[SPECIAL NOTE: Leave memorizing for the exams...only!]

While on the subject of committing to memory, a very important point comes to mind.
One may be inclined to believe that memorizing will also help us immensely when we become AME’s. Not really. As AME’s, you will be encouraged to REFER constantly to the C.A.R before you take actions in the field. I will be doing disservice to you and the industry if I recommend you to use memory in your actions while in the field as an AME. Ask yourself, would you trade the lives of several people in the aircraft you’re about to sign out, with your memory?? I wouldn’t! No! Lives are important to protect just as is my job! Bottomline, never use memory while executing actions on aircrafts. Always refer refer refer ….
Here is a industry voice on the same topic:“My personal advice though would be, if you need to memorize certain things by all means go ahead. However, do not ACT in the field based on that memory! ALWAYS refer the latest copy of the C.A.R before you perform any actions associated with maintenance/inspection of the aircraft. If certain other documents need to be referred such as the maintenance system manual or Quality Control manual etc. refer those too. This cannot be overemphasized enough. There are those who perform ‘straight forward’ activities on an A/c and get into serious trouble in the chance of an incident/accident taking place.”

The Key….Explained!

It might occur to you why we make such a great deal of noise about coming-to-terms-with the C.A.R. Look, let’s face it. You, the first year AME student in a DGCA approved AME training school is quite simply put, a newcomer to the vast and complicated world of aviation. It takes some time and doing within this industry to understand that the suggested vastness and complication of it has a lot to do with the drive to make air travel safe, what in aviation jargon we call Air Safety. No other mode of travel is given so much time and attention in terms of Safety, as in Aviation. Maybe that’s why statistics show that far greater road and rail accidents each year account for lives lost while traveling between cities. To a large extent it is true that air travel in our country also accounts for a very small population of people. However, that is digressing from the point that, Air Safety and all the contributing factors are given a lot of importance compared to other modes of travel. Considering this fact, the regulations governing Air Safety are also made out to be correspondingly vast, all-encompassing, and hence, complicated. What we need to do to master the regulations, is disconnect ourselves from all these facts surrounding the need for regulations to be made so complicated. Just forget for a moment that for us AME’s Air Safety is all-important; and the world starts with it, and ends with it! Lets just forget that and focus on the regulations themselves instead. For simplicity, we could use another term for ‘regulations’. I prefer ‘guidelines’; guidelines for making airworthiness happen. What we’re trying to do then is simplifying an overly complicated set of guidelines into something that’s not just easier to understand (and don’t forget, execute… when you do become AME’s!), but also something that can be committed to memory for exams purposes.That said, the memory requirement is limited only to exams! Unfortunately, not many of us have great memory! I don’t, and though it was not the only reason for failing C.A.R three successive times, it did have a significant role to play in the fourth attempt, which I did pass! Nevertheless, for those with not such great memory, or those who don’t like the idea of having to MUG, there are other ways to remember key points and still be able to get through with the exam. One of those is to convert the language in the C.A.R to a form of communication. Or, in a way that the written media actually talks! In the sentence taken from the C.A.R in my previous topic, my version of it is made out in a way that it actually conveys something, rather than simply stating it. Read it again if you have to. Anything that communicates to you, even via written media, is far easier to commit to memory and recall effectively, as during exams.

The Key!

In effect, what appeared to be a somewhat complicated statement, was transformed into simple and easy to come-to-terms-with written communication.
That is therefore the key to better understanding the C.A.R.

Break it up into smaller shorter sentences that make ‘sense’ and transform it from written statements, to written 'communication'.

DGCA and the English Language!...Part 2

Ok, let’s take this example for the reader who still insists that the C.A.R is a death penalty of sorts.
This is an extract from C.A.R Section2- Airworthiness- Series ‘A’ Part IV. The subject of this Part is : Airworthiness Regulation and Safety Oversight of Engineering Activities of Operators. Let’s take a really long sentence. We don’t have to go far! Look under the Objective, first paragraph, that is 1.1, starting mid paragraph:
“The Safety oversight airworthiness program is aimed to detect the weaknesses in the engineering activities of the operators, maintenance and other related organizations so that necessary corrective measures can be taken in time before they become a potential safety hazard and that the capability of the organization to exercise airworthiness control be maintained at or above the level required by the regulations.”
Regards the contents, that was one sentence of nothing but repetition and jargon!
Phew! Midway through that my mind was almost screaming at me “Stop! Please!!” And that is after having passed the exam almost a decade ago.
A few amongst us will have absolutely no problem in identifying what is being said in that sentence. Not unusual though, a lot of us will have to read it and re-read it over and over again a few times to try and understand firstly what it means, and then, in what context!

Let’s try and decipher this sentence and see if we can make it any easier for ourselves to grasp. I’d write this whole sentence of jargon in 2-3 sentences and make much greater sense of it, as follows:
“The aim is to detect the weaknesses in the engineering activities of the operators, maintenance and other related organizations. This will validate necessary corrective measures to be taken in time before they become a potential safety hazard. It will also ensure the organization maintains airworthiness control at or above the level required by the regulations.”

Now that is 3 sentences, and it still not as lengthy! Most importantly, it has greater clarity, without taking out the relevance, the emphasis, or the urgency of the terms used.
Still like to argue that the C.A.R is a river full of crocodiles waiting to gobble you up?!

DGCA and the English Language!...Part 1

Just what is it with DGCA and the English Language?!
Or maybe it’s to with Regulations, or law, and long-winded sentences! Why can’t they simply write the same thing in short-sweet sentences that, most definitely, will not take up any more additional lines (and subsequently sheets) on paper, than create bewilderment of the tallest nature to the poor soul reading it !
If you’ve read the C.A.R, and the statement I’ve just written (above), you’re likely to draw a comparison blindfolded!
That’s exactly how the C.A.R is…long, and seemingly complicated! There-in lies the source of the greatest intimidation or fear that the C.A.R creates in all those who have to read it and worse still, write an exam based on it.
We are simple aviation mechanics, most of us brand new to this thing they call “Aviation” who’ve passed they’re 10+2 and gotten here with the hope that it’ll take them to their career of liking, without anymore nasty derivations/calculations/formulae etc of BSc./BCom, that require plain mugging! Where on Earth did this C.A.R pop it’s ugly head from?! Nobody told us we’re going to require to learn law when we signed up for the course! We didn’t sign up to become part lawyers! We want to be AME’S! Do you here that?!!
That pretty much sums up how I felt those days and can’t help but still feel that way sometimes.

The bottomline is, the C.A.R Appears complicated. Truth is quite the opposite!

The Problem with the ‘Only Question-Answer’ based Approach.

Without exception, every topic you read must be followed up by questions. This is important to ascertain your understanding of the topic and remember key points from it from an exam perspective. There is another band of thinking that encourages reading the questions (Only) FIRST, before even reading the topic. This too is a very good way of understanding what you’re about to read in this particular topic/Series/Part. Whichever one you select is quite up to you. Both have the effect of providing increased clarity on the subject and getting rid of the clutter, or what I call ‘the fillers’! There is however, a very strong urge with the latter method (reading questions first off), to read the questions, find their answers, and move on!
Quite often what I’ve noticed people doing, and regrettably something which I’ve practiced myself without much luck, is that they rush to the section on questions, read, and try answering the questions by ‘cross-checking’ from the Series/Part! The actual matter in the Series/Part is forgotten about altogether! This is more often than not a result of ‘less time’ for preparation, the ‘huge syllabus’, and an imposing, almost desperate need, to pass the exams. IT DOES NOT HAPPEN! Simple as that.
The reason for the questions to be provided is as mentioned above. Trying out shortcuts leads to the LONGEST way around! Making the correct use of questions is important. I agree it is very tempting to read just the question and answers and make matters easier for yourself rather than read the entire C.A.R. but there ARE no shortcuts.

The real problem for a person reading only questions and answers for an exam is something he/she realizes only after a few failed sittings. That is, the DGCA twists and turns the questions in the exams to an extent that is frustrating to even those best prepared for it! You can read the question and re-read it and even memorize it. But come next sitting, you will find an entirely new way in which they’ve presented the question! It almost seems as though they, have nothing better to do!

The choice is your then. It is my personal belief that if you make incorrect use of questions/question banks, you are taking a risk. The consequences of that risk are solely yours to bear.

Example Based Learning.

Before we get onto tips to go through the C.A.R, I just want to highlight the importance of Example Based Learning.
Examples always bring to light the relevance of a particular topic being studied.
The other reason I prefer to take an Example Based Approach to Learning is the association with the topic, helps remember key aspects of the topic without outright memorizing.

Now what examples are we talking about here?
Some of these are examples that you will gather from your AME training classes (if your instructor is the type we had!). There is a wealth of experiential knowledge to be gained from industry/trade magazines and students are encouraged to get copies of these and read (and grasp!), as much as you possibly can. A lot of what you read will be applicable to your C.A.R lessons. Just read with an eye to pick up such examples.
As we get along, I will try and share some examples from my own AME training days and
others that I have acquired over the course of time and my little experience in aviation. And, if there are any AME’s out there who would like to bring their experience to the fore, please feel free!

Summary

First Days
We’re in now! There’s no turning back! Amongst other things, learning there’s no Highway in the sky!

Now then the C.A.R
The importance of the C.A.R to an AME.

Exams…exams…exams
They don’t always go like you’d planned!
Whatever you do, do not take the DGCA’s language proficiency seriously when writing an exam(only)!

The ‘bald’ (f)act!
How and why the C.A.R has the potential to become a ‘theoretical’ nightmare for some.

An Animal ?
Not really. ASK questions whenever in doubt….ANY kind of doubt(provided it’s got some degree of relevance to the Part/Series being covered).

Of Much Use ?
Not just a mugfest! Understand the meaning behind all that ‘paperwork’!

How the dreaded C.A.R was overcome…!
Why it’s so important to pass your C.A.R exam early in your innings.
YOUR first interface…make it a good one!

So, what is ‘The CAR Conundrum’ all about…
We’re just about ready…!

So, what is ‘The CAR Conundrum’ all about…

By now the reader would be aware that yours truly was more of an average student, who struggled with the C.A.R, and with a bit of luck did manage to conquer it with sufficient élan to be able to tell you about it!...albeit a lot many years later than I would have preferred to.
The reason I put this all out for you to read is from the understanding that there are a lot of others out there with not much different a perspective of the C.A.R as I had…that is, until the day I was declared passed!
We had all the tools at our behest in our days of preparing for the C.A.R exams, including question banks, advisory circulars, even relevant NOTAMS (Notices to Airmen), and some really good lecturers. What I sorely missed was really a method of going through the preparation for an exam as unique as the C.A.R. It’s everything you need to know as an AME, yet it is thrust at you right when you’re still building a foundation of your AME training! Somewhat lopsided, as is the education system in our country, however, lets find a way around this rather than complain shall we!

The CAR Conundrum will not give you tailor-made solutions. It will try and remove that glaze of confusion and intimidation that the Civil Aviation Regulations creates; and, try and show you that it really isn’t all that difficult. Along the way we’ll add a few tips that will help you with your preparation for the C.A.R exam.
Remember, this is your first interface with the D.G.C.A. Passing or failing is not as vital as your attitude towards it. Keep it positive, the results will become a mere spectator!

How the dreaded C.A.R was overcome…!

It was a combination of making notes, summarizing rather than expanding, selective memorizing, followed by question banks.

Making notes is something everybody can do with most topics. With the C.A.R, you have to be careful. Adding/removing one word can very easily change the whole context of what is mentioned. It is law, after-all!

Now Why is it so important to pass the C.A.R exam in the first few attempts?
As already mentioned, the C.A.R exam is not just the first exam you write, it’s also YOUR first interface with the D.G.C.A.
No matter who your boss is, in no matter how high profile a company, the D.G.C.A will always remain the authority you are responsible to as licensed AME in India. Now it is not my intent to get into the governing powers or prowess (!) of the D.G.C.A here. All I will say is that, in this first interface with the D.G.C.A, it is in your hands whether you make it a positive or negative experience for yourself. Believe me, if you’re in aviation for the long-haul, it will matter!
Secondly, passing the C.A.R, or for that matter any exam, in the first few attempts, is always a GREAT feeling! ‘Well begun is half done’…heard that? That cliché sure holds good here! Not only is it the fist in a series of exams you’ll be sitting in your goal to becoming an AME, it is also your first few steps in your career in Aviation. A good beginning makes all the difference.

Now a domino effect of not passing the C.A.R quickly (in the first few attempts) is that every now and then the D.G.C.A comes up with amendments to Parts or even whole Series at times. It’s all to do with changing times, changing demands of the aviation sector, improvements to air safety, etc. Though this is in the interest of Air Safety and making sure Indian Air Regulations are at par with other countries vis-à-vis the ICAO, how does it affect you the student, preparing to write the examination? On first glance, it ‘adds-on’ to what you have to know/study and makes it more voluminous. What it also does sometimes is it requires you to ‘un-learn’ and ‘re-learn’ a certain paragraph of a Part, or even the whole Part! This does create a whole plethora of problems. If you ask why? For a person studying the C.A.R, the various Series and Parts are very much like a ‘sequence-of-events’….break/add/modify any one, and the whole thing needs to be re-understood in the new context! If you’ve been halfway through the C.A.R, you’ll know what I mean by that!