Are pilots highly intelligent?

The impression that is generally cultivated about the pilot is that of a cool-headed, calm, and composed person with intelligence and decision-making aptitudes that are almost preternatural. When you think about it, pilots are responsible for the lives of at least hundreds of passengers and crew on board every time they take a flight. However, this stereotype is true to the extent that it is possible to achieve success without hard work. Of course, you cannot help wondering whether pilots are that much smarter than the normal population.

The pilot has several steps you need to follow; it all depends on the kind of pilot you want to be.

Pilot of an airline is not an easy profession that one can get, it involves certain training, skill, and aptitude. Of course, to get different FAA certifications, pilots need to spend hundreds of hours passing certain flight training. Having completed their training, they can handle almost anything including flight procedures, systems, maneuvers, weather patterns, navigation, and Federal Aviation Regulations. Pilots also have to go for physical tests that ascertain whether the pilot has excellent hearing, vision, coordination, and reaction to certain stimuli.

In the past, most pilots could either be from the Air Force, Navy, or Marines; many came from the military. Today, many pilots train themselves at FAA-certified aviation schools for civilians. However, neither of these two is easy, and it requires a lot of effort, determination, and a considerable amount of money to be trained as a pilot. It is essential to note that the washout rate is high for those who are not ready to hold the right stuff.

Cognitive Requirements

Currently, the FAA put in place that pilots who are to fly commercial airplanes must possess high cognitive capacity. Aviation professionals require the ability to rapidly encode, store, and briefly manipulate information as well as make fast and accurate decisions. Their intelligence assists them in grasping the standard working procedures within the shortest time possible, engaging in efficient mental computation, and especially reacting to various disasters as expected.

Research reveals that commercial airline pilots are far smarter than other people in society as they post better performance on IQ tests. According to the study that was conducted in 2008, pilots were again found to have a significantly higher IQ than the general population; their average IQ score was almost 20 points above the national average. Information ordering, three-dimensional pictures, concentration during confusion, and visual/spatial are some of the areas that see pilots recording higher results. It is like they are preprogrammed mentally for the work required to ensure an aircraft remains airborne.

However, being intelligent means having an extremely high IQ score, but that does not turn you into a great airline pilot. Pilots are also in need of a balanced mixture of assets, personality, skills, decision-making, and pre-conditions that prepare them to perform the tasks safely and effectively.

Specialization of Skills

Thus, while the general intelligence of pilots is proven by numerous studies, their intelligence is not a ‘‘universal’’ intelligence, but rather a skill, which involves certain areas of the brain. This is only logical as flying an aircraft requires less creative thinking, understanding the feelings of others, music, and other aspects but more visuospatial skills, fast numerical reasoning, and decision-making.

People themselves, the pilots as well, will make you understand that even though they are capable of flying an aircraft, that does not make them know everything else in the world! They are ordinary folks who invest a significant amount of time to get specialized skills as required in aviation. The cockpit demands full concentrated attention, not thinking about this afternoon’s PTA meeting or a fight with your spouse.

Continuous Learning

The cognitive abilities of pilots involve the pilot’s ability to learn and perform at high levels in specific areas such as mathematics or information recall, following instructions, and concentration, yet being an airline pilot is a profession of ongoing learning. The field of aviation technologies is under constant change, the same with the regulations, therefore it is a continuous process. But every ordinary-appearing event provides a chance to learn to develop experience and strength, and every abnormal experience that happens is valuable.

The level of education has risen for decades due to the advancement of aircraft technology which is more complex and has in-flight automation systems. Today’s pilots, especially the young ones are professionals, who usually have a college education in aviation or even in aeronautics. They understand that professional development is not a one-time event that is organized after entering the first job but a lifelong process. You would not remain a pilot for an entire career just because you had a brain. Continued education and accumulation of knowledge derived from lessons learned are important.

Intelligence: The last of the fundamental mental aptitudes that is difficult to quantify.

IQ tests remain some of the most debated testing techniques with some drawbacks. The quality of education received, the ability to sit for the exams, cultural differences, language differences, and biases concerning the black race can all affect the results. Intelligence comes in many forms and paper-and-pencil tests are often an inadequate way of gauging them.

However, by following this method, it can be deduced that pilots possess high levels of general intelligence, and more so in subtests that are relevant to the tasks required of them in an aviation line of duty. They do so to be issued with aviation certificates and also meet set aircraft operating jobs. But possessing certificates and high marks in school, can not guarantee real success.

As with many high-stress careers, aviation also needs people who excel in other equally important qualities such as obedience, emotional balance, spoken and written communication, plus teachability. The world does not lack intelligent persons but also requires individuals with passion, with balanced characters who can work effectively.

It means that brains alone will not suffice to bring in the business. A good pilot is a person who has an extra genius intelligence level and knowledge, precise skills, learning disposition, professional approach, and sensitivity to stress. It’s not just about IQ, so much more is involved in this profession than many may ever know. Fortunately, the process of commercial pilot selection is designed to enlist people with the right type of brain and skill, safety consciousness, and adherence to rules to fly large airplanes loaded with hundreds of trusting souls.