Skip to main content

​
The 14 EASA ATPL Theory Subjects

To earn a frozen ATPL under EASA regulations, you must pass 14 written theory examinations. All 14 subjects are covered on LearnATPL.
The difficulty ratings below are based on general student feedback and are a rough guide only. Every student has a different background a former engineer may find Electrics easy but Navigation hard.

​
Subject list

What it covers: ICAO Annexes, SERA (Standardised European Rules of the Air), airspace classification, licences and ratings, flight rules, ATC procedures, search and rescue.Difficulty: Medium heavily rules-based, lots of memorisation. Exam is 44 questions in 60 minutes.Study tip: Use active recall. The rules either apply or they don’t drill questions repeatedly until answers are automatic.
What it covers: Airframe construction, hydraulics, pneumatics, pressurisation, air conditioning, ice and rain protection, fuel systems, landing gear, flight controls.Difficulty: High broad syllabus with lots of systems interaction. Part of the larger AGK paper.Study tip: Draw system diagrams as you study. Understanding how components connect is easier than memorising facts in isolation.
What it covers: Piston engines, gas turbine engines, propellers, engine instruments, fuel types, performance monitoring.Difficulty: High engine theory goes deep and calculations appear frequently.Study tip: Understand the thermodynamic cycles (Otto, Brayton) conceptually before memorising numbers.
What it covers: DC and AC electrical systems, batteries, generators, alternators, bus bars, circuit protection, avionics power supply.Difficulty: Medium-High requires understanding of basic electrical theory.Study tip: Kirchhoff’s laws and Ohm’s law are your foundation. Get those solid before anything else.
What it covers: Pitot-static systems, gyroscopic instruments, magnetic compass, autopilot systems, EFIS, air data computers, FMS basics.Difficulty: High instruments combine physics, error analysis, and systems knowledge.Study tip: Understand why instruments have errors (e.g., compass deviation, instrument lag) not just what those errors are.
What it covers: Centre of gravity calculations, loading systems, balance limits, aircraft loading schedules.Difficulty: Low-Medium calculation-heavy but formulaic once you understand the process.Study tip: Do calculation questions until they’re mechanical. The formula never changes speed and accuracy are what matter.
What it covers: Take-off and landing performance, en-route performance, climb and cruise calculations, performance charts and graphs.Difficulty: High graph interpretation and multi-step calculations under time pressure.Study tip: Practise reading performance charts for your exam aircraft type. Systematic chart-reading technique saves minutes in the exam.
What it covers: ICAO flight plan format, fuel planning, ATC flight plans, alternates, contingency fuel, ETOPS, RVSM.Difficulty: High the longest exam (43 questions, 120 minutes) and the most calculation-intensive subject.Study tip: Build a reliable fuel calculation workflow and stick to it. Consistency prevents errors more than speed does.
What it covers: Human physiology, hypoxia, spatial disorientation, human factors, crew resource management, threat and error management, fatigue.Difficulty: Low-Medium mostly conceptual and memory-based. Little calculation involved.Study tip: Link the theory to real scenarios. CRM and human factors questions often have a “most correct” rather than a single factually correct answer.
What it covers: Atmosphere structure, thermodynamics, clouds, precipitation, thunderstorms, icing, visibility, synoptic charts, METAR/TAF interpretation, significant weather charts.Difficulty: High 84 questions, large syllabus, frequent exam traps around cloud types and icing conditions.Study tip: Learn to read real METARs and TAFs. Practical familiarity with weather charts makes abstract theory click.
What it covers: Earth geometry, time and longitude, maps and charts, DR navigation, flight computer (CRP-5), heading/track/wind corrections, altimetry.Difficulty: High the most mathematically demanding subject alongside Performance.Study tip: Master the flight computer (CRP-5) until every calculation is fluent. The exam gives you just over 2 minutes per question.
What it covers: VOR, DME, NDB/ADF, ILS, MLS, GPS/GNSS, RNAV, radar systems, transponders, TCAS, radio wave propagation.Difficulty: Medium-High systems knowledge combined with geometry and signal propagation concepts.Study tip: Draw VOR/ADF scenarios on paper. Visualising the geometry of bearing problems is far more reliable than trying to reason abstractly.
What it covers: ICAO standards and procedures, noise abatement, wake turbulence, dangerous goods, emergency procedures, special operations (ETOPS, RVSM, low-visibility ops).Difficulty: Medium procedural knowledge mixed with regulation. Overlaps with Air Law.Study tip: Study Air Law and Operational Procedures together they share significant regulatory content.
What it covers: Lift and drag theory, aerofoil design, high-lift devices, stability and control, stall and spin, compressibility effects, V-speeds.Difficulty: Medium conceptual understanding is more important than memorisation. Graph interpretation appears frequently.Study tip: Understand cause-and-effect relationships (e.g., why does induced drag decrease with speed?). Examiners test understanding, not recollection.
There is no mandatory order, but many students find this sequence logical:
1

Start with the foundation subjects

Principles of Flight → Meteorology → Air Law these give you a conceptual base that supports everything else.
2

Move to systems and performance

AGK (all four) → Mass & Balance → Performance systems knowledge before performance calculations.
3

Navigation last

General Navigation → Radio Navigation → Flight Planning navigation builds on itself and Flight Planning is the most complex single paper.
4

Operational subjects throughout

Human Performance and Operational Procedures can be studied at any point they’re more standalone.