Now I'm sure you are all brilliant and have never felt this way, but just incase there is one person out there that feels the way I used to, I've decided to "dumb" it down a bit and tell you what you need to get a private pilot's license. This post will be especially good for those of you who are just getting started or would like to start soon, and want to know what it requires. If you want the detailed information, you'll have to refer to the regulations (which you will learn how to navigate through soon enough).
I found out pretty quickly that in order to find anything in that huge book of regulations, a.k.a. the Aviation Bible, I was going to have to put some tabs in mine. I used big tabs for the main sections (1, 61, 91, and NTSB 830), and smaller tabs for the items I needed to be able to find in each of those sections. There is a study guide at the front of the book that directs you to the regs you should know if you want to get your license- I used that as a reference when tabbing mine for the first time.
In this post, I am only going to talk about the hours required if you decide to do your training Part 61 (part 141 is more strict- I will write about that training n a later post). If you can find FAR 61.102, which is section E of part 61 (page 91 if you have the same book as me), you will find all of the requirements for a private pilot.
Let's start out with the first section- 61.103 (I am going to abbreviate it a bit.. you can read it word for word if you'd like by opening the regs). You must:
1. Be at least 17 years old
2. Speak English
3. Have a logbook endorsement from an instructor stating that you are prepared for the knowledge test (also known as the written test)
4. Pass the knowledge test
5. Receive another endorsement from your instructor stating that you are prepared for the checkride
6. Know all the required ground and flight information (we'll cover that below)
7. Pass the Checkride
Doesn't seem too bad right? But then the regs break it down even further. Following is all the information you must know to pass the ground portion of the checkride.
61.105 Lists the aeronautical knowledge, or the ground information, you need to know. All of this must be logged in your logbook by the instructor that taught you the information. The amount of hours you'll spend with your instructor on the ground information really depends on how much you study. If you study on your own before meeting with your instructor, you may only have to pay your flight instructor 15-20 hours, but if your instructor has to teach you a lot of the information, it will probably take closer to 40 hours of ground training.
1. FARs that relate to a private pilot
2. NTSB 830
3. AIM and ACs (Advisory Circulars)
4. Use of Aeronautical Charts (such as sectional charts; non-pilots would call it a map)
5. Radio communication procedures
6. Windshear avoidance and use of weather charts
7. Collision avoidance and wake turbulence avoidance
8. Effects of density altitude
9. Weight and balance
10. Aerodynamics, powerplants, and aircraft systems (this is a BIG section)
11. Stall awareness, spin awareness, and how to recover from a spin
12. Aeronautical decision making and judgement
13. Preflight action to include knowing where to find runways lengths at airports, performance data for takeoff and landing distances, weather reports and forecasts, fuel requirements, and what to do if you cannot complete the flight as planned
61.107 Lists the flight maneuvers you need to be able to perform to pass the flight portion of your checkride. All of these items must also be logged in your logbook by the instructor that flew with you each time. (I'm only going to list the areas for airplane single engine land)
1. Preflight preparation
2. Preflight procedures
3. Airport operations
4. Takeoffs, landings, and go-arounds
5. Performance maneuvers (steep turns)
6. Ground reference maneuvers (rectangular course, s-turns, turns around a point)
7. Navigation
8. Slow flight and stalls
9. Basic instrument maneuvers
10. Emergency operations
11. Night operations
12. Postflight procedures
61.109 Breaks down the amount of hours you must have before taking your checkride- this is probably the section you were hoping I would include. You will need a minimum of 40 hours of flight training (most of my students needed closer to 60 hours), with
20 of those hours from a flight instructor, which need to include:
*3 hours of cross country
*3 hours of night flying, including a 100NM cross country minimum, and 10 full-stop takeoffs and landings
*3 hours of instrument training
*3 hours within 2 calendar months prior to the checkride (the FAA doesn't want you to take a checkride without being properly prepared)
10 hours of solo, which need to include:
*5 hours of solo cross country with one cross country a "long" cross country (refer to the regs for that breakdown)
*3 takeoffs and landings to a full stop
And that's it. That' everything that is required to get your license. It may seem like a lot, but flying is such an enjoyable thing to do that the time will fly by (haha... no pun intended). And I'll break all of the ground areas into small, easy, doable ground lessons so it won't seem so overwhelming. You will be on your way to earning your license in no time at all!
If you have any questions about becoming a pilot (other than money questions, because I am not a loan expert by any means), please email me at trendyprivatepilots@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
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