Math requirements for pilot

Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 114
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From: SE England
ATPL maths skills are nowhere near A-Level. 
A (very) mediocre GCSE student could easily comprehend any maths required in the syllabus or exams - a small amount of trigonometry and a couple of 'plug in the numbers' formulae is about as taxing as it gets.
Basic arithmetic will help you out a hell of a lot more than calculus or advanced algebra once you get to the flight deck.

A (very) mediocre GCSE student could easily comprehend any maths required in the syllabus or exams - a small amount of trigonometry and a couple of 'plug in the numbers' formulae is about as taxing as it gets.
Basic arithmetic will help you out a hell of a lot more than calculus or advanced algebra once you get to the flight deck.
Joined: Jul 2010
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From: Ansião (PT)
I guess they wanted to maintain standards!
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 120
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From: North of Antarctica
I did all my ATPL exams back in the mid nineties straight after my A Levels, IIRC at the time my take on the maths element was that it was of GCSE difficulty but A Level workload.
It may well be different now as GCSE's have without doubt got harder.
It may well be different now as GCSE's have without doubt got harder.

Joined: Feb 2001
Aviation Qualifications: PPL
Posts: 1,222
Likes: 2
From: Worcestershire, UK
The most important formula you need to grasp is:
Cost of flying/X = what you tell your wife
Where X is a number as large as you can get away with without blushing but always greater than 2
Cost of flying/X = what you tell your wife
Where X is a number as large as you can get away with without blushing but always greater than 2
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,443
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From: Cambridge, England, EU
Cost of flying/X = what you tell your wife
Moderator



Joined: Feb 2000
Aviation Qualifications: CPL
Posts: 14,480
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From: UK
Could I just point out that our OP is in Karachi.
GCSEs and A-leves are British exams, I'm pretty certain that they mean absolutely nothing to him. I'm sure there are perfectly good school exams in Pakistan, but they'll be different to the British version.
G
GCSEs and A-leves are British exams, I'm pretty certain that they mean absolutely nothing to him. I'm sure there are perfectly good school exams in Pakistan, but they'll be different to the British version.
G
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 412
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From: Unna, Germany
It may well be different now as GCSE's have without doubt got harder.
Speaking to them reminds me of a Blackadder sketch:
Blackadder: Right, Baldrick, this is called adding. If I have two beans and then add two more beans, what do I have?
Baldrick: some beans.
Blackadder: Yes... and no. Let's try again shall we? I have two beans, then I add two more beans. What does that make?
Baldrick: a very small casserole.
Blackadder: Baldrick, the ape creatures of the Indus have mastered this. Now try again. One, two, three, four. So how many are there?
Baldrick: Three.
Blackadder: What?
Baldrick: ......And that one......
Blackadder: Three and that one. So if I add that one to the three what will I have?
Baldrick: Oh. Some beans.
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1
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From: Beds
Could I just point out that our OP is in Karachi.
GCSEs and A-leves are British exams, I'm pretty certain that they mean absolutely nothing to him. I'm sure there are perfectly good school exams in Pakistan, but they'll be different to the British version.
GCSEs and A-leves are British exams, I'm pretty certain that they mean absolutely nothing to him. I'm sure there are perfectly good school exams in Pakistan, but they'll be different to the British version.
New Country Director for Pakistan
Remember, that when the State run GCSE syllabus was introduced the old 'O' & 'A' level boards died off. But Cambridge exams survived and were successfully marketed across the world. Furthermore, the academic standards were maintained.
Of course, back in Blighty, we were slow to notice that . . .





