Meanwhile, there's the written exam

In addition to all of the flying, there is a theory and written component to flight training. I took ground school in the fall and finished it just before Christmas. I really enjoyed it. Being an academic, I'm pretty happy in a classroom, although this is very new and different content than I have ever encountered before. The general topic areas covered are air law, weather, navigation, and aeronautics.

There was no exam in the ground school itself. Student pilots do the Transport Canada written exam at some point during their training, according to their own timing and schedule. I attended every class of ground school but didn't do a lot of reading during that time so during January and February, while the weather was bad, I studied hard for my written exam.

I did a computerized practice exam and numerous written and online practice questions to prepare myself and assess my readiness. Today I wrote the actual exam. It's a 100 question, 3 hour, multiple choice, computer administered exam, which I wrote at my own flight school. It tests the four areas that are taught in ground school. It took me 2 hours and 15 minutes. I found it totally fair but pretty difficult. I was exhausted when I finished. I didn't have a good feeling about my performance. I went to get the chief flight instructor so he could get my score and I apologized to him in advance because I wasn't even sure I passed. Well, haha, I did pass and I did great! I was amazed! I truly couldn't believe it! What a relief!  

Finishing that exam is a big step in the right direction. I'm glad to have it behind me and I'm pleased, after all, with how I did. It's validating!