If you obtain a private pilot certificate, that makes you a private pilot. As simple as that definition is, the challenge may rest with getting the certificate itself. The certificate is offered only to those who meet the legal and practical conditions required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). For example, there is a difference between the private pilot certificate and the commercial pilot certificate. The process that candidates go through to get each of the categories of certificates may look the same, but there are additional requirements that a commercial pilot has to meet.
A private pilot could be anybody, and that person could be working full-time as a professor, a teacher, or even a medical doctor. Of course, one will be required to complete the flying hours first; but the point is you can hold a private pilot certificate or license (PPC or PPL) and still keep your full time job. It could be considered a hobby.
What Can a Private Pilot Do?
There are privileges and limitations to what a private pilot can do.
A private pilot can be distinguished from a commercial pilot by the fact that while the commercial pilot is allowed to receive pay from his flying, the private pilot cannot do that. He cannot carry freight for hire.
Apart from that, based on the level of their training, private pilots are often required to fly only on VFR (visual flight rules); but any one of them who has passed the instrument rating test has the permit to fly on IFR (instrument flight rules). Basically, the difference between the two is that while VFR can be used when the weather is favorable to visibility, IFR is ideal for poor visibility, particularly due to bad weather.
The Necessary Conditions
To get a private pilot license, you are expected to satisfy the following conditions:
- The third class aviation medical certificate is a “must”; actually, it is better to get it before starting the training to know where you stand before the law and the regulatory body-FAA.
- Having a minimum of 40 hours of flight training is a necessary condition to obtaining a private pilot certificate. Some of these hours are spent in solo flight. Solo flight is when the candidate is allowed to do some maneuvers and fly cross-country with nobody by his side, not even his instructor. You may think this is scary! Not really. You may have that impression just because you are considering things as an outsider. Also, before a student is allowed to go solo, his instructor, who has been following his progress in training, must have a solid conviction about the student pilot’s readiness. Indeed, the student cannot fly solo without his endorsement. If all of these conditions are not met, it will look like the candidate is being sent on a suicide-mission.
- You must have a student pilot certificate before flying solo. During solo, you are required to practice a number of operations and procedures, some of which have to do with safety and emergency situations.
- The private pilot acquires aircraft systems knowledge as well as other airmanship practices that make a pilot out of him.
- A written ground instruction examination is administered to test the candidate on all the knowledge he has gained about flying and aircraft. If he passes this, then he can move on to the next stage of his journey toward being certified a private pilot. Should the student fail this test, he will be allowed to retake it.
- An assessment flight, called a check-ride, is administered by an examiner appointed by the FAA. The result of this assessment is a determinant in whether the private pilot should be issued a license. The FAA examiner generally begins with a session of oral questions and answers to ascertain that the candidate masters emergency procedures as well as operational skills and safety practices. If he is satisfied with the outcome of this preliminary stage, then both the student and the examiner move closer to the aircraft to conduct the practical tests. The FAA examiner has to be satisfied that the student got everything right.
Moreover, private pilot ratings are generally conducted on airplanes (both single-engine land and multi-engine land); seaplanes; private pilot helicopters; private pilot balloons; private pilot gliders; and private pilot gyrocopters.
Advantages
There are a number of things that a private pilot will gain when he is certified:
- Private pilots enjoy cheaper rates for insurance than do recreational and sport pilots.
- As a private pilot, you can fly to and from work if you have your own jet. Even if you borrow it or rent it, one of the benefits is that you can save time traveling from place to place. Imagine covering in 45 minutes of flying time a distance that would take 6 hours to drive! That’s the beauty of flying.
- But many people who earn their private pilot’s licenses don’t do it for the sake of weekend exploration of nearby environs, which can also be done by spending time in a car. They do it because they love the panoramic views you get from flying thousands of feet above the ground.
- Flying makes it easy for you to avoid highway traffic jams. That does not necessarily mean that there isn’t any air traffic that can delay you once in a while.
- Some people enjoy the peace of being in the air far above the distractions and stress of temporal activities.
- The sense of freedom that one enjoys in the sky can only be best assessed by flying by yourself.
- Another good thing about getting a private pilot license is that it becomes a foundation for the next step up if one should decide to get a commercial pilot license. It reduces the cost and time that will be spent in learning the basic flight knowledge as well as getting acquainted with the instruments.
- Moreover, a private pilot certificate helps you enjoy privileges that sport or recreational pilots are not granted.
If we were to list all of the advantages that the certificate of a private pilot offers someone, we could write a whole book.
What Private Pilots Fly
You can be a private pilot flying:
- an airplane (minimum age 17 years);
- a helicopter (minimum age 17 years);
- a gyroplane (minimum age 17 years);
- a balloon (minimum age 16 years); and
- a glider (minimum age 16 years).
What It Will Cost
At some point, it is necessary to discuss the issue of how much it will cost to go through the whole process and get a certificate. “The road to becoming a private pilot isn’t that hard,” most experts say; but it doesn’t come cheap. It’s expensive to sign up for flying lessons. And for people who are on a demanding job, it is also expensive as far as time is concerned — making the time to learn how to fly can be somewhat complicated.
Some flight instructors, aviation writers, and analysts say that one doesn’t need to be affluent to go through private pilot training. That is true, but that does not in any way imply that it is cheap to train and get a private pilot license. The FAA does not charge to issue the original certificate once you earn it. But remember that it is a whole process that leads to it. As a matter of fact, once people realize that getting the certificate costs thousands of dollars overall, few of them dare to take up the challenge of mastering the skill by registering for the flying lessons.
But once you know what you want, the next step is to plan for it. The planning prepares you for the challenges ahead, which include money. We don’t claim to talk on behalf of all the people and bodies involved in making a private pilot out of a person, but the following list of items that must be paid for may help put things together:
- study books and materials;
- FAA approved medical examiner fee;
- flight instructor;
- FAA examiner;
- flight school fee (The fee may differ depending on whether it’s an FAA certified flight school or center or a non-certified flight school. You could be paying the services of an independent flight instructor.); and
- aircraft rental.
Taking all of these into consideration, the cost for private pilot training that leads to obtaining a license is estimated at between $6,000 and $12,000. For many people, it sounds extravagant to spend so much for a certificate that only offers the freedom of flying with no possibility of making direct income out of it. And, of course, if candidates stay away because of the cost of private pilot training, then flight instructors also will suffer. They will have fewer people to train. Fortunately, for certified flight instructors, that will be changing soon.
Developments That Can Affect Private Pilots
The first prototype of the Transition road-able light sport aircraft completed its first flight on March 23, 2012. The anticipated price is $275,000, which is quite good for a car which can transition into an aircraft. There may be issues regarding applicable regulations. But if this car is going to fly under sport pilot certificate, it will not be a big deal for a private pilot, as his certificate is higher; all he will need to do is respect the limitations attached to flying that category of “aircraft.”
The ”flying car” called transition built by Terrafugia, will to some extent vindicate and reward private pilot certificate holders with the satisfaction of flying anytime anywhere as long as they have a runway and have mastered the skill of ”bush flying.” It is likely that the regulations that apply to general aviation will apply to flying cars once the “driver” decides to fly it. The necessary implication of the advent and mass-production of the flying car is that many more drivers will seek flight training.
Taking Your Stand
If you are considering taking lessons to obtain a private pilot certificate and you are trying to choose from among the many different flight schools available that have different costs for their training, it is important to remember that there are other factors to weigh besides cost before deciding which school is the best for you. When it comes to cost, even experts think that it is not necessary to pay an exorbitant amount for excellent training. Thus, getting a moderate price, according to what is generally obtainable in the industry, is a smart decision. Of course, “moderate” may be a relative term depending on the resources available to you. The bottom line here is that you will have to spend some money if you really want to attain a level of expertise in the aircraft cockpit before the exams that will crown your efforts with a certificate.
One can always dwell on the cost and the benefits of getting a private pilot certificate, but nothing beats the comfort and the confidence boost knowing that your safety is in your own hands and not in the hands of someone else who is doing it for the money. Personally, I think that knowing I can fly any time of the day to just cruise in the air is very rewarding. Not only that, having a private pilot certificate gives a person an edge as it allows for more flying hours. Thus, everyone who wishes to fly but is not willing to pay a commercial pilot for private hire, can count on the services of a certified private pilot to give them the same service at no charge if they are friends or acquaintances.
The conditions and costs for obtaining the private pilot license can also be viewed from the perspective of safety for everybody. If you can afford it and meet the requirements, chances are you are among the few candidates who can meet the standards of the industry.
The fictions of yesteryears are actualizing before our own eyes. There is more and more need to embrace flying skills in order not to be marginalized in the near future. Private pilots rightly form the bridge between the lesser qualified pilots and the highly qualified ones. And they appear to be in a position to become relevant in the aviation industry with the new developments that are un-folding.