A response from everyone would be great!

[RM7599]

Here is my story (as boring as it may be) I'm 26 and I just graduated from college in Dec. with a Bachelors degree in Finance and a Minor in Accounting. However, as with most of you, my passion has always been flying. I guess what I want to know from everyone, is whether or not you think I have the cognitive skills to become a professional airline pilot....with the emphasis being, what kind of math skills does this profession require. How much mental math must be done in the cockpit? It has always been my understanding that you have to be a math wizard to make it in this industry....is that the case?? Any examples, or first hand accounts, from any level of pilot would be great, regarding the aforementioned question.
I am a quick learner and have good eye-hand coordination. In college, I took courses in Algebra I, Algebra II, Calculus, and Statistics. I have never had trouble with math, but I simply don't know what an airline pilot or GA pilot is subjected to on a daily basis. I apologize for the length of this post, but, this site, and the people who answer the questions which are posted daily, are truely amazing! I welcome any opinion, good or bad, and I hope that everyone can offer their two cents worth! Thanks for your time!

 

[ShawnC]

Well a GA pilot has some mental math that one has to do but overall there really isn't that much you have to do, that is overly taxing. Well flying commerically, don't know I'll let someone that has flown the big iron answer that question for you.

 

[RichardFitzwell]

RM7599,

I think you will make a great pilot as long as you enjoy it. I have been laid-off since October so I am working on taking (and passing) my Series 7 and Series 66 tests to become a financial advisor. I'll tell you...it isn't easy.

If you can earn a Bachelors degree in Finance and a Minor in Accounting, you will do fine in aviation math. There isn't as much to it as people think.

R.F.

 

[jaybird]

There are several old posts on swithcing careers here. You just need to find them. I have a BS in Aeronautical Science and the highest math course I took was calculus. Physics does play a big roll, but it's pretty basic for the most part. I don't think you'll have any trouble. I've met professional pilots with no college degree. You alredy have that t crossed. Take some lessons see if you like it.

 

[bobbysamd]

From one B.S.B.A. to another...

My degree is in Accounting and I took Corp. Fin. and maybe another finance course in college. Being somewhat mathematically challanged, I had the same concerns that you have when I started flying and expressed them to my instructor. My instructor assured me that all I really needed was arithmetic. I didn't believe him, but he was right. None of the math in aviation is terribly overwhelming - and this is coming from someone, again, who had trouble with math in school.

I would say it helps if you understand vector analysis from Geometry because we use vectors to illustrate forces that act on an airplane and to correct for the wind's effect on an airplane in flight. It also helps if you are reasonably conversant in algebra because you have to work through a few basic formulas. You have a terrific math background. You'll do fine.

There are quite a few peformance graphs and charts pilots have to learn to read. You'll do fine with those as well.

Your education will be a major asset to your career. Airline pilots in particular pay a great deal of attention to management's stewardship of their company. Finance, debt securities and equities impact every aspect of big aviation companies. Take a look at the Lorenzo era at Continental and the Icahn era at TWA as examples.

On a side note, I found that my accounting background helped me tremendously in aviation. Accounting helped me greatly with my logbook. Your totals have to balance, which is an accounting axiom. If you think about it, a logbook is really a kind of a combination journal. Another way accounting helped me was in administration. We had this cumbersome paper logbook system at FlightSafety. You normally wouldn't think of flight instructors as being auditors, but I found myself spending countless hours at FSI not flying but with an adding machine at my side auditing these logbooks before stage checks and at other times.

Good luck with your training.

 

[La Rue]

Here is a suggestion.


Go by a local flight school or FBO and ask to see an instructor, if they are free and have a couple of hours to kill buy them lunch (gotta get in good with the teach ya know) and tell them you are interested in learning to fly.

Have them answer your questions as you pick their brains, I think that you will see it’s not as hard as you think it is. The math skills necessary to handle everyday GA and entry level commercial type flying such as what I’m doing now, flying a Piper Navajo hauling freight, checks and charter and a Pilatus for private individual is not anything you cannot do in your head or on paper with minimal scribbling.

The hardest thing, really is just memorizing the 5 or 10 formulas you’ll use for use mundane things as temp alt and airspeed problems, figuring your fuel for time and distance formulas and such things I call compass math, reciprocal headings, figuring bearing to the station using an ADF etc…

If you can do algebra and a bit of calculus with little or no problem and you are able to memorize a few formulas as well as do rote math in your head then you’ll have nothing to worry about.

James

 

[publisher]

math

97% of the time, I actually hit the city I was aiming form.
94.5 I hit the airport I was aiming at.
93% the acutual runway I was aiming for
100% of the time I lived.
That is all the math you need.

 

[TurboS7]

You got the degree and that is the first step. I am sure that all on this board can fill you in a lot better than I. I come from the era of tail-draggers, 25cent sectionals, and 80/87 that cost 25cents per gallon.

 

[Rooster]

I've been flying for 17 years and I can't recall ever doing more than simple math. If you can add, subtract, multiply, and divide, you should be good to go.

 

[PanAm24]

You posted this exact same question on another message board recently and got basically the same replies.

What makes you so insecure about your cognitive abilities?