Technical General and Technical Specific: strategy to pass
The technical side of the DGCA exams comes in two papers: Technical General (how aircraft work in principle) and Technical Specific (deep knowledge of one aircraft type you nominate). Together they test whether you understand the machine you will fly.
Technical General covers the fundamentals common to all aircraft: principles of flight, powerplants, systems and instruments. Technical Specific tests one aircraft type you nominate, in depth, from its own manual. Both need 70% to pass. Study General first, because it explains why your chosen type is built the way it is.
Technical General
This covers the fundamentals that apply to all aircraft:
- Principles of flight: lift, drag, stability, control and stalls
- Powerplants: piston and gas-turbine engines, and how they produce thrust
- Aircraft systems: electrical, hydraulic, fuel and pneumatic
- Instruments: how flight and engine instruments work and fail
- Airframes and structures
Technical General rewards genuine understanding. If you grasp why an aerofoil generates lift or how a constant-speed propeller works, you can reason through unfamiliar questions. Rote memorisation falls apart the moment a question is phrased differently.
Technical Specific
Here you nominate one aircraft type and are examined in depth on it: its systems, limitations, performance and handling. You are proving you truly know a specific machine, not just aircraft in general.
- 1
Choose your type sensibly. Pick an aircraft you have good study material for, often the trainer you fly or a common type your school supports.
- 2
Work from the aircraft's own manual. The Pilot's Operating Handbook or Flight Manual is the primary source for systems, limitations, performance charts and emergency procedures.
- 3
Learn the numbers that matter. Key speeds, limitations and system figures for your type are fair game, so know them cold.
- 4
Take it while the type is fresh. Schedule this paper when your knowledge of the chosen aircraft is current, not months after you last touched it.
A note on the Performance paper
Alongside these, DGCA lists a Performance paper, but under CAR Section 7, Series B, Part I it applies only to heavier aeroplanes (above 5,700 kg maximum take-off weight) or twin-engine helicopters. A typical CPL trainee on a light single does not sit it, but confirm whether it applies to your case before you plan.
Preparing for both
Technical General underpins Technical Specific: the general principles explain why your chosen type's systems are designed as they are. Study General first, then apply it to your type. Both papers, like the others, need 70%. Use DGCA's reference book list for General and the correct manual for your exact type and variant.
Use DGCA's current study material and, for Technical Specific, the correct manual for your exact type and variant. Systems differ between variants, so the wrong manual teaches you wrong answers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Technical General and Technical Specific?+
Technical General covers principles common to all aircraft (flight, engines, systems, instruments). Technical Specific tests one aircraft type you nominate, in depth, from its own Pilot's Operating Handbook or Flight Manual.
Which aircraft type should I nominate for Technical Specific?+
Usually the trainer you fly or a common type your school supports, so you have good, accurate study material. Choose a type whose manual you can actually get and work from.
Do I have to sit the Performance paper?+
Only if it applies to you. Per CAR Section 7, Series B, Part I, the Performance paper applies to aeroplanes above 5,700 kg or twin-engine helicopters, not to a typical light-single CPL trainee. Confirm your case with your school or DGCA.
Key takeaways
- Technical General tests all-aircraft fundamentals; Technical Specific tests one nominated type in depth.
- Both need 70%; study General first, then apply it to your type.
- Work Technical Specific from the aircraft's own manual, and take it while the type is fresh.
- The Performance paper applies only to heavier aeroplanes or twin-engine helicopters.
Before you move on
The last item in this stage is not a DGCA paper at all: it is your radio licence, RTR(A).