Pilot License Services

In order to complete your recreational pilot license training program, you’ll have to complete the following training and exams:

• 30 hours of flight training (15 of those with an instructor)
• Learn the basics of flying (regulations, procedures, and more) via an instructional course
• Pass an FAA written knowledge test
• Pass a required oral and practical flight test administered by an FAA-designated examiner

§ 61.101 recreational pilot privileges and limitations are listed in this section for the FAA FAR-AIM.

To earn your private pilot license, you must meet the following requirements:

• You must be at least 17 years of age for your license, 16 years of age to solo
• You must be able to read, speak, write, and understand English
• You must obtain a Third-Class Medical Certificate
• You must receive private ground instruction
• You must pass a written examination with a score of 70% or better

You must have logged at least 40 hours of flight time.

This includes 20 hours of flight instruction of which:

• Three hours is cross-country
• Three hours is at night (10 takeoffs and landings to a full stop and one cross-country at least 100 NM)
• Three hours is instrument training
• Three hours is in preparation for the flight test within the preceding 60 days

This also includes 10 hours is solo flight time that includes:

• Five hours of solo cross-country time (one cross-country of 150 NM with full-stop landings at a minimum of three points, one leg of which is more than 50 NM between its takeoff and landing locations)
• Three solo takeoffs and landings to a full stop at an airport with an operating control tower

The final 10 hours are optional for use as either solo or dual, whichever the instructor feels is needed to best prepare the student.

You must successfully complete a flight test given by an FAA Inspector or Designated Examiner

To learn more, take a FREE online Learn to Fly Course Training Course from Sporty’s Pilot Shop.

To get your instrument license, you must meet four major requirements.

First, a person who applies for an instrument rating must:

1. You must hold at least a Private Pilot Certificate
2. You must be able to read, speak, write, and understand English
3. You must receive Instrument ground instruction
4. You must hold a current medical certificate
5. You must pass a written examination with a score of 70% or better

Second, a person who applies for an instrument rating must have received and logged ground training on the following aeronautical knowledge areas that apply to the instrument rating sought:

1. FARs that apply to flight operations under IFR
2. Appropriate information that applies to flight operations under IFR in the “Aeronautical Information Manual”
3. ATC system and procedures for instrument flight operations
4. IFR navigation and approaches by use of navigation systems
5. Use of IFR en route and instrument approach procedure charts
6. Procurement and use of aviation weather reports and forecasts and the elements of forecasting weather trends based on that information and personal observation of weather conditions
7. Safe and efficient operation of aircraft under instrument flight rules and conditions
8. Recognition of critical weather situations and winds hear avoidance
9. Aeronautical decision-making and judgment
10. Crew resource management

Third, a person who applies for an instrument rating must receive and log training from an authorized instructor in an aircraft that includes the following areas of operation:

1. Preflight preparation and procedures
2. ATC clearances and procedures
3. Flight by reference to instruments
4. Navigation systems
5. Instrument approach procedures

Finally, a person who applies for an instrument rating must have logged:

1. 50 hours of cross-country flight time as pilot in command, of which 10 hours must have been in an airplane
2. 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time in the areas of operation listed in this section, of which 15 hours must have been received from an authorized instructor who holds an instrument rating, and the instrument time includes a flight of 250 nautical miles along airways or by directed routing from an air traffic control facility, an instrument approach at each airport, and three different kinds of approaches with the use of navigation systems

To earn your commercial license, you must meet the following requirements:

• You must be at least 18 years of age
• You must hold at least a Private Pilot Certificate
• You must be able to read, speak, write, and understand English
• You must receive ground instruction
• You must pass a written examination
• You must successfully complete a flight test

In addition to these requirements, you need to fulfill the requirements for aeronautical experience as outlined in section 61.129 for an airplane single-engine rating. 

With minimal exceptions (as outlined in paragraph i), a person who applies for a commercial pilot certificate with an airplane category and single-engine class rating must log at least 250 hours of flight time as a pilot. Please read the breakdown of these hours below.

100 hours must be in powered aircraft with at least 50 hours in airplanes.

100 hours must include pilot-in-command flight time. This includes at least 50 hours in airplanes and 50 hours in cross-country flight, of which at least 10 hours must be in airplanes.

20 hours of training must be completed on the areas of operation listed in 61.127(b)(1) of this part. This includes at least:

1. 10 hours of instrument training using a view-limiting device including attitude instrument flying, partial panel skills, recovery from unusual flight attitudes, and intercepting and tracking navigational systems (five hours of the 10 hours required on instrument training must be in a single-engine airplane)
2. 10 hours of training in an airplane that has retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller, or is turbine-powered, or for an applicant seeking a single-engine seaplane rating, 10 hours of training in a seaplane that has flaps and a controllable pitch propeller
3. One two-hour cross-country flight in a single-engine airplane in daytime conditions that consists of a total straight-line distance of more than 100 nautical miles from the original point of departure
4. One two-hour cross-country flight in a single-engine airplane in nighttime conditions that consists of a total straight-line distance of more than 100 nautical miles from the original point of departure
5. Three hours in a single-engine airplane with an authorized instructor in preparation for the practical test within the preceding two calendar months from the month of the test

An additional 10 hours of solo flight time must be completed in a single-engine airplane or 10 hours of flight time must be completed performing the duties of pilot-in-command in a single-engine airplane with an authorized instructor on board (either of which may be credited towards the flight time requirement under paragraph (a)(2) of this section), on the areas of operation listed under 61.127(b). This includes:

1. One cross-country flight of not less than 300 nautical miles total distance, with landings at a minimum of three points, one of which is a straight-line distance of at least 250 nautical miles from the original departure point (if this requirement is being met in Hawaii, the longest segment need only have a straight-line distance of at least 150 nautical miles)
2. Five hours in night VFR conditions with 10 takeoffs and 10 landings (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport with an operating control tower

Before you pursue your CFI rating, make sure you’ve met these requirements:

• Have logged at least 250 hours (or 190 hours Part 141) total time
• Hold a Commercial Pilot Certificate or ATP (ASEL or AMEL) with an Instrument Rating
• Hold a valid FAA 3rd Class Medical Certificate (or higher)

Please see FAR 61.183 for additional details on flight instructor requirements.

Come satisfy that dream of flying a seaplane just minutes from Philadelphia International Airport at KPNE in the summer or Apopka, FL in the winter. With lakes and rivers to train in, you’ll the fundamentals of seaplane flying. Our course will also cover some of the more advanced skills needed to confidently land in less traveled areas and explore places rarely visited by others. The entire course averages about five hours and covers everything including takeoffs, landings, docking, and more. Since the Maule is amphibious and has 260 horsepower, you’ll obtain both a high-performance and complex endorsement at no additional cost during the rating!

An applicant for a seaplane rating shall complete a total of seven hours of seaplane training, including:

• Minimum of five hours of dual instruction
• Minimum of 5 takeoffs and landings as sole occupant of the airplane, except for two-crew aircraft, in which case the takeoffs and landings shall be done as pilot-in-command

Northeast Aviation provides courses with different levels of training and skill. From beginners to professionals, there’s something for everyone!