| Student Pilot Certificate |
| To obtain a student pilot certificate you must be
16 years old and pass a Class III medical exam given
by an Aviation Medical Examiner. You must obtain your
student pilot certificate prior to your first solo flight.There
is no minimum age according to the FAA to take flight
lessons. |
|
|
| Private Pilot |
| To obtain a private pilot certificate, you must be 17 years
old and have a minimum of 40 hours according to the FAA. You
are also required to pass the FAA private pilot written examination
(60 questions, multiple choice.) You are also required to
pass a practical flight exam with an FAA designated examiner
or an FAA examiner. |
| Private Pilot Privileges |
| You can fly solo or with passengers. You must obtain a
class III medical exam (every 3 years - over 40 every 2 years).
As a private pilot you may not be paid for your services,
however, you may share flight expenses with your friends and
passengers (see FAR). There are also certain weather requirements
that must be met as a private pilot. (see Federal Aviation
Regulations) |
| Commercial Pilot |
| Commercial pilots can "fly for hire" (see FAR).
You must be at least 18 years of age, hold a class II medical
certificate, and have logged 250 hours of flight time. You
are also required to pass a written exam and a practical flight
exam with an FAA designated examiner or an FAA examiner.
|
| Airline Transport Pilot |
| In order to obtain an ATP certificate, you must hold a
commercial pilot certificate and have at least 1500 hours
logged. You are also required to pass a written exam and a
practical flight exam with an FAA designated examiner or an
FAA examiner. |
| Pilot Ratings |
|
Instrument
|
| An instrument rating allows a pilot to fly into weather
that a private pilot under VFR (Visual Flight Rules) would
not be able to enter (low visibility or flight into clouds
with no reference to the horizon). To obtain an instrument
rating, you must have a private pilot certificate. You will
receive the required amount of training according to the FAR’s
(Federal Aviation Regulations). Making you a proficient instrument
pilot is our goal. You must pass a FAA instrument written
exam (multiple choice) and a pass a practical/oral flight
exam (checkride) given by a FAA designated examiner or FAA
examiner.*** Most private pilots continue right on to the
instrument rating after they pass the private pilot. |
|
Multi-Engine
|
| To obtain a multi-engine rating you must complete training
in a multi engine airplane with a MEI (Multi Engine Flight
Instructor). There is no hourly requirement or written examination,
however you must pass a checkride with an FAA designated examiner
or FAA examiner. You must hold either a private or commercial
certificate to obtain the multi-engine rating. |
Flight instructor
|
| To become a flight
instructor, you must be 18 years old and hold a commercial
pilot certificate. You must also pass an FAA Certified Flight
Instructor written examination and complete a practical/oral
exam with an FAA examiner.
There are several different Certified Flight Instructor
ratings:
- CFI- Certified Flight Instructor
- CFII - Certified Flight Instructor Instrument
- MEI- Multi Engine Flight Instructor
- BGI- Basic Ground instructor
- IGI- Instrument Ground Instructor
- AGI- Advanced Ground Instructor
Requirements to Obtain a Flight Instructor Certificate
- Be at least 18 years of age.
- Be able to read, write, and converse fluently in English.
- Hold a commercial or airline transport pilot (ATP)
certificate with an aircraft rating appropriate to the
flight instructor rating sought (e.g., airplane, glider).
- Receive and log ground training
- Pass the fundamentals of instructing written exam (FOI)
- All other subject areas in which ground training is
required for recreational, private, and commercial pilot
certificates and for an instrument rating
- Pass both the FOI and the flight instructor knowledge
tests with scores of 70% or better
- You are not required to take the FOI knowledge test
if you hold an FAA flight or ground instructor certificate
or hold a current teacher's certificate authorizing you
to teach at an educational level of the 7th grade or higher
- You must demonstrate flight proficiency (FAR 61.187).
You must receive and log flight and ground training and
obtain a logbook endorsement from an authorized instructor
on the following areas of operations for an airplane category
rating with a single-engine class rating.
- Fundamentals of instructing
- Technical support areas
- Preflight preparation
- Preflight lesson on a maneuver to be performed in flight
- Preflight procedures
- Airport and seaplane base operations
- Takeoffs, landings, and go-arounds
- Fundamentals of flight
- Performance maneuvers
- Ground reference maneuvers
- Slow flight, stalls, and spins
- Basic instrument maneuvers
- Emergency operations
- Post-flight procedures
The flight instruction must be given by a person who has held
a flight instructor certificate during the 24 months immediately
preceding the date the instruction is given and who has given
at least 200 hrs. of flight instruction as a CFI. You must
also obtain a logbook endorsement by an appropriately certificated
and rated flight instructor who has provided you with spin
entry, spin, and spin recovery training in an airplane that
is certificated for spins and has found you instruction ally
competent and proficient in those training areas, i.e., so
you can teach spins. |
| New TSA Rules are in effect |
|
Please be advised that new
TSA rules are in effect. The rule requires every person
to prove his or her citizenship status (including U.S. citizens)
prior to undertaking flight training for the issuance of
a new certificate or rating or the addition of a certificate
or rating (does not include recurrent training), in an aircraft
weighing 12,500 pounds or less. Additionally, foreign flight
students must complete a background check process with TSA.
***DON'T FORGET TO BRING IN YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE OR
PASSPORT***
Please visit http://www.aopa.org/tsa_rule/
for more detailed information.
|
Visit 