Part 61 Series — Private Pilot Privileges & Limitations: What You Can (and Can’t) Do
Mar 29, 2026
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You passed the checkride. You shook hands with the examiner. You’re officially a Private Pilot.
Now what?
Can you take friends flying and split the cost? Can you fly yourself to a business meeting? Can someone “tip” you for the flight? Can you post seats for sale online?
This is where many new private pilots get tripped up.
Your certificate gives you privileges — but it also comes with limitations. And those limitations live primarily in one very important regulation:
§61.113 — Private Pilot Privileges and Limitations
In this fifth installment of our Part 61 series, we’ll break down exactly what that regulation allows — and where the legal lines are drawn for small-aircraft pilots.
Because earning your certificate is one thing.
Using it correctly? That’s where professionalism begins.
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