What it takes to fly a plane

There are several different levels of pilot certificate

Student

As the name implies, this certification is designed to prepare a student to become “pilot in command”.  While flying with an instructor, you don’t need to hold a student pilot certificate.  Yet, you’ll need it prior to flying solo.  It requires a medical examination and a sign off from the instructor.  While you can solo as a student pilot, there are many restrictions, such as you can’t have any passengers.

Sport

The sport pilot certificate was introduced in 2004. Sport pilots fly smaller, lighter, less-complex, one- or two-seat airplanes. Sport pilots can only fly a special limited class of aircraft known as light sport aircraft (LSA). This requires a lot less training time. Most flight schools will not have light sport aircraft available. Sport pilots are not required to have medical certificates. You can get this certification is as little as 20 hours of flight time.  This didn’t seem like a good fit for me, as you are very limited on the type of aircrafts you can fly.

Recreational

Similar to the sport certificate, yet a little less restricted.  You can carry up to 4 occupants, but no night flying.  I don’t plan to do a lot of flying at night, but I wanted to have the flexibility if I needed.  Min. flight time required is 30 hours, but the average is about 50 hours.

Private Pilot

I’ll discuss that shortly.

Commercial Pilot

This is the start of becoming a professional pilot.  You can actually charge to fly passengers and goods.  It requires around 250 hours of flight time, which normally includes a min. of 100 hours of pilot-in-command time and 50 hours of cross country.  In addition, you must have 10 hours of flight training in an aircraft that has a retractable landing gear.

Certified Flight Instructor (CFI)

This may go without saying, but this is the certification one must hold in order to teach future pilots.  You’ll notice I may mention "CFI" in future blog posts, I would be meaning my instructor.

Airline Transport Pilot (ATP)

These are the pilots that will be flying as an airline captain.  The training and knowledge required is extensive.  For example, a total  1,500 hours of flight time including 250 hours of pilot-in-command time, 500 hours of cross-country time, 100 hours of night flight, and 75 hours of instrument experience.

In addition to the certifications above, one can elect to have endorsements in:

• Instrument Rating
• Multi-Engine Rating
• Seaplane Rating
• Rotorcraft-Helicopter Rating
• Gyroplanes
• Glider Rating
• Lighter-Than-Air Balloon Rating

The certification that I’m pursuing is the Private Pilot.  The private pilot certificate is the certificate held by the majority of active pilots. It allows command of any aircraft (subject to appropriate ratings) for any non-commercial purpose, and gives almost unlimited authority to fly under visual flight rules (VFR). Passengers may be carried and flight in furtherance of a business is permitted; however, a private pilot may not be compensated in any way for services as a pilot, although passengers can pay a pro rata share of flight expenses, such as fuel or rental costs. Private pilots may also operate charity flights.

The requirements to obtain a private pilot certificate for "airplane, single-engine, land", are:

• Be at least 17 years old
• Be able to read, speak, write and understand the English language
• Obtain at least a third class medical certificate from an Aviation Medical Examiner
• Pass a computerized aeronautical knowledge test
• Accumulate and log a specified amount of training and experience, including the following:
• If training under Part 61, experience requirements are specified in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations section 61.109 including at least 40 hours of piloting time including 20 hours of flight with an instructor and 10 hours of solo flight, and other requirements including "cross-country", 10 hours of solo (i.e., by yourself) flight time in an airplane, including at least
• Night requirements:
1. 3 hours of night flight training
2. One cross-country flight
3. 10 takeoffs and 10 landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport
• 3 hours of flight training for cross country flights
• Pass an oral test and flight test administered by an FAA inspector, FAA-designated examiner, or authorized check instructor.

While the min. number of flight hours is 40, the average pilot receives their certification in about 70 hours.  With this license, the number of passengers, the speed of the aircraft and the range of the flights are all unlimited.  The flight ceiling is 18,000 feet and I will be allowed to fly at night and internationally (if need be).  The other big advantage is the type of airports I will be able to land at is a lot less restricted than the Sport or Recreation pilot.

The AOPA has a great website to learn more.