EASA PPL Operational Procedures (P60) — Study Guide

Operational Procedures bridges regulation and the cockpit: how you apply rules, weather, fuel policy, and emergencies on real sectors. The P60 exam is 20 questions · 30 minutes · 75% (15/20). It feels familiar — which invites overconfidence — but marks come from precise numbers and sequences, not vibes.

Pre-flight planning

PIC must assimilate everything pertinent: weather, NOTAMs, airspace, alternates, fuel, performance, and aircraft documents/serviceability. A valid certificate of airworthiness does not replace checking the aircraft is currently released for flight (tech log / maintenance status).

NOTAMs

NOTAMs communicate changes to facilities, hazards, and procedures along route and at terminals. Expect syllabus awareness of why you brief them, not clerk-level format trivia.

VFR weather minima (representative — confirm AIP)

Exam scenarios assume you know the published combinations cold. Typical EU/EASA-style sets cited in training material:

• Controlled airspace (Class D/E below FL100): flight visibility ≥ 5 km; horizontal separation from cloud ≥ 1,500 m; vertical ≥ 1,000 ft.
• Uncontrolled (Class F/G) below 3,000 ft AMSL or 1,000 ft above terrain (whichever higher): visibility ≥ 1,500 m; clear of cloud; in sight of the surface.
• Special VFR (SVFR) inside a control zone: commonly ≥ 1,500 m visibility, clear of cloud, surface in sight — only with ATC clearance and where permitted.

Altimetry

• QNH — altimeter reads altitude AMSL; primary setting below transition altitude in many environments.
• QFE — reads height above aerodrome datum; still used in some UK procedures.
• 1013.25 hPa — standard pressure; flight levels above transition altitude.

Transition altitude / level / layer: separates QNH altitude from 1013 FL regime; the layer prevents ambiguous crossing. Ireland commonly uses 3,000 ft transition altitude — verify chart/state supplements for your ops.

Temperature / pressure errors: colder than ISA ⇒ true altitude lower than indicated; high-to-low pressure without resetting QNH ⇒ lower than indicated. Mnemonic: "From high to low, look out below."

Fuel policy (regulatory minima)

• Day VFR: destination + 30 minutes reserve at normal cruise.
• Night VFR: destination + 45 minutes reserve.

Regulatory figures are floors — real planning adds contingency, holding, and alternate fuel as appropriate.

Fuel contamination

Drain sumps; look for water/layers; verify grade (100LL blue vs Jet-A). Misfuelling is not recoverable in flight — systematic walk-around discipline matters.

Wake turbulence (operations)

ICAO categories — Super / Heavy / Medium / Light — drive ATC spacing minima. Pilots still judge safety in VMC: touch down beyond heavy's point; climb on diverging headings after departure; remember vortices sink (~300–500 fpm) and drift with wind — crosswind can leave one vortex near centreline.

Emergencies

Engine failure

Aviate — maintain best glide / safe speed; Navigate — pick field; Communicate when workload allows. Memory items: tanks, pumps, mixture, carb heat, magnetos — per POH. Forced landing priorities: fly aeroplane first, troubleshoot, MAYDAY if capacity permits.

Fire

Engine fire: starve fuel/mixture, increase airflow if helpful, isolate electrics if needed, land ASAP. Cabin fire: fight/source/remove, ventilate if smoke blind, land immediately — smoke inhalation kills faster than incomplete checklist flow.

Pressurisation (awareness)

PPL depth is conceptual: rapid decompression ⇒ oxygen + emergency descent in pressurised types; tie physiology overlap to Human Performance.

Noise abatement

Follow AIP noise-preferred routes, avoid unnecessary low flying over sensitive areas, obey aerodrome NADP — but safety overrides noise when conflict arises.

Ice and snow

Contaminated wings dramatically raise stall speed — remove all frost/ice/snow before flight; respect hold-over times for anti-ice fluids where applicable. Poor braking action reports (medium/poor/nil) demand honest landing distance assessment vs LDA.

Search and rescue

Alert ATC/aerodrome; MAYDAY relay if you monitor distress. SAR phases: INCERFA (uncertainty), ALERFA (alert), DETRESFA (distress) — each escalates response intensity.

Collision avoidance

See-and-avoid remains VFR backbone despite human limitations (collision geometry hides threats). Use disciplined scans with brief fixation sectors — smooth sweeping misses targets.

TCAS RA: Follow RA immediately even contrary to ATC — resolved conflict first, explain later.

Where students lose marks

• Swapping controlled vs uncontrolled minima.
• Altimeter logic combining QNH drift + cold-weather errors — watch sign discipline.
• Emergency ordering — fly before you broadcast.

How to prepare

Tie each rule to a flight phase: briefing room, taxi, departure, cruise, approach. Memorise the numeric triads until reflexive, then hammer scenario MCQs — OPS punishes “almost right.”