So you’re thinking about becoming a pilot and you’re not exactly sure how it works. . . 

One of the most amazing things about being in aviation is getting to hear everyone’s response when asked “what got you interested in aviation?” For me it was my Father. When I was just a kid he was working in the IT department for a small company named Quest Aircraft, based in Sandpoint, Idaho. I was about eight years old and every now and then we would be invited to go to a company picknick or event that would take place in the factory hangar. They would occasionally take us all outside to show off the airplane in it’s fancy green and yellow primer colors, and that would turn out to be my gateway to a near lifelong obsession with things that fly.

Whatever the reason for your love of aviation, there can ultimately be a lot more to it that just following your dreams. It takes good physical and mental health, a willingness to learn, some level of skill, and in some cases a little bit of luck. So what kind of things should you be thinking about before you set out to follow your dreams? For those of you who are curious here’s how becoming a pilot works, and some things to know that I hope you’ll find helpful along the way.

How To Become A pilot

The Basics

In general becoming a pilot these days will cost about $13,000 – $15,000. Your training will consist of a minimum of 40 hours flight time, including 10 hours of solo time. You’ll also need to take a ground school course and get an endorsement by a flight instructor to take a 60 question written test. Once your training is complete, and your instructor feels you are piloting the aircraft at the level expected of a Private Pilot, they will endorse you to take a practical test with an FAA designated examiner. The test will be about $600, and will consist of an oral exam, followed by a flight with the examiner to demonstrate your ability to pilot an aircraft safely.  Once you pass the exam you will officially be a certified Pilot!

Eligibility Requirements

In order to become a Student Pilot you must be at least 16 years old, and be able to read, speak and write in English. In addition you will also need to have a medical certificate obtained by visiting an Aviation Medical Examiner. The minimum class of Medical Certificate required to become a Private Pilot is is known as “Basic Med.” This being said, you will more than likely want to start with either a Third Class or First Class Medical Exam. I’ll also add that you may start flight training at an age younger that 16. However, without a Student Pilot Certificate you won’t be able to Solo, which could extend your training and increase the total cost of training.

In order to become a Private Pilot, you’ll need to be 17 years old, and be able to read, speak, and write English. As mentioned earlier in “The Basics,” you’ll need to pass the associated FAA written exam, as well as log (at least) 40 hours of flight time, including at least 20 hours of flight training from a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI). On top of that you’ll need at least ten hours of solo time (that means you, by yourself in an airplane, all alone), and an endorsement from your Flight Instructor in your logbook saying that you’re ready to prove to the FAA that you have what it takes to be a Private Pilot!

Step One: Discovery flight

If you’re thinking about starting flight school, the best place to begin is with something called a Discovery flight, A “Discovery Flight,” or “Introductory Flight,” is a short 30 to 60 minute flight with an instructor where they take you flying. The purpose of the flight is to let you discover if flying is something you would even enjoy. When I used to do intro flights with students, I would typically let them fly the plane as much as I could within the confines of our collective comfort zones. This included a little bit of taxiing, perhaps helping them out with a takeoff, some turns, a quick tour of the area, and if all went well I’d let them try some of the landing. These are the kind of things you can expect from a discovery flight.

After the discovery you may find yourself wanting to do it again. If that’s the case, move on to step two.

Step Two: Chose a Flight School

After you’ve decided to pursue a pilot’s certificate you will need to find a flight school that is a good fit for you. In order to do that it is important to decide how far down the rabbit hole of aviation you are interested in going. The question you should be asking is, “am I doing this as a hobby, or am I doing this as a career?”  

In general, there are two types of flight schools out there. Flight Schools oriented towards hobby pilots, and flight schools dedicated to making airline pilots. If you’re looking to pursue flying as a hobby, look no further than the company you did that discovery with. You can always go to a different flight school if you didn’t enjoy your experience with that company, there is generally at least one flight school at every airport.

If you’re looking to pick up flying as a career, there are plenty of schools that specialize in getting you into the industry. Places like: ATP flight school, Embry Riddle, University of North Dakota, and many others. The truth is, airlines are desperate for pilots these days and many of them have started their own flight schools. In fact, basically all of the Regional Airlines partner with the previously mentioned schools and many have programs with some smaller flight schools as well.

Once you have chosen a school, you’ll be ready for the next step, which is not as much fun as the other two. 

Step Three: Financing

Unfortunately, you’ve now made it to the part of the process where you have to figure out how to pay for your new adventure. Flight training is a significant investment, and therefore it can be very risky, but if you’re looking for a way to justify spending the money on it I’ve got you covered.

If you’re looking to make a career out of flying for an airline, the pay had never been higher. If you’re a full time student you can get an airline job in 2-4 years depending on where you go to school (Aviation college vs Fast track program). Starting pay is around $90-$100/hr. Please note that airlines structure pay slightly different than any previous job you may have had in the past. At a regional airline, first year pay works out to be about $6,750/month before tax. You can always make that number larger by picking up extra flying. After a couple years at an airline you can decide to go into training to become a captain. Once that happens your pay could go up to around $150/hour, or $11,250/month before taxes.

That sound pretty great, but the catch is that the total cost to become a commercial pilot can be up to $100,000. Luckily there are some lenders out there who will give you financing for your journey (Sallie Mae as an example). In addition you usually don’t make any payments towards the loan until your training is complete. Some smaller flight schools have also begun to offer financing for students looking to take part in a career level training program. 

Unfortunately, for those just looking to do flight training as a hobby, your financing options are usually limited to credit cards, savings accounts, and personal loans. The benefit of pursuing flight as a hobby, however, is that it costs a lot less and is much less of a risk. Some people start with flying as a hobby, then decide to move forward with it as a career.  

At the very beginning of flight training you will be introduced to your flight instructor. They will probably walk you through the curriculum, scan important documents into the companies computer system (Passport, Drivers license, FAA Medical Certificate), and most likely they will help you fill out your application for your student pilot certificate. From there, you’ll probably be given the option to attend ground school in person at the flight school, or given a recommendation to an online ground school course. It’s important to note that “ground school” is not the same as the ground instruction you will receive from your flight instructor. The primary function of ground school is to prepare you for the FAA written exam. Your CFI will work with you one on one to cover certain topics such as aircraft specific systems and limitations (max weight, max speed, etc.), and pre-flight maneuver briefings. At the end of every lesson, a good instructor will talk with you about what went well during a lesson, and what didn’t.

Ground school can be held once or twice a week for an in person class, or done at your own pace with an online ground school. You should be scheduling flight lessons at least once a week, and more frequently if possible, as breaks in training reduce efficiency. Students of an aviation college or fast track program will be flying several days a week and should plan to be on campus daily for at least 4 hours a day. 

Your first few lessons will be focused on the basics of flying. How to turn, how to fly straight, how to climb, and how to descend. Once you have the basics down your instructor will start to introduce some different maneuvers that will help you show the FAA you understand the physics and techniques required to fly an airplane. You’ll then learn how to navigate in the sky using a map, and some other fun tools, like an E6B and GPS.

It can take a few lessons to really start feeling comfortable in the airplane. At first it will seem like drinking out of a fire hose, but after about ten to twenty hours of flight time you’ll be feeling confident in your new role as a pilot. It will take a lot of takeoffs and landings to get to this point, and don’t beat yourself up if it takes you longer than you expected to become proficient at something in the airplane. Even if you’re not struggling, I’d encourage making friends with some of the other students at the flight school. This will benefit you by offering you a chance to learn from students at various levels in their training. Eventually you will be in a position to pay it forward to other students seeking the same kind of mentorship. 

Around 60 to 80 hours of flight time you will be very conformable in the airplane. Enough so that you don’t feel scared anymore when your instructor steps out. You should understand the aviation rules and how to talk with air traffic controllers (even if they still scare you a little). At this point you’re probably ready to fine tune your skills for your Check Ride. Taking the FAA Designated Examiner for a ride in an airplane can be a pretty stressful experience, but your instructor wouldn’t sign you off to take the test if they didn’t think you were ready. My flight instructor used to tell me before the exam, “You are a private pilot, you just haven’t proved it yet.” Such wisdom can not be debated, since it is 100% true. 

 Once the Examiner signs your temporary pilot certificate it’s official. A couple weeks after the exam the FAA will even mail you a little green card with the Wright Brothers picture on one side and your name on the other. That will be your first Pilot Certificate. 

From there you can chose to not add any ratings, but just so you are informed of all the other ratings available, here’s a short list:

• Instrument Rating (fly in the clouds)
• Float Rating (land on the water)
• Multi Engine (fly airplanes with more than one engine)
• Tailwheel endorsement (fly airplanes with non traditional landing gear)
• Commercial Certificate (Get paid to fly)

These are just a few examples, in aviation there are many ratings. It’s up to you to decide. I will say that from a career perspective it still feels like a hobby, It’s been nice to go to work and have it not feel like work, but whatever your reason to learn to fly may be, I hope it’s something that you can find enjoyable for a long, long time.