BIA · French Aviation Theory Certificate
A French government diploma.
Open to any high school, anywhere.
Most “aviation clubs for teens” end in a certificate of participation. The BIA ends in an official diploma of the French Ministry of Education — five subjects, one national exam, no French enrollment required. We built the online preparation; here is how the whole thing actually works, including the part most pages leave out.
Preparation is online, in French · The exam is sat in person, once a year, in May
1 · Today's flashcard (shown in French — the exam language)
Atmosphère standard OACI au niveau de la mer ?
This is real course content, shown as it appears in the app — in French, the exam's language.
What it actually is
A diploma, not a certificate of attendance
The BIA (Brevet d'Initiation Aéronautique) is set, administered, and graded by the French Ministry of Education, under the same examination framework as the Baccalauréat. It has existed in its current form since 2015. That is what separates it from a private aviation-club badge: it is a credential a French-speaking admissions officer recognizes on sight.
100
questions
A single written exam, 20 questions per subject across the 5 parts of the syllabus. One correct answer each, no penalty for wrong ones.
2 h 30
in one sitting
A single session, no oral component. An optional aviation-English section is scored separately and can only add points.
10/20
to pass
An average score is enough — no subject is individually eliminatory. This is an introductory-level exam, built to be passed, not to filter.
13
minimum age
No nationality requirement, no prior diploma, and no obligation to be enrolled in a French school. Any student worldwide can register as an individual candidate.
Flying Cockpit is not an exam center and does not issue the diploma: registration and the exam itself go through the French national system, as detailed below.
Being upfront
How a student outside France actually takes it
This is the part a landing page could easily gloss over. We would rather your school know it before enrolling students, not after.
01
Preparation happens online, wherever the student is
No French school needs to be nearby to study the syllabus. That part is exactly what this platform does.
02
Registration is individual, through Cyclades
A student who is not enrolled in a school that runs the BIA registers as a “candidat individuel” on Cyclades, the French exam-registration platform, under the académie covering their place of residence.
03
The exam is sat in person, at an accredited French school
Outside France, that means the nearest AEFE- or MLF-accredited French school — the same network used for the French Baccalauréat abroad. It is a single morning, once a year, in May: not a recurring commute, but a real trip your school should plan for.
04
It is free, and it does not require passing an English test first
No exam fee, whether registering through a school or individually. An optional 30 minutes aviation-English section exists, but it only adds points — a low score there costs nothing.
Mock exam
150 questions, exam format
100 questions drawn from the syllabus, 20 per subject, timed at 2 h 30 and corrected question by question. Three below — answer them, we explain why.
BIAAérodynamique et mécanique du vol
Quelles sont les quatre forces qui s'exercent sur un avion en vol ?
Pick an answer — the explanation appears straight away.
The official syllabus
5 subjects, 36 lessons, 214 flashcards
Set by the Ministry of Education, weighted equally at the exam: each subject carries the same twenty questions out of a hundred.
- 01
Meteorology & Aerology
Atmosphere, wind, clouds, fronts, hazards
6 lessons · 6h
- 02
Aerodynamics & Flight Mechanics
Forces, lift, stall, turning flight
7 lessons · 7h
- 03
Aircraft & Spacecraft
Airframes, engines, instruments, launchers
8 lessons · 8h
- 04
Navigation & Flight Regulations
Charts, heading, airspace, rules of the air
9 lessons · 9h
- 05
Aviation & Space History
From the pioneers to Ariane, careers, and issues
6 lessons · 5h
Beyond the BIA
Where it can lead
For a school building an aviation or STEM track, the BIA is a starting point, not the end of the road.
Questions schools ask us
The BIA, for schools outside France
What we get asked most by international schools looking into the BIA.
What exactly is the BIA?
The Brevet d'Initiation Aéronautique is an official diploma of the French Ministry of Education — not a private certificate, not a club badge. It has existed since 1959 (in its current form since 2015) and it certifies a genuine introduction to aviation theory across 5 subjects: meteorology, aerodynamics and flight mechanics, aircraft and spacecraft, navigation and flight regulations, and aviation history. It is graded, dated, and issued under a national examination framework — the kind of credential a French student would list on a university application.
Does a student need to be enrolled in a French school to take it?
No. There is no nationality requirement and no obligation to attend a French or French-curriculum school. A student anywhere in the world can register as an individual candidate ("candidat individuel") on Cyclades, the French national exam-registration platform, through the académie covering their place of residence.
Where does the exam actually take place?
This is the part worth being upfront about: the written exam is held physically, on a single date each spring, at an exam center accredited by the French Ministry of Education. Outside France, that means an AEFE- or MLF-accredited French school — the same network used for the French Baccalauréat abroad. Preparation happens online, wherever the student is; sitting the exam still means traveling to the nearest accredited French school for one morning in May. We are not an exam center and do not run this logistics ourselves — see the syllabus and registration pages (in French, the language of the official process) for the underlying rules.
Does my school need to teach in French?
No, but the exam does, and so does the preparation on this platform: lessons, flashcards, and the exam question bank are in French, because that is the language the BIA is set and graded in. This page is in English to explain the program to schools that have never heard of it; the course itself is not an English-medium adaptation of it. It suits students who already have working French, or who are building it — an aviation-themed reason to use French for something concrete, rather than a French class in disguise.
Is it difficult?
No — it is an introductory exam, and the pass mark is an average score with no subject individually eliminatory. What makes candidates fail is starting in April: the syllabus is broad, spread across five different subjects, and it is retained by seeing it regularly over a school year, not by cramming.
Why would a non-French school offer this?
Because it ends in something real: a government-issued diploma, not a certificate of attendance. For a school building an aviation, STEM, or study-abroad track, it is a way to give students a credential that a French-speaking admissions officer recognizes on sight, and a genuine first course in aerodynamics, meteorology, and navigation for students who might otherwise never see any of it before flight school.
For schools
Bring the BIA to your students
Tell us about your school and where your students are — we will tell you honestly whether the nearest accredited exam center makes this workable, before you commit to anything.