What the PPHEL exam looks like
To get a Private Pilot Licence (Helicopter) in Canada, you need to pass a Transport Canada multiple-choice written exam called the PPHEL, along with your ground school, flight training and flight test. Transport Canada's study guide for the exam is TP 2476, the Study and Reference Guide for the Private and Commercial Pilot Licences, Helicopter. You can write the exam in English or French, and you must be able to read the questions without help.
| Part of the exam | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Questions | 100 multiple-choice questions |
| Time limit | 3 hours |
| Pass mark | 60% overall, and 60% in each of the four mandatory subject areas |
| Subjects | Air Law; Navigation; Meteorology; Aeronautics and General Knowledge |
| Before you write | Proof of medical fitness, photo identification, at least 5 hours of helicopter flight time and a letter of recommendation dated within 60 days |
Questions fall under one of the four subjects, but some need knowledge from another one. TP 2476 gives the example of a fuel calculation in Navigation that depends on the VFR fuel rules in Air Law.
The four subject areas
- Air Law: the Canadian Aviation Regulations on licensing, recency and medicals, airspace, VFR weather minima (including the helicopter-specific limits), right of way, minimum altitudes over built-up areas, external loads, fuel requirements, flight plans and itineraries, cruising altitudes, radio failure, equipment such as ELTs, and aerodrome and heliport procedures from the TC AIM.
- Navigation: charts and projections, time and longitude, variation and deviation, time, speed, distance and fuel calculations, wind effects, weight and balance, VOR, ADF, DME and GPS.
- Meteorology: the atmosphere and pressure, altimetry, stability, clouds, fog, fronts, icing, thunderstorms, turbulence and wind, and decoding weather reports and forecasts such as METARs, TAFs and the GFA.
- Aeronautics and General Knowledge: airframes, piston and turbine engines, transmissions and other helicopter systems, theory of flight (rotor systems, translational lift, autorotation, blade stall, vortex ring state, ground resonance), instruments, flight operations (dynamic rollover, the height velocity curve, hover performance, weight and balance, wake turbulence) and human factors.
If you pass overall but fail a subject
If you score 60% or more overall but fall below 60% in one or more subjects, Transport Canada assesses a partial pass. You then write a supplementary exam for each subject you failed, during one sitting:
| Supplementary exam | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Air Law (PHLAW) | 20 | 1 hour |
| Navigation (PHNAV) | 25 | 2 hours |
| Meteorology (PHMET) | 25 | 1.5 hours |
| Aeronautics General Knowledge (PHGEN) | 35 | 1.5 hours |
Each supplementary exam needs 60%. If you write more than one, the times add up, to a maximum of 3 hours. Below 60% overall, you rewrite the whole exam. Under CAR 400.04 you must normally wait 14 days after a first failure and 30 days after a second, but Transport Canada must shorten the wait if you ask once you have reviewed your weak areas.
Already a licensed aeroplane pilot?
If you hold a private or higher aeroplane licence (or a gyroplane permit), Standard 421.27 lets you write the shorter PHRAC exam (Private Pilot Helicopter Rating, Alternate Category) instead of the PPHEL: 35 questions in 1.5 hours, with a 60% pass mark, based on air law, airframes and systems, theory of flight, flight operations and human factors. Your ground school requirement also drops from 40 to 20 hours.
How to prepare
Work through TP 2476 topic by topic, then read the parts of the Canadian Aviation Regulations and the Transport Canada Aeronautical Information Manual (TC AIM) it points to. TP 2476 was last revised in 2005, so always check the current CARs and TC AIM for numbers that may have changed. Learn the rules that differ for helicopters: the 20 minute VFR fuel reserve, 1 mile visibility below 1,000 ft AGL by day in uncontrolled airspace, 1/2 mile special VFR, and the 500 ft built-up area distance. Practise the arithmetic until it is quick: time, speed and distance, fuel, variation, wind and weight and balance.
Use timed practice to build pace. You have 3 hours for 100 questions, about 1 minute 48 seconds each. Check your score in each subject as well as your total, because a weak subject alone means a supplementary exam. Note that this practice bank is text only: practise chart work with a VFR navigation chart and flight computer on paper with your instructor.
Our questions are original practice questions written from the official sources listed below. They are not real exam questions. This is an independent practice platform and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Transport Canada.
Practice questions with answers
Tap a question to see the correct answer and explanation.
A helicopter flies over a town. Except for take-off, approach and landing, what is its minimum altitude under CAR 602.14?
- 500 ft above the highest obstacle within 500 ft horizontally
- 1,000 ft above the highest obstacle within 500 ft horizontally
- 1,000 ft above the highest obstacle within 2,000 ft horizontally
- 500 ft above ground level, measured directly below the helicopter
Answer: B, 1,000 ft above the highest obstacle within 500 ft horizontally. CAR 602.14(2)(a)(iii): an aircraft other than an aeroplane or balloon over a built-up area must be at least 1,000 ft above the highest obstacle within 500 ft horizontally. The 2,000 ft distance applies to aeroplanes.
Your true track is 250°. Magnetic variation is 15° W. What is the magnetic track?
- 235°
- 250°
- 265°
- 255°
Answer: C, 265°. Variation west, magnetic best: add westerly variation to a true direction. 250° + 15° = 265° magnetic.
Which conditions most favour radiation fog?
- A strong wind blowing warm air over cold water
- A clear, calm night with moist air
- A cloudy, windy night after a dry, sunny day
- Cold air flowing over a much warmer lake surface
Answer: B, A clear, calm night with moist air. Radiation fog forms when the ground cools by radiation on a clear night with light or calm wind, chilling moist surface air to its dewpoint. Warm moist air moving over a cold surface gives advection fog instead.