Are there free online courses in aviation? There are numerous free online aviation certification courses available on the internet. They will provide you with the fundamental skills, knowledge, and techniques required to begin a career in the aviation industry. With this foundational knowledge in aviation, you can progress to higher education and become a professional in the industry.
Recently, many students have embraced the digital world for education. The Open Education Database reports that nearly three million students are enrolled in fully online programs to obtain a college or university degree. When compared to the traditional learning model, online learning has numerous advantages.
Hence, if you have a flair for flying or anything related to working in the aerospace industry and want to make a career out of it, you can begin by enrolling in any of the free online courses in aviation that we’ll be sharing with you in this post.
Read on to learn about the aviation field, if it’s a lucrative career, how you can become a professional in the aviation industry, and the free online certificate courses in aviation that are available.
You may also like to read about 10 Best Aviation Schools in Canada 2021
What is Aviation?
Aviation refers to flying using an aircraft. The biggest of the many uses of aviation are air travel and military combat. Aviation is a broad-based term covering all aspects of mechanical flight and management. This includes pre-flight activities and activities that take place during the flight.
Aviation promotes tourism, trade, connectivity, and economic growth, creates jobs, raises living standards, alleviates poverty, serves as a lifeline for remote communities, and allows for rapid disaster response. Aviation contributes to the advancement of the modern world.
Aviation is a trillion-dollar industry expected to expand further, especially with the advent of space travel. To back that up, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 13% increase in the aviation industry from now until the next decade; thus, it’s not too late to kickstart your career in aviation; you can begin by gaining basic knowledge and learning methodologies used through the free online courses in aviation that we’ll be sharing with you. But, before then, let’s have a look at why you should pursue a career in aviation.
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Why Should I Have a Career in Aviation?
If you have a fair for flying, a career in aviation will help you to convert that passion into a profitable field; below are reasons why you should consider a career in aviation:
1. Financial Reward and High Demand
According to Swinburne, by 2035, there will be twice as many passengers like 2016, rising from 3.8 billion to a massive 7.2 billion. Furthermore, the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the overall employment of airline and commercial pilots is expected to grow by 13% between 2020 and 2030, which is faster than the average for all occupations. It also forecasts 14,500 job openings for airline and commercial pilots over the next ten years.
In addition, glassdoor also stated that the estimated salary for an Aircraft Mechanic is $69,346 per year in the United States. So, in essence, a career in aviation is both financially rewarding and will continue to be in demand.
2. Opportunity to Meet New People
An aviation career will allow you to meet many people from various backgrounds, and they all share one important similarity with you: a love of flying. As a result, wherever you work in an airport, you’ll meet a broad and diverse range of people daily.
3. Possibility to Learn Globally Transferable Skills
Working in the airline industry whether as a long-term career or as a temporary job, will teach you tons of transferable skills. In a client-facing role, you’ll learn important skills such as customer service, people management, and various other soft skills.
4. Opportunity to Develop Your Leadership Skills
As the pilot in command of your plane, you will gain a great deal of leadership experience. Whether it’s flying the plane, following protocol, or making critical decisions during the flight, you’ll be honing your skills for the future. Although becoming a pilot provides a sense of enjoyable freedom, knowing how to stay within limits and properly control the plane is where leadership is born.
5. A Variety of Lifestyle Advantages
Employees of airlines can expect a variety of excellent benefits. For example, above-average pay, reduced holiday airport parking, subsidized commuter rail travel, cycle-to-work schemes, and a variety of growing-work benefits such as pay raises and additional holiday entitlement for long-serving employees.
Furthermore, airline employees are entitled to a broad array of discounts such as Flights, car rentals, and frequently discounted hotel accommodations. In addition, discounts on high-street stores, restaurants, leisure facilities, discounted health care, and subsidized child care may be available through an airline employer.
Why Enroll in Online Aviation Courses?
When compared to traditional learning, online learning has numerous advantages. It’s easier to complete, less expensive, more flexible, and convenient. The following are some of the benefits of taking online courses in aviation:
1. Adaptable Schedule
In a traditional classroom, lecture times are fixed, and students have no control over where or how they are held. On the other hand, online classes allow you to attend lectures at your leisure from the comfort of your own home. In addition, you receive electronic copies of lectures and other materials, which you will read and complete. Hence, online learning can be a richer and more effective learning experience than traditional methods when designed well.
2. It’s Budget-Friendly
Online aviation courses give you the flexibility to learn at your own pace at a low cost; in fact, you can even enroll in free online courses in aviation. As a result, you’d be able to learn from prestigious universities such as the University of Michigan, the University of Colorado, and other aviation experts without spending a dime.
Since you are reading about free online aviation courses, you may also like to read about the Top Ten Free Online Courses in Aerospace Engineering With Certificates
How Do You Become an Aviation Officer?
You can become a pilot in these five steps:
1. Conduct your research
Because there are few ways to become an aviation officer, it’s a good idea to do your homework before committing to a career in aviation. Investigate local aviation training schools to see if any of them are a good fit for you or if a different career path, such as military service, would be more appropriate. Also, research the type of aircraft you want to fly and the best way to get there.
2. Decide on a career path
After you’ve looked into different types of aircraft and flight training, the next step in becoming an aviation officer is to pick a career path. Students who study aviation do not always become pilots, so aviation provides you with various opportunities.
3. Apply for FAA certificates
Once you’ve decided on a career path, it’s time to start working on your Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certificates and clearance. Obtaining this is the first step toward establishing a career in aviation. Some of the certificate course requirements include aviation experience, with or without corrective measures, and seeing and interpreting certain colors required for flying and passing a drug test.
4. Gain Flight Hours and Experience
To obtain your first private pilot license, you must log 40 hours of flight time. This level of flight experience must include 20 hours of instructor-led flight training and 10 hours of solo flight. With a private pilot’s license, you won’t be able to accept any pay, so it’s critical to keep logging hours if you want to advance in your career.
5. Pass the Written Knowledge Exam and the Practical Test
Before getting your FAA license, you must pass written and practical exams. If you want to advance, you can take the next steps to earn your commercial pilot license once you have the necessary experience and knowledge. Then, you can start applying for jobs with this credential.
Top Ten Courses in Aviation With Certificate in 2022
Below are our picks of the best free online courses in aviation:
1. Fundamentals of Flight mechanics Specialization
Our first recommendation for free online courses in aviation is Fundamentals of Flight mechanics Specialization because the fundamentals will provide you with a hands-on understanding of flight mechanics. Apply it to the critical review of a flight accident report, the establishment of a flight test program, or the creation of an airplane’s preliminary design.
Furthermore, this free aviation certificate course teaches you how planes take off, how high they can fly, and how pilots keep them under control. You will also discover how physics laws apply to airplanes and important aviation concepts such as lift, drag, and propulsion. In addition, the course includes an applied learning project in which students will be asked to complete exercises in the form of case studies.
Provider: Coursera
Course: Fundamentals of Flight mechanics Specialization
Start Date: Self-Paced
Duration: 3 Months
2. Digitalization in Aeronautics
Digitalization in Aeronautics explores the impact of digitalization in this specific field, including the effects of digitalization in simulating the interaction of aircraft components, overall aircraft development, related decision-making, and the communication channels used within aircraft.
In this free online aviation certificate course, you’ll learn about how a wide range of digital applications are used in aviation research, the pervasive presence of digitalization in aviation research today, and the increasing complexity across all systems resulting from digitalization.
Provider: Coursera
Course:Â Digitalization in Aeronautics
Start Date: Self-Paced
Duration: 10 Hours
3. Cybersecurity Policy for Aviation and Internet Infrastructures
This is yet another popular course on our list of the best free online courses in aviation. As part of the transportation and communications sectors, aviation and Internet infrastructure are also referred to as “lifeline infrastructure.” The Department of Homeland Security National Protection and Programs Directorate, which manages the DHS National Infrastructure Protection Program, manages both subsectors. In response to President Obama’s Executive Order 13636 issued in February 2013, both SSAs recommended that voluntary cybersecurity measures be maintained.
In this online aviation certificate course offered by the University of Colorado, you’ll look at the aviation and Internet lifeline infrastructure subsectors, as well as the elements and applications of the Transportation Roadmap and CARMA.
Provider: Coursera
Course: Cybersecurity Policy for Aviation and Internet Infrastructures
Start Date: Self-Paced
Duration: 9 Hours
4. Machine Design Part I
The “Machine Design” course covers fundamental mechanical design topics such as static and fatigue failure theories, shaft, fastener, and gear analysis, and the design of mechanical systems such as gearboxes. Throughout this series of courses, you will look at several illustrative design case studies, such as the material selection for a total hip implant, the design and testing of the wing on the 777 aircraft, and the impact of dynamic loads on the design of a bolted pressure vessel.
Furthermore, this free online certificate aviation course will teach you robust analysis techniques for predicting and validating design performance and life. The course begins with a review of critical material properties in design, such as stress, strength, and coefficient of thermal expansion, after which you’ll then move on to static failure theories.
Provider: Coursera
Course: Machine Design Part I
Start Date: Self-Paced
Duration: 31 Hours
5. Development of Secure Embedded Systems Specialization
Three people were killed on July 6, 2013, when an Asiana Airlines plane from Seoul, Korea, crashed and landed at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The American National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the flight crew’s (in)actions were most likely to blame for the crash.
The human factor frequently causes accidents. For example, according to the NTSB and others, a pilot error causes more than half of all plane crashes. However, these errors can be avoided if safety and security-critical systems are properly designed.
After completing this free aviation course, you will be able to develop secure embedded systems, which are at the heart of these safety and security-critical systems. Finally, you will program your landing guiding system in their capstone project.
Provider: Coursera
Course: Development of Secure Embedded Systems Specialization
Start Date: Self-Paced
Duration: 5 Months
6. Part 4 FAA Private Pilot Ground School
The ground knowledge required to pass the FAA Private Pilot Airplane (PAR) Knowledge Test is provided in this course series. You’ll go over each of the knowledge areas in detail and provide explanations so that you can pass the test and become a competent pilot.
The fourth part of this five-part series goes over Weather Theory, Weather Services, Airport Operations, and Radio Communications. The author also included links to the free FAA publications and over 250 practice questions. This course follows the guidance of the Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) under Part 61.
Provider: Udemy
Course: Part 4 FAA Private Pilot Ground School
Start Date: Self-Paced
Duration: 7 Hours
7. Security Operations, Processes & Strategies in Aviation
Because security is an important part of the aviation industry or an airport, this course was created to teach you about aviation policing, Security Management Systems, Airports, and Crimes.
This course introduces and covers the following principles, methods, and best practices:
Security Operations in the Aviation Industry
Policing at airports and in the aviation industry
Theft at Airports
Private Aviation Security Officers
Airport and airline employees’ security roles and responsibilities.
Provider: Udemy
Course: Security Operations, Processes & Strategies in Aviation
Start Date: Self-Paced
Duration: 1 Hour
8. Aviation: Customer Service In Airline Industry
Do you have to deal with customers/passengers daily as a Check-In Agent, Ticketing/Sales Agent, or at the airport infrastructure?
Do you value professional development that will help you advance in your aviation career?
Do you want to impress your potential employer by putting your best foot forward?
If you answered “YES” to even one of the questions above, you’ve come to the right place! This free online aviation course will teach you how airlines and airports operate in terms of providing customer|passenger services. Learn about the check-in and boarding procedures for customers, passengers, and luggage.
Provider: Udemy
Course: Aviation: Customer Service In Airline Industry
Start Date: Self-Paced
Duration: 32 Minutes
9. Aviation Meteorology: Enroute Weather
This online certificate aviation course will teach you how to use weather in practical aviation situations and how it can affect airline operations and aircraft performance. The course is based on the author’s more than ten years of experience in airline operations and dispatch. You’ll learn about the International Standard Atmosphere, significant weather charts, wind and temperature charts, synoptic charts, weather advisories, frontal weather systems, cloud types, dangerous and severe weather, satellite images, and the impact of weather on aircraft operations and performance, among other things.
This course aims to become well-versed in the practical application of Aviation Meteorology and gain in-depth theoretical and practical knowledge on the subject. The course includes a lot of graphical information, practical examples, and other resources to help you understand it better.
Provider: Udemy
Course: Aviation Meteorology: Enroute Weather
Start Date: Self-Paced
Duration: 1:42 Minutes
10. Aviation Operations on the Ground – Health and Safety
This is the final course on our list of the best free online courses in aviation. Aviation is regarded as the safest mode of transportation because health and safety are prioritized in this industry. As a result, when you enroll in this course, you will learn the fundamentals of aviation health and safety, focusing on ground operations.
Aerodrome Hazards and Risks, Aircraft Hazards and Risks, Preventing or Minimizing Risks and Hazards, Airside Surface Marking, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Own and Others’ Safety are all covered in this course.
Provider: Udemy
Course: Aviation Operations on the Ground – Health and Safety
Start Date: Self-Paced
Duration: 40 Minutes
Conclusion
According to the Open Education Database, nearly three million ordinary students are enrolled in fully online college or university degree programs. Online education has unquestionably become one of the most popular options for furthering one’s education. The aviation industry keeps up and provides a simpler, more convenient, and affordable way for pilots to improve their skills.
With the advent of technology, you can stay at home and take free online courses in aviation. With all the facts and statistics that we’ve provided, it’s obvious that an aviation career is a lucrative field. Hence, if you love flying, you can make a career from it by enrolling in any of the free online certificate courses in aviation that we’ve listed. We hope you found this article helpful. P.S: If you have friends that need to read this post, feel free to share.
Frequently Asked Questions About Free Online Courses In Aviation
Students should expect to take aviation mathematics and physics classes, fundamentals of electricity, and aircraft regulations. In addition, students will face many other courses such as Private Flights, Commercial Flights, Aviation Technical Operations, and Aerodynamics in their concentrations.
In addition to millions of passengers and aircraft flying billions of miles each year, many commodities, emergency parts, and supplies are transported by air. As a result, civil aviation contributes approximately 3.5 trillion dollars to the global economy each year and catalyzes other industries.
Aviation offers lucrative job opportunities, including; Aircraft Electrical Installer or Technician, Aircraft Manufacturing Engineer, Airline Pilot, Airport Operations Manager, Air Traffic Controller, Aviation Maintenance Technician, and Quality Control Personnel.
Here are the top ten free courses under aviation:
Aerospace engineering
Air traffic control
Aircraft maintenance
Aviation safety
Cabin crew
Civil and military aviation
Aviation management
Pilot training
Aviation transport
Flight instruction
Reference
- bls.gov – Career Outlook for AviationÂ
- indeed.com – Aviation Job OutlookÂ
- atpflightschool.com – How to Become a PilotÂ
- ppronline.co.uk – Why You Should Work in the Airline IndustryÂ
- coursera.org – Free Online Courses in AviationÂ
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