About the Scholarship

If after applying you are considered suitable we will ask you to send us more detailed information about your personal and medical history. At the same time you will also be asked to submit a short essay. A Preliminary Selection Board, which is held early each year, will then decide whether to short list you for the Final Selection Board which is usually held in April at RAF Cranwell .

At RAF Cranwell you will undergo flying aptitude tests, medical examinations and interviews. While at RAF Cranwell you will encounter, perhaps for the first time, the challenge of aviation and demonstrate your ability to climb into an aircraft cockpit, which is not nearly as difficult as it might appear to be at first sight.

Subject to individual circumstances and supporting exams most scholarships tend to be four weeks in duration involving 35 hours flying tuition, relevant ground school and supporting exams. Scholarships take place either in South Africa or at a UK Flying School and accommodation is provided either at the Flying School or nearby. Then if all has gone according to plan you will be invited back to RIAT the following year to be awarded your "pilot's wings.

To learn more about the typical aircraft you will be flying click here; and to read the stories of two previous scholars learning to fly in South Africa and at Goodwood click here and here.