From DGCA Exams to Airline Interviews: What Pilots Must Unlearn

Clearing your DGCA written exams (either CPL or ATPL) is a huge milestone. It proves you’ve got the knowledge to back your flying skills, but being good at written papers doesn’t guarantee you’ll pass an airline simulator assessment or ace the interview panel. That’s because the mindset that helps you survive the exam hall can work against you in a cockpit.

This is where the real transition begins, unlearning exam-style rote memorisation habits and adopting line-pilot thinking. Let’s break down what needs to change.

1. Stop Chasing the “Right Answer”

Exams are about finding the correct tick in a multiple-choice world. Airline assessments are about judgement. You’ll rarely face a situation in the sim where there’s one clean answer. Instead, it’s about managing resources, communicating clearly, and showing you can make a decision and stick to it. In time-critical scenarios ranging from engine failure close to V1 to unruly passengers and medical emergencies, every pilot's Aeronautical Decision Making abilities are tested regularly. This includes taking actions that fit the situation rather than trying to determine the right thing to do, as long as safety is kept in mind.

Unlearn: Waiting for a “perfect” solution.

Learn: Making safe, timely decisions even if they aren’t textbook-perfect.

2. Rote Learning vs Real Understanding

Many candidates treat exam prep like a memory game, hammering in formulae, memorising wind triangles or repeating performance charts until it sticks. That works on paper. But in an interview, you’ll be asked to explain why something happens, not just spit out the answer.

For example, being able to recite the ISA lapse rate isn’t enough; you need to explain how it affects aircraft performance on a hot day at Leh. The interviewers are generally aviation veterans. They can tell when one is just trying to fill the gaps, so you need to know what you're talking about. In this situation, you must be able to explain why hot air/high altitudes affect air density and, in turn, reduce engine performance since there is less density of air available to be used in the engine at the same RPM that suffices at MSL.

It sounds relatively simple, but the truth is, these things only become second nature to you only when you've put in the work to actually understand them.

Unlearn: Blind recall.

Learn: Linking concepts to practical flying scenarios.

3. Crew Mindset in the Cockpit

Exams are solo. Airline flying is never solo. In a sim check, it’s less about whether you can hand-fly a perfect ILS and more about how you manage the crew environment. Did you brief clearly? Did you call for checklists at the right time? Did you back up the other pilot without overstepping? Staying on the centreline isn’t enough if your Crew Resource Management (CRM) skills don’t come through.

That said, CRM doesn’t replace flying skills. Both go hand in hand; you need the stick-and-rudder foundation as well as the ability to work as part of a crew.

This also carries on to your airline flying once you jump through all the hoops for the selection. CRM doesn’t end once you step out of the cockpit. It extends to the cabin crew as well. In an emergency, during any phase of flight, it’s rarely an immediate diversion and landing. That means how you communicate with the cabin crew becomes critical. Keeping them informed ensures they can manage the cabin, keep passengers calm, and maintain order even in the middle of a stressful situation.

Unlearn: Thinking you’re the only one responsible for success.

Learn: Sharing the workload, communicating, and showing CRM skills.

4. Narrow Thinking vs Big Picture

Exams reward detail obsession. Interviews reward situational awareness. In a sim ride, if you get tunnel-visioned on chasing the localiser needle but forget about speed control or ATC clearance, you’ve already lost points. It's an even bigger issue if it happens in the real aircraft post your line release.

Unlearn: Treating every question as an isolated problem.

Learn: Keeping the whole operation in view, including aircraft configuration, ATC, weather, and time.

5. Silence vs Communication

In an exam hall, silence is a virtue. In a cockpit, silence is a red flag. Sim instructors look for constant but calm communication: standard calls, cross-checks, and updates on what you’re doing. Even when things go wrong, it’s as much about your stick-and-rudder skills as it is about whether you talked through it.

Unlearn: Keeping everything in your head.

Learn: Saying the right things at the right time.

6. Compartmentalisation vs Integration

DGCA exams split everything into neat subjects: Nav, Met, Tech, and RTR. That doesn't happen in the real world. In the aircraft, you’ll need to integrate knowledge. Reading a weather chart, anticipating turbulence, adjusting fuel planning, and briefing the approach, all while managing a system failure, is one example.

Unlearn: Treating subjects as separate silos.

Learn: Blending knowledge to solve real-world problems.

7. Passing the Test vs Showing You’re Trainable

Exams are about raw knowledge. Airline assessments are about potential. The airline doesn’t expect you to fly perfectly on day one. They want to see that you can adapt, listen to feedback, and fit into their SOP-driven world.

Unlearn: Thinking success = flawless performance.

Learn: Showing flexibility, humility, and a willingness to learn.

How to Make the Shift Early

Even if you’re still in the exam stage, you can prep yourself for this transition:

Study to understand. When you learn a formula, ask yourself where it came from and when it applies.

Practice briefing. Explain aloud what you’re about to do when you're flying in the sim and during your flight training, especially while building solo hours.

Link theory to flying. Don’t just memorise VMC definitions; think about how you’ll handle an engine shutdown on a multi, for example.

Embrace CRM. Even with a sim partner you barely know, act like a professional crew member.

Final Thought

Passing exams proves you can study. Passing an airline interview proves you can fly as part of a team in a real-world operation. The sooner you shift from “What’s the right answer?” to “What’s the safest action?”, the smoother your transition will be.

Your knowledge is the foundation. What you need now is the ability to think, decide, and communicate like a line pilot.

Header image: courtesy of calaero.edu