Abstract
Since the success of the first flight, vast advancements have been made to the aircrafts with recent developments incorporating highly complex mechanisms, placing greater emphasis on the competence of the pilot. Studies are currently being undertaken to effectively source the trainee pilots with the most ideal level of aptitude for aviation with an aim to optimise the selection process with focus on economy and time, while research into identifying the optimal human characteristics for aviation is being done. As part of the selection process, number of tests is arranged with focus on the individual competence, suitability for flight, health status, aptitude and intelligence with the results of the tests used as reference materials during the selection procedure. This study has investigated the effect the academic competence has on the aptitude for aviation amongst many other abilities of human beings and the findings show that higher levels of aptitude have been demonstrated by the students who have displayed academic excellence across all the courses with statistics pointing to a positive correlation between the two subjects. This supports the theory that students who are academically superior have higher probability of being found to possess greater level of flight aptitude. The outcome of the study iterates the fact that academic competence of the students should not be regarded lightly in the selection process. Based on the current study, it is believed that a research into determining the relationship between the SAT results, average yearly grade and flight aptitude will help identify the key factors in possessing high level of flight aptitude with greater certainty.