Simviation Forums

do u need really good grades from school to be a pilot

Naturally flying is a very technical profession, so a good academic grounding is useful, particularly in subjects such as maths, science (physics) and english...

For the RAF the minimum standards for an Officer are 5 GCSEs at grade A-C, and 2 A-levels, although it goes without saying the higher the better.

Airlines are harder to quantify. BA always used to specify a minimum academic requirement (I think it was 2 Cs at A-Level) for its sponsorship scheme before it stopped a while back. Technically, as long as you pass the theoretical exams for the commercial licenses you should be ok for airline jobs, although again, recruitment is a competition between applicants, so the higher the better.

Certainly not just to get a pilot's license, no. If you plan on doing it for a living (or anything).. well.. ask yourself... Would you want the person flying the plane you're on to have taken important things like school seriously enough to have made good grades ?

You'll need a college degree if you want to make it to the top of the heap in professional flying, that's for sure, and high grades will look good on your resume.
 Intelligence and discipline mean more than grades in flying (anybody who got good grades in school by cheating, for example, would be weeded out pretty early), but there's a lot of homework and testing involved in even just getting a Private Pilot certificate (it's often said that flying is 10% physical skill and 90% mental), so if you want to fly and your grades are slumping, it's time to turn over a new leaf. At 15, you're lucky- plenty of time to shape up.
Sometimes motivation is all a student needs to get serious about school work... if you focus on the prize (flying), you'll probably do better, even if the classes you're taking are less than thrilling.

Where about are you Looie? From your profile I assume Keighley in the UK?

Well back in the 50s plus the military had the highest standards for anything...including Police Officers....believe it or not.

At one time the military was the only place you could obtain an Instrument Rating.

At one time the Royal Military College turned down more physically and academically fit entrants than all the colleges and universities in the world.

It is former Military Pilots/ Persons that formed the Department of Transport in most or all countries, in Canada it is now known as the Ministry of Transport or Transport Canada.

Where does a pilot come from:
Grade School
College
University
A Flying Instructor at a privately owned school
A Bush Pilot
Air Cadets or any other Cadet Program

Does a pilot need an education?
To be honest it depends what he wants to do.
Fly for the Military or any Commercial Operator...Yes

To be a Bush Pilot it sure does not hurt to have some education...the more the better...like anything else

I think you can Honestly answer your own question....Does a pilot need good grades???
What is your answer as an employer or passenger'/crew member???

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

Thought I'd chuck in that I know a few CFIs out of my airfield who had problems getting jobs because of their high school grades-their college grades were great.

yeah im from the uk charlie

yeah im from the uk charlie

Cool. Just checking that my advice was ok. If you'd been from outside the UK it wouldn't have been. What are you considering, Military or civil?

I hate how you need a college education to do anything anymore. Does a piece of paper make you any more intelligent?

I hate how you need a college education to do anything anymore. Does a piece of paper make you any more intelligent?

Certainly the RAF in the UK look for school/college/university qualifications as proof (or at least a fairly reliable indication) that you'll be able to cope with the technical and academic side of all your flying courses.

I hate how you need a college education to do anything anymore. Does a piece of paper make you any more intelligent?

Nope!  

It is the the demonstrated ability to continue to learn, the work that you put in exercising your critical thought processes, the knowledge gained in studying specific subjects, and the demonstration of the willingness to commit to and work dilligently at a task that is valuable in a person with a college degree.  

The piece of paper itself is worthless.  ;)


best,

........... professor J. Baymore

im concidering civil
but i read somewhere that you nedd 2500-5000 hours in a plane to fly.do you get free training in the raf

The current minimums I know of in the USA to work for a rejional airline is 600 tt/100 multi...and remember you don't usually fly 600 hours on your own pay but rather as a CFI or pilot for a company flying props ie. sky diving company.

do you get free training in the raf

Lol! It's not a flying club! You don't pay for your training - the taxpayer does that to the tune of a couple of million pounds - you just have to commit to 12 years (16 on paper) of service. You won't get any better flying though, and you're an attractive, proven reliable proposition to an airline when you leave the RAF...