Some of the most commonly asked questions I get, either from prospective students or the public in general, are around the requirements. Things like “What is the minimum age?” “How much is there to learn?” and “How long will it take?”.
Like with everything in aviation, these are surprisingly broad questions, and the answers are often some variation of “it depends”. And I’ll normally approach the question with another question: “what are your goals?”
Whether you are going for Recreational, Sport, Private, Commercial or whatever – it helps to know that the answers can be found in 14CFR Part 61. In fact, all of the information we need can be found in the FAR/AIM or online. But let’s break it down further.
First of all, there are considerations of Eligibility. This is simply a matter of your age, citizenship, speaking English, etc. For example, 61.83 tells us you must be 16 years of age for a Student Pilot certificate (14 for glider or balloon) and be able to read, speak, and understand English. 61.103 tells us for a Private Pilot certificate you must be 17 years old (16 for glider or balloon), read speak and understand English, then lines out other requirements such as a knowledge test, aeronautical experience, and training. 61.123 gives the same sort of information for the Commercial Pilot Certificate.
Secondly, we move to Areas of Operation or in other words, proficiency. These are the items you are required to learn and can constitute something of a grey area when trying to nail down a timeline – since we are dealing with proficiency, it just takes as long as it takes. For example, 61.105 and 61.107 list the Aeronautical Knowledge and Flight Proficiency for a Private Pilot.
And lastly, there is Aeronautical Experience – how many hours do I need?? These are, of course, minimums and are further broken down by type of experience. 61.109 says that a minimum of 40 hours are required for a Private Pilot – but then breaks it down by solo, dual, cross country, night, etc.
So in the end, to keep from simply regurgitating the regulations here and taking up several pages, I’ve talked about a way to approach the question. When you know what your goal is, you can find the eligibility, proficiency, and aeronautical experience requirements in the FAR/AIM or online. Some certificates have lower certificates as a prerequisite.
For further info, I’ve included some links broken down by certificate type:
- Recreational pilots – https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/part-61/subpart-D
- Sport pilots – https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/part-61/subpart-J
- Student pilots – https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/part-61/subpart-C
- Private pilots – https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/part-61/subpart-E
- Commercial pilots – https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/part-61/subpart-F
- Ultralights (part 103) – https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/part-103
To cover the most common types. Feel free to shoot me any questions if anything is unclear and I’ll do my best to find an answer!