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I'm from Croatia and I'm intersted in becoming a pilot, but however, I'm not going to the college deisgned for that (I'm studying IT, not aeronautics).

Nevertheless, I contacted Croatia Airlines and they told me that I needn't have an aeronautics college degree, but I do need these qualifications to apply for the First Officer (Co-pilot) position:

  • hold a valid CPL (A)
  • hold a valid multi-engine instrument rating (airplane) (ME-IR(A))
  • successfuly completed a Multi Crew Coordination (MCC) Course
  • hold a Category 1 Medical Certificate
  • hold a valid Associate Degree
  • hold at least English Proficiency Level 4
  • hold a certificate of passed ATPL (A) theoretical knowledge examinations according FCL.515
  • be minimum of 21 years of age
  • total flight time:
    • Ab-initio pilots: at least 250 hours total time, to include 100 hours as pilot-in-command of airplanes
    • Pilots with valid type rating: a minimum of 500 hours on respective type

So, I have a few questions.

  1. Does someone know where I can get my licences for being an civil pilot in Croatia?
  2. About theoretical knowledge (physics, mathematics):
    1. Could I watch MIT OpenCourseware on that (and if I do, should I watch this or this?
    2. I stumbled upon Flying Academy website (can't post the link because I'm new here) and it says "Sufficient level of knowledge of Mathematics and Physics".
    3. What is sufficient and what would I have to learn?

I know I have a lot of questions, but I would really like to become a pilot one day and I believe I am self-disciplined enough to learn on my own. Can someone show me the way?

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    $\begingroup$ That's a long list of requirements, and much of it you shouldn't need to be worrying about right now. Just gaining a CPL will take you a while so start by heading down to your local flying club and getting started on a PPL course or equivalent. They'll be able to point you at the people to contact for licences, and there will be people who can advise on the next steps and when to take them. $\endgroup$
    – user11933
    Commented Oct 24, 2015 at 1:04
  • $\begingroup$ OK, and what about the "Sufficient level of knowledge of Mathematics and Physics"? I don't have Physics on my college, so I need to teach myself. $\endgroup$
    – Human Pineapple
    Commented Oct 24, 2015 at 1:14
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    $\begingroup$ Both of those MIT courses cover very interesting material and are worth sitting through, but they are well beyond what you will ever need to know as a pilot. If you can understand the material in there the understanding of mathematics and physics you have VASTLY exceeds the requirements for any pilot certificate you could ever want to earn. :) $\endgroup$
    – voretaq7
    Commented Oct 24, 2015 at 3:41
  • $\begingroup$ Did you check this page of the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency? ccaa.hr/english/faq_82 I suspect if you contact the Training and licensing Department they can walk you through the procedures ccaa.hr/english/contacts_81 $\endgroup$
    – DSarkar
    Commented Oct 24, 2015 at 8:01
  • $\begingroup$ I did contact CCAA, but they redirected me to The College of Traffic Sciences. I'll try contacting Training and licensing Department directly. $\endgroup$
    – Human Pineapple
    Commented Oct 24, 2015 at 8:38

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First, does someone know where I can get my licences for being an civil pilot in Croatia?

I'm afraid nobody here can help you with that: You will need to find a flight instructor or flight school in your area. (Google can probably help you locate candidate schools, and we have some general advice on selecting a school and selecting an instructor that might help you narrow down your choices.)

Second, about theoretical knowledge (physics, mathematics), could I watch MIT OpenCourseware on that (and if I do, should I watch this or this? I stumbled upon Flying Academy webiste (can't post the link because I'm new here) and it says "Sufficient level of knowledge of Mathematics and Physics".
What is sufficient and what would I have to learn?

To begin flight training you don't need to know anything about math or physics: Your initial training will be about manipulating the controls of an aircraft to make it do what you want it to do, and for the moment you don't care how or why it works, you just need to learn the physical technique of controlling an airplane.

At some point in your training you will learn the physics of flight - this is generally part of "Ground School" but your flight instructor may introduce the concepts to you as you approach lessons where they will be relevant.
A basic understanding of the laws of motion and air pressure will be helpful, but everything you need to know can be found in the various FAA handbooks (the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, the Aeronautical Information Manual, and the Airplane Flying Handbook are good starting places - regulations will probably differ in Croatia, but the basics of flight will be the same, and are explained in fairly simple language in those books).

You will also need to be able to work basic flight planning calculations as you advance in your training, which means you will need some basic mathematical knowledge: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and do simple algebra will cover nearly everything you need to do as a pilot, and higher math is generally not necessary unless you start getting into the Why of aerodynamic theory.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you so much man! :) I'll first go through these handbooks and if I have the time, then I'll watch MIT stuff (because, as I said, I am currently attending another college, so it's not like I have all day for learning aeronautics). $\endgroup$
    – Human Pineapple
    Commented Oct 24, 2015 at 8:44

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