Becoming a Commercial Airline Pilot the how and why
Becoming a commercial airlinepilotis not as complicated as some may think, but it does require dedication and time. The first step is to get your private pilot certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This can be done at a variety of flight schools and or clubs across the country. There are two classifications of schools; CFR Part 61 contains the rules tor schools, instructors and ratings and CFR part 141 covers accelerated flight schools. Many of the larger flight schools operate under Part 141 and have special privileges and condensed courses authorized by the FAA.
You could do the study for the regulations and “Ground School” yourself using on-line study or any number of publications available and that the FAA written tests yourself, or you could attend a formal flight school that incorporates the ground school and flight training into one course.
Therequirementsfor a private pilot certificate are; you must be 17 years of age, be able to read, speak write and understand the English language, pass a written test and a practical test and hold a valid medical certificate in the class required for your type of flying.
After you have your private pilot certificate, you will need to add ratings and flight time in order to be desirable to any commercial air service or airline. The “normal” path is to get your instrument rating in both single engine land and multi-engine land aircraft, then your commercial rating in both those categories as well. You will also need to build flight time and gain turbine time as well and it would be desirable to do this in multi-engine aircraft if possible.
There are minimum hours needed for each rating as directed by the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs). You can research these at theFAA website.
Depending on what company or area of commercial flight you intend to follow, there may be minimum hours needed as well. After you have the ratings and hours required, the next step is to attend an advanced school offering turbine and high altitude training. Then you will most likely need a type rating in the aircraft you will be flying.
Most companies will require that you attend their training after being hired and you will attend periodic testing to insure you are current with the policies and procedures. You will have recurrent training in the type of aircraft you are flying.
Many flight schools will take you from the beginning all the way through your training, and some offer jobs as flight instructors to help you build your hours and pay the schooling costs. Another way to become a commercial pilot is to join the military as a pilot and get your training there. Once you have completed your contract with the military, you can begin searching for employment at a company in civilian life. Your training in the military will transfer to civilian life and depending on what you flew in the military; you may require specific training as a civilian.
