So if your on this page you probably have some interest in aviation, and if not I encourage you to read a little further.

If your like most of us you have looked up at a bird and thought man I wish I could have that kind of freedom. Well I'm glad to tell you that you can. And its a lot easier than you might imagine.

So what does it take?

Well for starters all you need is a passion for aviation and a desire to learn. I will explain the basic requirements to become a pilot and the different licenses and what they mean. Most pilots will tell you the hardest part was deciding to drive to the airport to take the lessons.

There are two ways to go about obtaining flying lessons. First you can enroll in a flight school, these come in many different styles and sizes.

The second is to find a independent instructor. A independent instructor is someone who is a certified flight instructor but doesn't work for a school. They may have their own plane or access to a plane.

Both have their benefits, For example most schools are geared for producing a professional pilot (meaning they want to be paid to fly), They are often a little pricey but usually have financing available which may be the biggest factor especially if you are wanting to become a commercial pilot. They will hire instructors usually formers students of the school looking to build time. This is both a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. It is good because the instructors will be fresh and standardized but he/she will lack real world experience. Also its worth noting that when you become an instructor for a school they may charge say between $70-$130 for the airplane rental and an additional $30-$45 per hour for the instructor but they will likely only pay the instructor between $12-$15 per hour.

A independent instructor usually is going to be someone who is instructing because they like to do it. In most cases they will have a modest amount of real world experience. But as a trade off they wont be able to provide you with any type of financing options. They will however usually have access to a plane that can be rented for less than most flight schools will charge and they will usually charger a lower instructor fee than most schools. A independent instructor will obviously be able keep the instructing fee in whole.

To locate a flight school near visit this link:
http://www.aopa.org/learntofly/school/index.cfm

To find a flight instructor near you visit this link:
http://flighttraining.aopa.org/learntofly/school/cfi_search/

*Note just because an instructor is listed on this site doesn't mean they are a independent instructor thats something you will have to ask

When deciding a lot of instructors say you should pick one type of plane and stick with it for training. I partially agree with this Any experienced instructor will tell you an airplane is an airplane. It doens't matter if its high wing or low wing they both fly and get the job done. Also some schools put emphasis on training in a brand new aircraft (the rental price can be as much as double that of a used) All planes have to undergo an inspection every 100hrs and an annual inspection every 12 months. I usually like to give my students a chance to fly several types of aircraft during their training. Some instructors will say this is a bad idea. I believe it better prepares them for when I'm not in the cockpit. Each plane will fly slightly different from one another. A good pilot can sit in any aircraft and adapt to it this is also build confidence later on, for example say after you get your certificate and you did all your training in a low wing aircraft such as a piper warrior, The warrior is a great trainer as it has very good stall characteristics and requires less effort on the rudder pedals than the high wing Cessna. Now lets say you want to get checked out in a Cessna to fly your friends around in. A fresh private would likely be nervous on the checkout flight and may require additional instruction before he/she feels relaxed flying it. Just something to think about

First while its not required to start flight training I would recommend going and getting a FAA Medical Exam because it will be required before you can solo (fly the plane by yourself) the plane.

So your next question is probably what the heck is the FAA and what do they examen.

The FAA is the government agency that oversees everything aviation in the U.S.

The Medical

First off let me say its not hard to qualify one and even if you don't at first you can in most cases get a waiver.

There are 3 Types of medical classes, First, Second, and Third. The classes are different based on the type of flying you want to do. Recently the FAA Modified the regulations to make privileges a little longer (this is great news to pilots)

Third

We will start with third because it is the least restrictive and is used for exercising the privileges of a Private Pilot Certificate(more on that later) The third class medical exam will be similar to a normal checkup minus any turn your head and cough stuff. They will listen to your heart/lungs, check your vision, check your ears, Give you a color blind test. And you will be out the door. The third class medical is valid for 60 months (24 if you are over the age of 40) after which you will need to go get reexamined.

Second

The second class medical is used for exercising the privileges of a Commercial Pilot Certificate. The exam its self is the same as the 3^rd class With one exception the commercial privileges are only good for 12 months after which it reverts to third class privileges and you can no longer fly for hire. The third class privileges are good for another 48 months (12 if over 40 years of age)

First

The first class medical is required to exercise the privileges of a airline transport certificate So as you can imagine it is more restrictive than the other 2. The exam again is more or less the same as the other 2 except after age 35 you will need an electrocardiogram. This class will allow you to exercise your airline transport privileges for 12 months and this will revert to a 3^rd class for a remaining 48 months (12 if over 40 years of age)

So you are probably wonder where you goto get an exam done, you can visit http://www.faa.gov/pilots/amelocator/ for a list of approved examiners. Fees typically range from between $80-$120.

If your Goal is to become a Commercial/Airline Pilot I recommend you apply for a first class medical to ensure the least amount of trouble down the road. As it would suck to invest the money into getting your certificates on a third class medical and then getting denied for the first class. If you happen to not qualify for any of the medicals and cant get a waiver its not the end of the world as you can still get a sport pilot certificate and fly without a medical. I wont be covering the sport pilot certificate as most people will qualify and will prefer to get at least a Private Pilot Certificate.

Ok so the medical part seems simple enough right lets talk about the different types of licenses also called certificates.

Student Pilot Certificate-

A student pilot certificate is required for soloing a plane before you get your actual Private Pilots license. Remember to ask for it when you get your medical even if you haven't started flight training. Once your instructor has trained you and found you competent to fly the airplane solo he will sign the back of this with the make/model you are allowed to solo as well as make endorsements into your logbook and you will be good to go.

Private Pilot Certificate

This license will allow you to fly the plane with passengers not for hire meaning you cant fly for compensation. Regulations do allow for you to share the cost of the flight with your passengers tho.

To obtain this certificate you will need

• Be at least 17 yrs of age (16 required for solo

• 40 hrs of total time

• 20 hrs duel

• 10 hrs solo

• 5 hours of solo cross-country time

• One solo cross-country flight of at least 150 NM total distance, with full-stop landings at a minimum of three points and with one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of at least 50 NM between the takeoff and landing locations

• Three solo takeoffs and landings to a full stop at an airport with an operating control tower.

• 3 hrs of night experience

• One night cross country over 100nm

• 10 take offs and landings at night

• 3 hrs of training in flight referencing solely on instruments

• Pass a written test

The written test is multiple choice test, your instructor will give you ground training on the areas of knowledge that are required. And you will actually be able to see all the questions that are on the test and take practice tests online before the real one!!!! None of my students have ever made less than a 80 on the test passing is 70.

Instrument Rating

After obtaining a private most pilots will eventually pursue an instrument rating. A rating is different than a license as it can be thought of as an add-on which will allow additional privileges. The instrument rating will allow you to fly in the clouds/fog. If you want to be a commercial pilot someday you will definitely be getting this one. To obtain this rating you must:

• Hold a Private Pilots License

• Have at least 50hrs Cross country time as pilot in command

• At least 1 cross country greater than 250nm with approaches at each airport and 3 different kinds of approaches

• 40 hrs of actual or simulated instrument time 15 must be with a instructor with the CFII

• Pass The written test with a 70 or above.

Commercial Pilot Certificate

A Commercial Pilot certificate will allow you to get paid to fly. There are various flying jobs ranging from crop dusting,instructing(requires a instructor certificate) cargo,airlines,police and so on. Its worth noting that just because you have a Commercial license it doesn't mean you qualify for any jobs yet most jobs require that you have a certain amount of hours before they will consider hiring you. For example the cargo job I have now requires 1200hrs of flight time to get hired when I finished my pilot training I had approximately 360hrs of flight time. So I Instructed until I got enough time. And from here I'm building time to move on to a airline. To obtain A Commercial License you must:

• You must be at least 18 yrs old

• Hold a Private

• Have 250 Hours total time 20 hrs with an instructor and 10 solo

• Several Cross country flights more than 50nm from point of departure

• Pass a written

*Its worth noting that a commercial license doesn't qualify you to fly a 737 right off the bat. Any aircraft with a turbo-jet or turbo-fan engine requires a type rating also any plane with a max takeoff weight greater than 12,500 pounds also requires a type rating. You can think of a type rating as a license for that specific plane.

CHECKRIDES

Once you have completed the requirements for the certificate/rating you will be required to take a check ride think of this as the test at the DMV to get your drivers license. There will be a oral exam where the examiner will ask you questions (its open book) just don't look up every question. After which you will do a flying test. Don't worry by the time you have competed the requirements and your instructor has signed you off to take the test you will be doing the maneuvers in your sleep

This article doesn't cover everything but it was written to give you a general idea of the steps involved in becoming a pilot. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at erussellcfi@gmail.com

Happy Landings

Eric Russell

CFI CFII