The list of commercial pilot requirements is a very long one indeed; for there are many things that an aviator must be conversant with— navigation, radios, weather, the airplane’s controls, and others. This article will deal with how prospective pilots are trained in all these things.
It must be mentioned that a commercial pilot is one of only four types of pilots, each with its own license. The other three are private pilots, instructor pilots who train the other three, and airline transport pilots. This article will deal exclusively with commercial pilot requirements (though a private pilot’s certificate is a prerequisite for becoming a commercial one; see Section 3, Licensing).
List Of Commercial Pilot Requirements
1) Personal and Physical
A person who wishes to enter training at a commercial pilot school must be in good physical condition. He must be able to read and speak in English and pass the drug test and criminal background check.
2) Entering flight school
Flight schools are located in all fifty states and in Puerto Rico. They form branches of major universities. Most of the information given in this article will be based on that given for the aviation department at Cochise College, one of the best in the nation.
Cochise offers two areas of study— avionics and professional flight training. The student must first, of course, apply for admission to the college. Once enrolled, he must be
interviewed by the chief flight instructor and take courses in English, math, arts & humanities, laboratory sciences, foreign languages, technology literacy (either computer essentials or information systems) social and behavioral sciences, and general education electives. The core courses, each a five- hour lecture, are:
- Private Pilot Ground School— prepares the students for the commercial pilot requirements
- Solo Flight Preparation
- Cross- Country Navigation
- Private Pilot Certification
- Commercial Flight I— covers commercial flight maneuvers
- Commercial Pilot Ground School
- Commercial Flight II— continues what was covered in CF 1
- Instrument Rating Ground School
- Instrument Rating Flight I and II— Both courses cover air traffic control and navigation.
- Commercial Flight III
The above courses lead to a degree of Associate of General Studies (Major Code— PPT). For the degree of Associate of Applied Science (Major Code— PPT), the student takes all of the above classes, plus a set of electives, either (1) the multiengine option— Multiengine Rating Ground School and Multiengine Rating Flight, or (2) the flight instructor option— Fundamentals Ground School, Airplane Ground School, and Initial Flight. There are also two certificates— Basic Certificate (Major Code— PPTB) and Advanced Certificate (Major Code— PPTA). The Basic Certificate require most of the courses listed above, plus Meteorology, which covers aviation weather theory and the major weather hazards associated with piloting; the Advanced Certificate requires completion of either the basic one or an FAA Commercial Pilot Certificate “with instrument rating and consent of the chief flight instructor.” The student then takes all the multiengine and flight instructor courses mentioned under AAS, plus two other flight instructor classes— Instrument Ground School and Instrument Flight; and also has two options— (1) multiengine instructor (two Flight Instructor Multi-Engine Ground School courses), or (2) airline instructor (ground school and flight courses).
3) Licensing
The last, but most important, of all the commercial pilot requirements is the license. There are two types– private and commercial– and one must acquire the former before being able to train for the latter. To get a private pilot’s license (in the United States it is called a certificate), an applicant usually needs to complete from 60 to 70 hours of active flight time, though it is also possible to complete one’s training with as little as 35 hours in the air. Some licenses only allow the holder to fly a certain type of aircraft, such as a balloon, a powered parachute, or a glider; and there are four classes of airmen, divided by engine (single or multi) and area (land or sea).
Training And Written Exam For Commercial Pilot Requirements
For a commercial pilot license, the private pilot must undergo commercial training and pass a written test. Again, there are a number of license ratings, which restrict the holder to manning a single- or multiengine vehicle, or permitting or forbidding him to fly under Instrument Flight Rules (as opposed to Visual Flight Rules, under which the so- called “lower weather minimum” is higher).
Thus concludes the discussion of commercial airline pilot requirements. You can also check out this video that discusses commercial pilot requirements.
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