BIA, PPL & ATPL revision
Video Flight Training Courses: Animations to Understand the BIA, PPL and ATPL
By ForAllPilots · Published · 2 min read
Reviewed and approved by the site's editor before publication. Our method (FR)
A diagram shows an engine; a video brings it to life. Some aviation theory concepts are much easier to grasp when you see them in motion: compression inside a turbojet, a VOR needle deflecting, landing gear retracting. That's why every ForAllPilots licence course now has its own Videos tab.
Why video helps you retain the theory
PPL and ATPL theory is mostly about describing mechanisms: air accelerating over the upper surface of a wing, a piston running through its four strokes, a mass of warm air sliding up over a mass of cold air. On paper, you have to imagine the motion. On video, you see it.
Each animation is short, focused on a single idea, and placed within the course chapter that explains it. You watch, you read the fact sheet, then you practise with the MCQs from the same chapter.
What's in the Videos tab
The Videos tab brings together all the animations for a licence on a single page, organised by subject: 31 videos for the BIA, 38 for the PPL and 43 for the ATPL.
Engines and propulsion: piston engine components, the four-stroke cycle, carburettor icing, the propeller and its pitch, the turbojet and bypass ratio.
Aerodynamics and flight mechanics: airflow around an aerofoil, the four forces in level flight, stalls and spins, adverse yaw, ground effect, flaps and slats, stability and static margin, the manoeuvring envelope.
Navigation and radio navigation: the wind triangle, the VOR and its CDI, the ADF and relative bearing, the ILS, GPS, the holding pattern.
Meteorology: the layers of the atmosphere, the Coriolis force and the geostrophic wind, the sea breeze, fog, the warm front, the life cycle of a cumulonimbus, and icing.
Systems and instruments: landing gear, the pitot-static system, the gyroscope and artificial horizon, compass errors, pressurisation, the battery and the alternator.
Narrated 3D videos
Some videos are produced in 3D with narration: the landing gear (shock absorber, retraction and locking, nose wheel, brakes and anti-skid, emergency extension), the piston engine, an airliner's turbojet, and the cumulonimbus. Play them with the sound on: the voiceover explains each step as the animation plays.
The narrated turbojet video appears at several levels: in the BIA course on aircraft, in the PPL (“And what about an airliner's jet engine?”), in the ATPL, and in the A320 and B737 type ratings. It's the same video; only the accompanying text is adapted to the level.
Watch, then practise
A video alone isn't enough to pass the exam. Under each chapter, you'll find the corresponding MCQs; for the PPL, Aerolingo mode then locks in the concepts through spaced repetition.
The videos are also available in English: on forallpilots.com, the courses and their animations are in English, narration included.
How much does it cost?
Seven videos are open to everyone in each licence, no credit card required, including the narrated 3D landing gear video. Just open the Videos tab for the BIA, PPL or ATPL.
The other videos are included in the Private Pilot and PRO packages, at no extra cost.