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Aviation course(pilot) in Leeds or Sheffield?

I plan to study aviation in university with pilot studies which will assist me to proceed as a pilot in commercial airlines after graduation.

But I am not sure the course of which university, University of Leeds or Sheffield, is more suitable for me if my goal is a commercial pilot.
I don't see a pilot studies option for Leeds but I know there's one for Sheffield where you take all the theory and get 10 hours of flight for £1000 which is a fantastic deal.

In terms of the courses, Sheffield gets right into aerospace from the get go whereas Leeds doesn't start until year 3 and is very focused on mechanical engineering until then whereas Sheffield's course is quite broad and gives you options to specialise in different areas of aerospace from year 2. Sheffield also has the better reputation and lower grade requirements.

As a word of advice, if you want to become a commercial pilot, don't do an aerospace degree, go and join the RAF instead, it is by far the better way to get into the career as going via a degree or other pilot training schools will likely get you into a bunch of debt. Also at the start of my degree quite a few people I knew wanted to become a pilot or at least considered it an option, halfway through the first semester I can think of no one who still wants to.
Reply 2
Original post by Helloworld_95
I don't see a pilot studies option for Leeds but I know there's one for Sheffield where you take all the theory and get 10 hours of flight for £1000 which is a fantastic deal.

In terms of the courses, Sheffield gets right into aerospace from the get go whereas Leeds doesn't start until year 3 and is very focused on mechanical engineering until then whereas Sheffield's course is quite broad and gives you options to specialise in different areas of aerospace from year 2. Sheffield also has the better reputation and lower grade requirements.

As a word of advice, if you want to become a commercial pilot, don't do an aerospace degree, go and join the RAF instead, it is by far the better way to get into the career as going via a degree or other pilot training schools will likely get you into a bunch of debt. Also at the start of my degree quite a few people I knew wanted to become a pilot or at least considered it an option, halfway through the first semester I can think of no one who still wants to.


I see your point but sadly I am from HK which makes RAF not a choice for me.:frown:

I am thinking that having a private pilot license and an aviation degree may help me get into a cadet pilot program of a commercial airline, but I am not sure.:confused:

and the course in leeds i talked about is this: http://www.engineering.leeds.ac.uk/chemical/undergraduate/degree-aviation-technology-pilot-studies/index.shtml#tab705-2
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 3
Original post by Helloworld_95

As a word of advice, if you want to become a commercial pilot, don't do an aerospace degree, go and join the RAF instead, it is by far the better way to get into the career as going via a degree or other pilot training schools will likely get you into a bunch of debt. Also at the start of my degree quite a few people I knew wanted to become a pilot or at least considered it an option, halfway through the first semester I can think of no one who still wants to.


I don't think this is necessarily good advice; the RAF will see right through any attempt to use them as a route to a commercial pilot job. Only consider the military if you are committed to becoming a military pilot!

The main difference between the Leeds and Sheffield courses seems to be that Leeds offers a BSc degree and Sheffield a BEng/MEng, i.e. a science degree versus an engineering degree. The Leeds course appears to be more geared towards commercial pilot training, whereas Sheffield's courses are aimed at those wishing to become professional engineers. That's not to say, however, that you can't become a pilot with an engineering degree -- take a look at the qualifications of most test pilots!

Which one you choose ultimately depends on whether or not you would like to study engineering. It may be worth having a look at the course structure for each to see which modules you'd be studying.
Original post by henryliu
I see your point but sadly I am from HK which makes RAF not a choice for me.:frown:

I am thinking that having a private pilot license and an aviation degree may help me get into a cadet pilot program of a commercial airline, but I am not sure.:confused:

and the course in leeds i talked about is this: http://www.engineering.leeds.ac.uk/chemical/undergraduate/degree-aviation-technology-pilot-studies/index.shtml#tab705-2


Ahh ok, I'm not sure about the situation for training to be a commercial pilot in HK, so my advice may be entirely invalid for HK for all I know.

I'd say try and look for HK oriented advice on the situation as entry to commercial pilot training and it's costs may be different to in the west where the situation is fairly dire.


Original post by AeroM
I don't think this is necessarily good advice; the RAF will see right through any attempt to use them as a route to a commercial pilot job. Only consider the military if you are committed to becoming a military pilot!

The main difference between the Leeds and Sheffield courses seems to be that Leeds offers a BSc degree and Sheffield a BEng/MEng, i.e. a science degree versus an engineering degree. The Leeds course appears to be more geared towards commercial pilot training, whereas Sheffield's courses are aimed at those wishing to become professional engineers. That's not to say, however, that you can't become a pilot with an engineering degree -- take a look at the qualifications of most test pilots!

Which one you choose ultimately depends on whether or not you would like to study engineering. It may be worth having a look at the course structure for each to see which modules you'd be studying.


Agreed, I probably should've mentioned that :tongue:
Reply 5
Is the PPL hard to get by myself after completing the degree?

I have wrote to Sheffield and they claim that there will only be private pilot instruction but the PPL will be done by ourselves after graduate if interested while Leeds will have us graduate with a PPL
Original post by henryliu
Is the PPL hard to get by myself after completing the degree?

I have wrote to Sheffield and they claim that there will only be private pilot instruction but the PPL will be done by ourselves after graduate if interested while Leeds will have us graduate with a PPL


Well it'll cost a lot, although less than going through either of the programs.

Really? On the course site for Leeds that you linked it says they have the same program as Sheffield, all ground training plus 10 hours flight time, doesn't say if you have to pay extra fees like you do at Sheffield though (although about half of this is cancelled out by Sheffield having lower tuition fees for internationals). After reading through it also says that the flight hours are done during the summer, which could be an issue if they make you stay in Leeds to do it throughout the summer or you have to organise those flight hours yourself in which case it will get costly because that's roughly £4000 in plane rental and lessons, Whereas at Sheffield they're done during term time. Looking through the modules at Leeds, the one advantage is the PEME2170 module where you learn all the theoretical knowledge for the ATPL although this does not include taking the relevant exams to achieve it.
Hey, just to let you know I'd also like to become a commercial pilot and two of my choices were Leeds and Sheffield. I also suggest you look at Liverpool as they have an engineering with pilot studied degree too.
Anyway I went for Sheffield in the end because I think a recognised engineering degree (rather than a science in aviation in Leeds) is better as a back up option, considering you don't even need a degree to become a pilot


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Original post by henryliu
I plan to study aviation in university with pilot studies which will assist me to proceed as a pilot in commercial airlines after graduation.

But I am not sure the course of which university, University of Leeds or Sheffield, is more suitable for me if my goal is a commercial pilot.


Hi henryliu,

As a general rule, it doesn't really matter what the subject of your degree is as long as you have one. A more important aspect is having a pilot's licence and enough experience to be a credible applicant. This is not an easy thing to achieve in Europe as flying is a *very* expensive pastime! I think a good path for you to investigate would be a cadet-pilot programme that is run by airlines such as Cathay Pacific to allow talented people to join the airline directly.

Look here

http://jobsatcathaypacific.com/cadetpilots/

You would certainly have an advantage being from HK yourself!

Good luck :smile:

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