Private Pilot - Basic Requirements

Basic Requirements

In the United States, a person must have a minimum of 40 (forty) hours of flight instruction in order to obtain a private pilot's license. The forty hours is divided between time spent with the instructor actually in the aircraft ("dual instruction") and with the student practicing maneuvers and cross country flights alone ("solo"). While there are some persons who have obtained their license with only the minimum hours required, most successful candidates complete their checkride between 50 to 65 hours.

Prior to being allowed to solo a powered aircraft, the student pilot must obtain a Student Pilot Certificate which is part-and-parcel of the FAA's Airman's Medical Certificate. During private pilot training, the student must be able to meet the requirements of a third class medical.

Also, students for a powered license (fixed or rotary wing) must be 16 (sixteen) years of age before they are allowed to solo. Students for a glider rating may be only 14 (fourteen) years old.

For all classes of license, and each category, there are requisite ground instruction for each category aircraft. The ground instruction prepares the student for their first flight and includes (but is not limited to...) the following; knowledge about aircraft systems, pre-flight inspections, pilot's duties, cross-country navigation, air-to-ground radio technique, weight-and-balance computations and emergency procedures, among others. Prior to being allowed to take "the checkride" (the assessment flight by an FAA examiner to determine applicant's readiness to be issued a license), the applicant will have to take and pass a written examination on the ground school curriculum.