Have to say that I don't agree with any of the above comments (except for the previous two which appeared as I wrote!!!). The flying schools are running a business and, at the end of the day, if someone has the money but not the sense then that is the customers probem (as harsh as it may sound). Would you also expect a used car dealer to check your driving skills before he sells you a car (just in case you end up driving it off the forecourt and into a bus stop)? I don't think so.
Aptitude tests are notoriously unreliable indicators of how good a pilot someone will make, and do not necessarily provide any indication of ones intelligence level as pertains to aviation (they were, after all, designed for 'generic' graduate recruitment schemes). Look at how many people fail the various aptitude tests out there - does that make 98% of the applicants daft? No. They are a tool to reduce the vast numbers of applicants to more manageable levels. In any case, look at how many of the supposed 'chosen few' get chucked off their sponsored courses due to lack of aptitude/interest (more than you would imagine)!
At the end of the day, the JAR exams (ground and flying)are there for a good reason - to test your ability as applies to aviation. If you achieve passes and get the coveted 'blue book' then you should feel rightly proud of it. If you don't, then it was for good reason, and the system has worked. Applying ad-hoc tests to make people like 777 feel 'safe' simply would not work, and may mean that many people who would ultimately make good pilots are put off an excellent career for life!
Give everybody a chance at least eh guys?
Cheers
Busta
[This message has been edited by Busta Level (edited 11 March 2001).]