Type Rating Preparation: What to Study Before an A320 or B737 Course

Knowledge to review

• Aircraft systems: electrical, hydraulic, fuel, flight controls, pneumatics and air conditioning, APU, engines
• Limitations and memory items for your type
• Normal procedures and cockpit flows, including how flows are grouped by phase of flight
• Abnormal and emergency procedure structure, and how to use the checklists
• Performance and weight and balance fundamentals
• Flight management system basics: FMGS and MCDU on the A320 family, FMC on the B737

Skills to practise

• Multi-crew cooperation: standard call-outs, task sharing and monitoring
• Instrument scan and manual flying without automation
• Checklist discipline and use of crew communication
• English aviation phraseology for radio and crew communication

A six-week plan

• Weeks 1 and 2: systems overview and the question bank by topic
• Week 3: limitations and memory items with spaced repetition cards
• Week 4: normal procedures and flows, using a cockpit trainer if possible
• Week 5: FMS flow practice and abnormal procedure structure
• Week 6: mixed mock tests, short simulator or trainer sessions and rest before the course

Before you start

Check the prerequisites with your training organisation, for example the licence and theory credit requirements, a multi-crew cooperation course where applicable and the medical certificate. Selection steps, tests and requirements differ by airline and change over time. Always follow the official instructions of the airline or authority concerned.

How early should I start preparing?

Four to six weeks before the course is a common starting point. If you have been away from systems study for a long time, start earlier.

Is a question bank enough?

A question bank builds recall of systems, limits and procedures. It works best together with a cockpit trainer for flows and with the airline's or training organisation's official documentation.

Is the A320 or the B737 type rating harder?

Both are demanding in different ways. The A320 uses fly-by-wire logic and ECAM; the B737 uses conventional controls and a different set of flows. Difficulty depends mainly on your background and preparation.