Asking how much aerodynamics a pilot needs to know is like asking how much physics the driver of a car needs to know, and the answer is about the same. Both need to know the relevant consequences, and nothing more. A driver needs to know that ice is slippery, but more importantly, needs to have the skills to deal with it. A pilot needs to know about the conditions that lead to stall, but more importantly, the skills to deal with it ( or to avoid it ). There is probably more emphasis on a pilot's understanding aerodynamics, because when they have problems, their vehicle could fall from the sky. Otherwise, the situations are similar. It seems to me that because fewer people fly, and tend to do so out of a particular interest, pilots tend to have some motivation to understand aerodynamics, while the typical driver has the same interest in physics that the average human does, which is approximately zero.

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