Types of Pilot Certificates

Before you take off on your career as a pilot, you will need to complete many hours of training and schooling first. Even knowing this, you may wonder how much time you will need to invest to learn to fly. While piloting refers to several types of aviators including commercial, recreational, or flight instructors, the length of time necessary to obtain each license type ranges from a few weeks to several years. Additionally, a few other factors also contribute to the length of schooling: the quality of your flight school, your availability to complete flight hours, and your aptitude for passing written exams. All these things will directly impact the amount of time you will need to complete your pilot training. Below, we will explore each of these components and explain the difference between each license type so you can figure out how long it takes to become a pilot.

Before flying solo, you need to acquire a private pilot license. To do so, you must complete at least 40 hours of flight training, both solo and with an instructor. This will take at least three months but can take anywhere up to a year. This is the first step in the process of getting your commercial pilot license and is not considered to be a professional certification, although you will be able to fly a single-engine plan on your own.  

Once you have a private pilot license, one valuable option you have is to earn your instrument rating. While it is not required in order to get your commercial pilot license, you may want to get an instrument rating so you are not limited in job choices. For one, your instrument rating ensures a higher level of safety while flying since ideally with this rating you should be able to fly an aircraft without having to look out a window once.

This is the minimum license required to obtain before flying professionally. As a result, you must complete 250 flight hours, which can take anywhere from twelve weeks to two years. This certificate allows you to fly professionally if you are flying a small single-engine aircraft. You will now be qualified to perform crop dusting and give flying tours. You will also need a CPL to become a certified flight instructor or to become an airline pilot, but you can also provide basic flight instruction and teach skydiving with this certificate.

Although optional for other aviation career types, you will need this to teach others looking for flight certification, if you prefer this flight career. The CFI certificate does not require any extra flight hours but will take between three weeks and three months of schooling to earn.

You do not need this certificate to move beyond this stage, but it is a good option if you want to get into the industry while you continue to work toward flight hours in becoming a pilot in command.

If you are looking to become a pilot in command, otherwise known as an airline pilot, you will need to get this license. You will need 1,500 flight training hours and additional schooling. The education can take as little as nine months, but the additional flight hours can take at least two years to complete. When you think of airline pilots who fly large commercial passenger planes, this would be the license they hold.  

As you can see, each certification has a wide range of time it takes to earn each license. The range includes the time it takes to complete the required flight hours, but the remaining time can be influenced by a few other conditions.

Eager to get started? Hopefully, this guide gave you some insight into the time commitment you will need. Your goals will be the biggest factor in how long it will take. If you are looking just to fly on your own, then it will take no time at all, but a career as an airline pilot will take you a couple of years. Do your research when choosing a flight school to find the one that best works with your schedule and your timeline.

J.A. Flight offers a career pilot program to cater to different students. Choose from two unique career path programs for students out of high school to people looking for a career change with an accelerated training program. Become a commercial airline pilot in as little as 300 hours! J.A. Flight Training is committed to helping graduates of our program further their professional pilot careers and find placement for them upon completion. Regardless of your experience, J.A. Flight will provide the fastest path to becoming a commercial airline pilot. Learn more here!

Are you ready to begin earning your piloting license? If now is the time for you to start flight school, start looking at the next steps! J.A. Flight training is conveniently based in Chicago’s western suburbs. No matter which career path you follow, you can count on experiential learning with the most up-to-date equipment, flight simulators, and aircrafts available. Contact us today to get started!