Check how many papers your authority allows in one sitting.
That is why hours per subject matter. Some subjects take several times as long as others, so splitting your time evenly leaves the heavy ones underprepared and the light ones over-studied. Plan for roughly 660 to 1,030 hours of self-study across all 14. Air Law and Aircraft General Knowledge take the longest, and VFR Communications takes the least.
No regulator or examining authority sets a study time for each subject. The ranges below are our planning estimates for studying alone with books and a question bank, around a job or other commitments. Use them to build a schedule, then adjust after your first few weeks.
How many hours each subject takes
| Subject | Hours | Where the time goes |
|---|---|---|
| Air Law | 70 to 120 | Mostly memory work, and a lot of it. |
| Aircraft General Knowledge | 70 to 120 | Many systems to learn, each with its own vocabulary. |
| Meteorology | 70 to 100 | Concepts build on each other, and you also read charts and codes. |
| Principles of Flight | 60 to 100 | Forces and their relationships, plus formulas and calculations. |
| General Navigation | 60 to 95 | Calculations and chart work you practise until they are routine. |
| Flight Planning and Monitoring | 60 to 95 | Fuel and route calculations, plus reading charts and tables. |
| Radio Navigation | 55 to 80 | Several ground and airborne systems, each with its own limits. |
| Performance | 50 to 75 | Takeoff speeds and graphs, which you learn by doing. |
| Operational Procedures | 40 to 60 | Procedures and definitions to memorise. |
| Human Performance | 35 to 50 | Reading and recall more than calculation. |
| Instrumentation | 35 to 50 | Principles first, then errors and limits. |
| Mass and Balance | 25 to 40 | A short calculation method that you repeat until it is fast. |
| IFR Communications | 20 to 30 | Phraseology and procedures you have to know word for word. |
| VFR Communications | 10 to 15 | A small syllabus. Revise it rather than study it from nothing. |
The ranges add up to about 660 hours at the low end and 1,030 at the high end. Part-FCL requires an approved integrated ATPL(A) theory course to include at least 750 hours of instruction, but that is what a school must deliver, not how long a self-studying student needs. See Appendix 3 to Part-FCL.
Group subjects into sittings by study time
Balance your sittings by total study hours, not by the number of papers. A sitting with Air Law, Aircraft General Knowledge and Meteorology asks for about 210 to 340 hours of study before it. A sitting with Mass and Balance, Human Performance and IFR Communications asks for about 80 to 120. Mixing a heavy subject with lighter ones keeps the preparation for each sitting realistic.
Study you finish before your first sitting costs you no time on the 18-month clock, so put the subjects you can finish studying first into the earliest sitting. Group subjects that share material, such as General Navigation with Flight Planning, so one stretch of study serves both papers.
What moves your number
Your starting knowledge matters most. Maths and physics make Principles of Flight and General Navigation faster. Flying experience helps with Air Law, Operational Procedures and the communications subjects, because you have already met much of the content. Without either, plan for the top of each range.
Your method comes next. Reading a chapter and then practising questions takes longer than practising questions alone. If you use only the question bank, add time to read the explanation behind every question you miss.
The type of subject also matters. Air Law, Operational Procedures and the communications subjects depend on memory, so progress comes from repeated recall. Meteorology, Principles of Flight and Performance depend on understanding, so the early chapters take longest because later ones build on them.
Check the ranges against your own pace
Time your first full chapter in one subject, from reading to a short block of questions, then multiply by the number of chapters. If your figure falls outside the range, plan with yours.
Then work back from your exam date. At 20 hours a week, 800 hours takes 40 weeks, before revision and mock exams. Add time at the end for the subjects where your mock results are weakest. The ATPL study plan guide covers how to structure each session.