University choice
 

Hi,
I am looking to apply to a university at the moment but I need to make sure I make the right choice, I am thinking of taking a degree that deals with aircraft systems (electrical, fuel, hydraulic etc) but I am not too sure. I was wondering what other people here are studing and were at? Are they any degrees that would help me or increase my chances of becoming a pilot?
Thanks for any help

RIch49,

Give Bristol Uni a look. I studied an MEng in Avionics there from 94-98 and it was well worth it. Course contained all the elements you mentioned with enthusiastic, ex-industry lecturers and Bristol has some great airline industry affiliations....BAe, Rolls, Marshalls Aerospace to name a few. Most of the grads from my year have gone into the aviation world. Couple of RAF entries, BA pilot and various engineering roles.

B1ggles

deleted

Hi Rich

Don't worry too much about doing a degree that seems "relevant" - I don't think it'll help you get a pilot job (although as Biggles points out, it may get you contacts, which does help).

Do something you enjoy, and are good at - things like Physics or Aero Eng will probably be useful at for the ATPL writtens, but at the end of the day if you can do maths A-level say, the ATPLs aren't that tough, as long as you have the time to spend on them.

And just have a bloody good 3 or 4 years!

Some people will probably say that if you really want to be a pilot, don't go to uni, just spend the money on flying - well ok, but if you can get a decent degree (I'm not talking about some noddy effort in Knitting Science from Little Bogden College), it will set you up - god knows flying's not the most secure job ever
:(

You can only go to university once - you can fly for the rest of your life - anyway join the UAS and do both on the cheap.

Good luck

Hi! I am going with B1IGGLES. I am going to Bristol uni in October to start an Meng in Avionics!! And I'm looking forward to it...


I'll do the commercial flying after i hope!

Tom

I did BEng Aerospace Systems Engineering at Coventry.
Basically what the systems are what they do and how to design them. Everthing from the most complex of topics like data bus systems and aerodynamics, to air conditioning systems.
Was 22 UCAS pts last time I looked.
Would also recommend looking at Southampton. Thats where the forces send their aero engineering cadets.
As for relavance to becoming a pilot, the knowledge you gain will help you with technical subjects in the ATPL's. It also shows dedication to the aviation industry. Also, if it all goes wrong a very attractive career in engineering will be there to fall back on.

Hi all, just to say i'm at Bristol uni at the moment and although i'm not doing Aero Eng
i'm doing computer science in the same faculty.

Bristol for my first year has been great - pretty expensive though - just generally london prices now - ish.

I would reccommend bristol highly - just a note about BUAS - they only have about 17 places a year for volunteer entries - i.e. not cadetship/bursary.

Due to this number unless you are very very close to or can pass the medical for a pilot at cranwell you will not get in.

I wear glasses and although good enough for an ATPL they are not good enough for the RAF- so be it. That is why i didnt get in - i have some mates in it though and they say BUAS is excellent.

Halls wise if you havent decided yet i'll give you a brief run down

Catered - Churchill or Wills - I'm in churchill and whilst the food is not great it has a fantastic atmosphere and lively social scene. best in uni!
Wills is erm erm i dont know how to phrase it exactly but it is predominantly for "rahs" - people with more money than sense (apologies anybody who's there or has been)

Self catered there are again two to choose from
Goldney is the best and its closer in clifton secondly
Durdham with the other halls in stokes bishop.

There used to be a flying club here which got subsidised flying at filton - about 30 mins away in a car however the person who organised it left last year.
I would be well up for any interest to go flying whether cost sharing or ? as i already have my ppl and am at the mo renewing it though a C.O.E.

If you are coming to bristol then drop me a line at [email protected] or here and i'll answer any questions you might have.

see ya next year.


:D

rahaney, I recommend that if the BU Flying Club (with links to Aeros at Filton) has been deactivated since the departure of the people running it why not reactivate it yourself. Would look fab on a CV - and you get to know when the A/C are being from positioned to/from FZO from GLO - bargain, if not free hours.

sB

rich

If you want the best Aeronautics degree then I suggest from experience Imperial College, London. At least if you hate the course, which most people do (it is far too hard!) then you can **** about in London for 4 years. It is the best.

I have a ten year old aero-eng degree from Southampton, and still have contacts there. The degree was tough, but I have used huge amounts of it in my life since both as an Engineer and as a pilot. It can't be insignificant that about 1/3 of the military or ex-military test pilots of my acquaintance (which is quite a few) have Southampton aero degrees.

Look also at Bath, Glasgow, Loughborough, Kingston, Hatfield. Imperial's reputation is of being somewhat aimed at researchers rather than practical engineers, and I suspect that a relatively practical engineering degree is probably most use to you as a potential pilot.

G

Aviation Management & Operations degree
 

Have you checked out the London Guildhall University web site at: http://www.lgu.ac.uk/ca and followed the link to "Foundation degree" to get details of our Foundation degree in Aviation Management & Operations programme?

This brand new programme for both pilots and aviation managers hits the streets this September and has been designed in close collaboration with airlines, airports and other agencies. This followed on from over 600 responses to the questionnaire that could be accessed through PPrune where we asked what people WANTED to study.

I'm thinkin of going to loughborough university to do an aeronautical BEng degree...should be interesting :)
The uni is a very cool place too. I got a special tour around the new technology department at the time, and that was brilliant! The teachers involved you straight away and got your hands dirty :D Gr8 fun
Food was good too

sickbocks

Cheers for the idea and info m8 already have one reply to my earlier posting - any more takers.

if your around bristol and fancy a flight email
[email protected]

if its not raining down here that is
:D

I have just started my first year at UMIST. Although i was going to study aero eng, i decided not to. i prefered chemistry a level and maths so decided to do chemical engineering.

just a point to take into consideration with whats going on in the aviation industry at the moment, many of my friends are not finding jobs within that industry and have upper first and second calss degrees.

That put me off.lso if i dont make it as pilot all ill have is a aero eng degree which i only did to become a pilot. do something you enjoy

PS dont do chem eng it is so f***** hard.if you are lookin to do aero i recommend aero at umist and i think thay have atsrted a joint degree with manchester uni in avionics. ucas points around 24-26

I've said before on this board and I repeat what others have said:'A' level maths and physics is quite deep enough for the ATPL exams. At Uni, you want to read a subject in which you will get the best degree (i.e your favourite one). As a graduate airline captain who has now lost his job twice in the last 12 years, I am glad that I can rely on such qualifications to enable me to earn an income in a field very divorced from aviation. This is particularly important if your health falls below aviation standard as you age. Loss of licence insurance is rarely enough.

Best of luck

Just a quick note, you've got to have a look at Liverpool, good course and helped by the fact we've just had brand new v.expensive flight sim built.:)

thanks
 

Thanks for all your help,
has any one got any knowledge of coventry university?
I appreciate all your help,
rich

I've got no information about Coventry, but my advice would be just to do your research. Phone up and have a chat with the admissons people, go and have a look round. I've been to lots of Uni's on my travels and some places just "feel" better than others. In the end it's your decision, I'm sure a lot of the top Uni do very good courses so it might come down if you like the place or not.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Cranfield !
 

We have 9 wind-tunnels at Cranfield. Bloody hard course though. The uni is meant to have a good reputation though, especially i the aviation industry (so we're told)

CP

Bachelor of Arts or Science???
 

Obviously flight experience is quite important, but looking to the future, after the regionals, do major carriers care if the degree you have is a B.A. or a B.S.??

for instance, if it came down to two people in the hiring process (maybe a job in the right seat of a 737) who both had basically the same amount and quality of flight experience and one had a B.S. in Aviation form a decent school, and one had a B.A. in aviation from a decent school, would the degree matter? or would it come down to references and who the employer knew better? or possibly the nitty gritty details of each applicants quality of flight experience?

my big concern is whether or not I should go for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Aviation (4-year degree) or Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation (also 4-year degree, but more math and science involved that doesn't necessarily pertain to your career of choice...) either way I get the same flight experience from the school to become an instructor and go from there...

thnx in advance for advice!!!