Getting a pilot license

How do I do it from scratch and are you licensed by the state or the feds?

Well, since it’s been near 15 minutes without a pilot checking in -

Feds (FAA) issue the license (here in the US) and the normal way seems to be to find an instructor, since you need flight time as well as passing a written test. No idea where you might be located, but it’s not too hard to find a school around here. $5000, back when I was looking, was about what it’d run.

I am a perpetual flight student as a hobby. You get a license from the FAA and you have to be 17 years old to get a license. A license for a private pilot (there are other types that are less restrictive) require 40 hours of flight time many of which with an instructor. 40 hours is unrealistic for most people and generally requires 60+ hours for completion of the private pilot license. You also need a Class III medical certificate to solo which isn’t that restrictive but does rule out certain medications and could be an issue.

There is usually no required ground school to start and usually no commitment required in terms of money or contacts. At most flight schools, you just show up with a couple of hundred dollars in hand to get started and start flying right away. Good instructors just let you do what you are capable and you can sometimes take-off and land on your first-lesson. You work out flying time with your instructor and you may or may not have multiple instructors over time.

$5000 for completion is generally unrealistic for a private pilots license. 60 hours for a plane and instructor might set you back over 5K on its own. There are books to buy, some expensive supplies, exams, and other things. A realistic estimate is closer to 6 - 8K.

However, if you find that expensive, I would like to point out that you are flying from day one. A private pilots license isn’t that practical for most people in a day to day sense so taking lessons is enjoyable on its own except you have a well experienced passenger (the instructor) to help you out when you need it.

It is a great hobby. It is also an incredibly expensive hobby.

Typically, it goes something like this (for powered aircraft):
You show up at a flight school with both interest and money.

You fly with an instructor, who starts teaching you the basics (e.g. effects of the controls).

You go to an Aviation Medical Examiner who examines you and issues a third-class medical certificate and a student pilot certificate. (This is often known as a student pilot license and technically means that you can be a “licensed pilot” with little to no flying experience or skill, but few would regard you as such.)

You continue dual instruction until your instructor has certified that you are competent for solo flight, and has endorsed your student certificate to that effect. At this point you can fly solo (i.e. as the sole person aboard the aircraft) under the supervision of your instructor.

You continue with both solo flight and dual instruction until your instructor certifies that you are ready for your flight test. You must have accumulated at least 40 hours of flight experience, and have demonstrated a whole range of skills. (The practical minimum is probably 50 to 60 hours of flight time.)

Prior to your flight test you must take an FAA-administered written exam on which you demonstrate a satisfactory level of knowledge on a wide range of aviation subjects (e.g. aerodynamics, regulations, weather).

You take and pass a flight test with an FAA examiner. This consist of both an oral exam and a practical test during which you fly and demonstrate maneuvers that the examiner requests.

The FAA issues you an ASEL (aircraft, single-engine, land) certificate - you are now a licensed private pilot.

Here’s a wiki article with a great deal of information.

You should give a call to your local airport and ask them about their flight instruction. (They probably get your question every day.)
Also check your nearest community college for ground school classes.

The best way to start is to budget enough money to buy a good used car (a new one if you’re in Europe). Budget the time, too - if you can do it all day for days on end, you can get done in a couple of weeks. Weekends and after work, with some loss of muscle skill between lessons, and it can be years. 6 months is probably a typical time, start to finish. Except, of course, you’re never actually *finished * learning. not if you do it right. There is a range of license types available too, depending on your medical condition and the types of flying you do.

The best compendium of information (for the US) is at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association site. Xema has it right for most students. Another approach is a structured flight school, which works on a fixed schedule and a fixed curriculum, and may be more suited to your learning style than the suit-your-own-schedule approach.

Best of all, just go visit the airport you’re thinking of learning at, drop in and look lost, and you’ll be chatted up in no time by pilots eager to help you join the club. You’ll find them on this board, too. The local flight school is most likely associated with an FBO (Fixed Base Operator), which will provide fuel and maintenance and other services as well, but it may be independent as well. Not all FBO’s provide instruction, but they’ll happily direct you to a place that does.

Just about any US flight school, of any variety, will provide introduction flights that will show you the basics of what you’re getting into. The standard deal (via the AOPA Learn to Fly program) is a half hour for $59, which is enough time to get you hooked if you’re hookable.

It’ll change your life in many ways. If you’re thinking seriously about it, by all means do it, and by all means tell us about it along the way. I wish I’d done it long before I did - I wouldn’t have wasted so many years stuck on the ground wishing.

Thanks for that link. Another place to look, if you want to see the sort of things you’ll be learning, is the FAA’s manuals section: aircraft (especially the Airplane Flying Handbook) and aviation (esp. the Aeronautical Information Manual).

Your location is blank. Depending on that, starting our in gliders can save some money and give you an additional perspective on flying. Location matters, because there are soaring meccas, and there are places where it is a waste of effort.

As an example, my soaring club offers instruction at the following rates:

Tow: Varies with release altitude, but $20 ballpark.

Glider rental: ~$10/hr depending on glider, 1/2 hr. minimum charge per launch. (covers wear and tear)

Instructor: no charge.

Club dues: ~$35/mo.

Once you solo, and learn to stay up using thermals, this can work out to under $20/hr.

It well may not be for you, but if soaring sounds fun, you should look into it.

Seconded. I now spend a lot more time flying gliders than powered aircraft - I think that for many would-be aviators it’s a better way to go.

Here is a link to the website of the Soaring Society of America. Under “About Soaring”, click on “Where to Fly” which takes you to a map that will give soaring sites and clubs in any chosen area.

I’m going to echo those saying plan on 60 hours and 6-8k to get a private pilot license in the US. If you can get it done sooner that’s fantastic. Some of us actually took longer than 60 hours (my life keeps interferring with my hobbies).

If you’re not sure of making that big a commitment, every flight school I’ve encountered is still happy to let you take several hours to find out if it’s right for you or not.

Licensing is by the Feds.

Again, the AOPA and FAA websites are good sources of information.

A couple of tips.

Go and do a medical to the standard required for the licence you ultimately want to get. If you want a commercial licence then do the medical for it (Class 1 here in Australia) before you start flying. Best to find out if you qualify medically before you spend thousands of dollars on lessons.

It is typical for new commercial pilots to get an instructors rating and do some instructing at the flight school. At some schools you may end up flying with a lot of different instructors. Flying with a couple is good because you get exposed to some different styles and techniques, but anymore than about three and it gets messy and unfocussed.

If money is tight, you are best to do a little bit of flying regularly. When I did my private licence I did one lesson a week. My instructors knew my budget was tight and they were very good at limiting my lessons to 0.7 of an hour (normally flight time is measured in tenths of an hour.) To this end, it is good to learn somewhere relatively quiet so you don’t waste time being shuffled around by air traffic control. If you leave more than a week between lessons you are likely to have to spend too much time revising previous lessons.

Using a flying school is good if you want to go at your own pace and if you want flexibility. In Australia there are universities that provide full time flight training in conjunction with an aviation degree.

Other options include the Air Force/Navy etc, and some airlines run cadet programs.

I also did some gliding before I started flying powered aircraft. It doesn’t count towards the hours required for a private licence, but it’s fun in its own right.

Once again, I’m late to the party.

Well, they didn’t specify fixed wing, and no one’s talked about rotary yet…

My mate (here in the UK) recently qualified as a private pilot.

The thing that struck me was that he spent ages doing paperwork (navigation, flight laws etc).
I fully approve of pilots being well-qualified, but the thread didn’t seem to mention how much non-flying time is needed to qualify.

Not sure who said it first, and I am paraphrasing anyway:

“In defiance of inflation, the cost of flying has remained nearly constant since the invention of the airplane: All your money.”

Even if you do have an issue that would prevent you from getting a medical certificate, there’s still a way to fly. The US has very recently adopted the Sport Pilot license, similar to that available in much of the rest of the world, that requires no medical certification beyond what would be needed to get a driver’s license. It tighly limits what you can do and in what kind of aircraft, but it’s flying, and covers most of the kind of flying a lot of want to do anyway. The minimum hours and curriculum for a Sport license are less than for Private or Recreational, making it potentially cheaper and faster, but it’s still not easy to find a school or FBO that will do it (the insurance agencies have been reluctant to write policies for it).

Even if you do have an issue that would prevent you from getting a medical certificate, there’s still a way to fly. The US has very recently adopted the Sport Pilot license, similar to that available in much of the rest of the world, that requires no medical certification beyond what would be needed to get a driver’s license. It tighly limits what you can do and in what kind of aircraft, but it’s flying, and covers most of the kind of flying a lot of want to do anyway. The minimum hours and curriculum for a Sport license are less than for Private or Recreational, making it potentially cheaper and faster, but it’s still not easy to find a school or FBO that will do it (the insurance agencies have been reluctant to write policies for it).

How’d *that * happen? Sorry.

I was just going to add that Kevbo is only partially right - yes, no matter how much money you have, you can find ways to spend it on flying. Buying more shiny gadgets from the Sporty’s Pilot Shop catalog (you’ll get one in the mail about every 2 weeks once they have your name), owning vs. renting, bigger/faster planes, more certificates, more hours, buying a hangar, remodeling it, getting more planes, etc. But you don’t HAVE to do any of that stuff. Most of the (minimal) stuff in my bag never comes out of it anyway. You can indulge a flying habit for the cost of a golf habit, or even less.