Pilot Training Requirements: Student to Commercial Pilot

Earning a pilot certificate in the United States follows a defined sequence of training milestones, each governed by the Federal Aviation Administration.

This guide breaks down every stage of that sequence, from the student pilot certificate through the commercial pilot license and beyond, with the specific ages, flight hours, medical standards, and costs you need to plan for.

Pilot Training Requirements: A Glimpse at the Journey Ahead

Training to become a pilot typically has you start off as a student pilot, then work your way up to a private pilot, followed by a commercial pilot and eventually the top prize an airline transport pilot. Somewhere in there, most pilots will earn an instrument rating basically the ability to fly by the seat of your pants (or rather by the instruments in the cockpit) because visibility is poor.

And while a lot of pilots go for that, a surprising number also become flight instructors to build up their hours and earn some cash at the same time, all the while working towards the magic minimums required by the airlines.

Where Regulations Come In

All of these various requirements around pilot training come courtesy of the FAA and their wonderful world of regulations, with 14 CFR Part 61 and Part 141 setting the basic eligibility requirements behind training. Under Part 61, pilots can train at their own pace with an authorized instructor, while Part 141 is more of a traditional flight school model with the FAA approving the curriculum. Both of these paths apply to the airplane and mean you'll be doing single or multi-engine flying.

Just a Note on Terminology

Before we dive in too deep, here are a few things to keep in mind. The FAA issues a "pilot certificate" (note no "license" that term is used pretty loosely a lot of the time) and ratings like the instrument or multi-engine rating really add to what you can do with that certificate depending on the aircraft rating sought.

Endorsements (things like operating a complex, high-performance or tailwheel plane) are just a way of getting a certified flight instructor to sign off on it in your logbook.

Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty

Now let's take a look at the key milestones in order:

• First you need to get started with an authorized instructor

• Get yourself a student pilot certificate and a medical certificate

• You'll be needing a private pilot certificate and that's going to require at least 40 hours of flying under Part 61

• Next up is getting that instrument rating another 40 hours in the air

• After that, it's on to the commercial pilot license and you'll need to have at least 250 hours of flight time under your belt

• Flight instructor certificates (CFI, CFII, MEI, or multi-engine instructor) are a great way to build up your hours while also earning some cash

• And finally, after all that, there's the Airline Transport Pilot certificate and that requires 1,500 hours of flying.

Assuming you're going all in and training full time, it shouldn't take much more than 9 to 18 months to get that commercial pilot certificate. Of course, if you're only flying part time, you're looking at a couple of years or more.

It's pretty complex there are different requirements depending on whether you want to fly for fun, professionally or for an airline, so it's a good idea to think about which pilot license types match your end goal and how that impacts every decision you make along the way.

Basic Eligibility and Student Pilot Certificate Requirements

The FAA has basic eligibility requirements that vary depending on the certificate you're after:

• Student Pilot Certificate: you've got to be at least 16 years old to get one for an airplane, or 14 years old for gliders and balloons

• Private Pilot Certificate: as of your 17th birthday you're eligible

• Commercial Pilot Certificate: you need to be at least 18 years old

• Unrestricted Airline Transport Pilot Certificate: you have to be 23 years or older

To apply you have to be able to read, speak, write and understand English; no problem if you've got English as a second language. Most pilot pathways also require at least a high school diploma or GED.

A student pilot certificate is a whole different ball game from getting a medical certificate and it's essential you get one before you can fly solo. If that's something you want to do, then you've got to apply with the Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application, with a certified flight instructor, Designated Pilot Examiner, Flight Standards District Office or some other authorized representative of a Part 141 school able to verify your identity and sort out the application, and applications are reviewed through the Airmen Certification Branch. The certificate usually arrives by mail in about three weeks.

When you're working towards a private or commercial certificate for an airplane, the medical class you need will depend on what privileges you want to exercise

Perfect vision is not required; glasses or contact lenses are acceptable if corrected vision meets FAA standards, and a first-class medical certificate requires 20/20 vision with correction, while color vision is evaluated during the medical exam.

Applicants with health concerns should consult an FAA-authorized Aviation Medical Examiner early, and an Aero Medical Examiner can advise if additional evaluation or special issuance review could delay training.

Medical certification is only one part of the broader pilot physical requirements, which cover vision, hearing, cardiovascular health, neurologic health, mental health, and physical mobility.

Before you can fly solo in an airplane you'll be needing to:

• be at least 16 years old

• have got a student pilot certificate and the required medical qualification

• pass the pre-solo knowledge test

• get in some quality flight training and show you've got the skills

• get an instructor to endorse you to fly solo in the specific type of aircraft you're flying

You can begin flight training with a flight instructor before you've got the student pilot certificate or medical certificate; just keep in mind that's not the same as having one of the required certificates.

Ground School, Knowledge Test, and Checkride Requirements

Ground school, or ground school training, gets you the aeronautical knowledge you need to get flying and pass those FAA tests. And the good news is you can pretty much do it your own way take a class from an instructor, do an online course, or just work through a book at home as long as it's been approved by the FAA.

The specific stuff you need to know depends on what license or rating you're after, but most of the time you're going to need to cover these basics:

• All the rules and regulations that govern flying

• How planes work and stay in the air

• How all the various systems on an airplane work and how to get the best out of them

• Understanding and interpreting the weather not just forecasts, but actual weather as it develops

• Figuring out where you are and where you're going, and planning your route

• Doing all the math to work out how much an airplane can carry

• Staying safe and making good decisions while flying

Before you take the actual FAA test, you need to get an endorsement from your instructor a bit of a formality, but essentially they're confirming you've completed the required ground training and you're ready to go.

The private pilot, instrument rating and commercial pilot knowledge tests are all multiple-choice, and you have to get at least 70% to pass and before you take the FAA test, an authorized instructor has to sign you off, and it doesn't expire after just a year, you have 24 months to get it done before you have to go take the practical test.

Once you've done all the flying training you need to do, you get another endorsement from your instructor saying you're good to go for the checkride and prepared for the required practical test that's the last part of the test, when you get to show off your flying skills.

The checkride is a bit of a nerve-wracker, but don't worry there are two parts to it. First there's the oral exam, where an FAA inspector or a Designated Pilot Examiner will ask you all sorts of questions about the rules, the weather, flight planning, all that sort of stuff.

Then there's the actual flight evaluation that's where you get to show off all the flying skills you've learned: everything from the standard stuff to emergency responses and decision making.

If you don't pass on the first try, don't worry it's just back to square one and get more training done, and then try again and you'll need another endorsement from your instructor before you can go back for another go.

Private Pilot Certificate Requirements

The private pilot certificate is the first full certificate most aspiring pilots earn, and it serves as the prerequisite for the instrument rating, commercial pilot license, and flight instructor certificates. The recreational pilot certificate and sport pilot certificate exist as alternatives for recreational pilots who do not plan to pursue professional flying, but neither leads to a commercial career.

Under 14 CFR Part 61, the minimums for a private pilot certificate in airplane single-engine land are:

• Minimum age: 17

• English proficiency required

• At least a third class medical certificate and student pilot certificate

• 40 hours total flight time (Part 61 minimum); a private pilot license requires a minimum of 35 flight hours under Part 141

• At least 20 hours of dual instruction with a certified flight instructor

• At least 10 hours solo flight

• 3 hours cross country flight training (dual)

• 3 hours night flight training, including 10 takeoffs and 10 full-stop landings and one cross country flight over 50 nautical miles at night

• 3 hours instrument training (simulated or actual)

• One solo cross country over 150 nautical miles total distance with full-stop landings at three points

The regulatory minimum is 40 hours, but most students complete the private pilot checkride with 55 to 70 hours of flight experience. Weather cancellations, scheduling gaps, and individual learning pace all push the real number above the legal floor.

Instrument Rating Requirements

To get your commercial pilot's license, you don't actually need an instrument rating but if you don't have one, things get a bit tricky for your passengers you can't fly them anywhere at night or more than 50 nautical miles across country.

And to be honest, you're basically out of the running for most high-powered pilot jobs, including a career as a commercial airline pilot, unless you've got it that's CFR 14 §61.133 in a nutshell. When you're trying to get your instrument rating for an airplane, here are the hoops you have to jump through under CFR 14 §61.65:

• You'll need to either have your private pilot's license or be working on getting that one at the same time

• You need to complete the required ground training along with your air training, and get your instructor to endorse it

• You've got to pass that knowledge test and your practical (flight) test with the FAA

• You need to rack up 50 hours of cross-country flying on your own where you're in charge of the plane 10 of those have to be in an airplane

• You need to get 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument flying time 15 of those have to be with an instructor who's got their own instrument rating, and when applicable some approved time can be completed in a flight simulator

• You've got to get three hours of instrument training in within a couple of months of your practical test.

• You'll need to do a 250 nautical mile IFR cross-country at some point that includes some instrument approaches and three different types of navigation systems to get you familiar with how they all work

Commercial Pilot Training Requirements and Flight Hours

For a commercial pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine rating in the airplane category under Part 61, applicants must meet the following commercial pilot requirements in the FAA requirements:

• Be at least 18 years old

• Hold at least a private pilot certificate

• Hold at least a second class medical certificate when exercising commercial pilot privileges

• Receive the required instructor endorsements and pass the FAA knowledge and practical tests

• Log at least 250 hours of flight time total, including 100 hours in powered aircraft and 50 hours in airplanes

• Log 100 hours as pilot in command (PIC), including 50 hours in airplanes and 50 hours of cross-country flight, with at least 10 cross-country hours in airplanes

• Complete 20 hours of flight training, including aeronautical knowledge areas such as high altitude operations:

• 10 hours of instrument training, with at least 5 hours in a single-engine airplane

• 10 hours in a complex, turbine-powered, or technically advanced airplane (TAA), or a combination

• One two-hour daytime and one two-hour nighttime cross-country flight, each more than 100 nautical miles from the original departure point

• Three hours of checkride preparation within the preceding two calendar months

• Complete 10 hours solo or performing PIC duties with an instructor, including:

• One cross-country flight of at least 300 nautical miles, with landings at three points and one point at least 250 nautical miles in straight line distance from the original departure point

• Five hours of night VFR with 10 takeoffs and 10 landings, with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern at an airport with an operating control tower

Commercial pilots earn an average salary of $86,080 per year.

Advanced-airplane training

Complete at least 10 hours of training in a complex airplane, turbine-powered airplane, or technically advanced airplane (TAA), or any combination of the three, appropriate to the aircraft rating sought, as required by 14 CFR §61.129(a)(3)(ii). A complex airplane may include retractable landing gear and a controllable pitch propeller, while a technically advanced airplane includes an electronic primary flight display and a heading guidance system.

Part 61 vs. Part 141 Training Paths

Part 61 gives you a fair amount of flexibility when it comes to your training you get to pick your own certified instructor, set the schedule, and learn at your own pace. But that freedom comes with a price the minimum hour requirements are higher: 40 hours to get your private license, 250 hours to get your commercial one.

That means it's a good fit for people who only have time to fly part-time, or who are changing careers and need to balance things. Students who have other commitments and can't show up to the flight school every day will also find this path works for them.

On the other hand, Part 141 offers a more structured approach to flight training. You do your training through an FAA-approved flight school that has a set syllabus and stage checks, and instructors are there to keep an eye on things. And in exchange for all that structure, you may reach certification with fewer hours 35 hours to get your private certificate and roughly 190 hours to get from your private to your commercial.

Both paths will still get you the same pilots license with the same privileges, and as far as a commercial airline is concerned, what really matters is how many hours you've got under your belt, your level of proficiency, and how well you did on your checkride not which regulation your training fell under.

If you want a college degree that's tied into your aviation training, Part 141 is a good choice a lot of universities run their pilot training programs under this rule and that can get you restricted ATP privileges when you graduate.

If you need a bit more flexibility in your scheduling or are training at a smaller independent flight school, Part 61 is probably a better fit. Some of the other pilot certificates, (like the sport pilot one) can only be done under Part 61.

How Many Flight Hours Does It Take to Become an Airline Pilot

A standard airline transport pilot license (ATP certificate) for airplanes requires at least 1,500 flight hours (all in all), and it builds on the qualifications commercial pilots already hold, including a commercial pilot certificate with an instrument rating and completion of the ATP-CTP course before the multiengine ATP knowledge test. Most applicants need to be at least 23 years old, though some pilots can qualify for restricted privileges at 21 with a few special FAA rules. Airline transport pilots can earn up to $147,220 annually. Many pilots first build time at a regional airline before moving to a major airline.

Flight Hours, Training Fees & Timeframes

Pilot training comes in all shapes and sizes, and the cost runs from $15,000 up to $125,000. This is all depending on the certificates & ratings you want, what part of the country your training is in, and how many extra flight hours you need to qualify. One airline career program we know of is a whopping $123,995 if you go for it all, private, instrument, commercial, multi-engine, CFI, CFII, and MEI.

Typical full-time timelines are 3-6 months to get your private pilot's license, 3-5 months for the instrument rating, and 4-8 months for commercial training. Don't be surprised if part-time students take six to twelve months just to get their private pilot's certificate on their own.

Perfect vision is not required

Glasses or contact lenses are fine as long as you can score well on the FAA's vision standards, and that includes color vision, which will be tested during the medical exam. If you need to get a medical certificate from an Aviation Medical Examiner, you should get that sorted out, and if you have any health concerns, get them out in the open asap; applicants concerned about vision can discuss possible restrictions with an Aero Medical Examiner, and getting a special review can put things back a fair bit.

For a detailed breakdown of corrected and uncorrected eyesight standards by medical class, see our guide answering do you need 20/20 vision to be a pilot.