Welcome to the world of commercial aviation! If you plan to fly for hire, either in an aviation career or for business, you must have a Commercial Pilot Licence. While the Commercial Licence allows you to fly for hire, it does not provide you with the additional training and experience generally required to make you hireable, for example, the Instructor Rating or the Multi-engine Instrument Rating. This additional training is completed after obtaining the Commercial Pilot Licence.
The requirements for the issue of a Commercial Pilot Licence are as follows: You must be a minimum of 18 years of age, and have a valid Category 1 Medical Certificate. You must attend a groundschool course (80 hours are required), and obtain a minimum of 60% on the final written exam. This exam must be written before you attempt the flight test. You must have logged a grand total of 200 hours of flying time prior to the issue of the licemce, of which 100 hours must be pilot-in-command and 20 hours must be cross-country. Within the 200 hour total, 65 hours of commercial pilot flight training are required, including 35 hours of dual instruction and 30 hours of solo practice, subsequent to the issue of your Private Pilot Licence, with further flying time as required in order to reach the 200 hour minimum. The 35 hours of dual instruction includes 20 hours of instrument flight training, 5 hours of night flight time, and five hours of cross-country training, of which two will be at night. Five of the 30 hours of solo practice above will be at night. Also included within the 30 hours of solo practice is a cross-country trip at least 300 nautical miles in radius.
It is not unusual for people to require more than 35 hours of dual instruction in order to meet the standards for the Commercial Pilot Licence. The cost of obtaining a Commercial Pilot Licence can vary greatly, depending on your current level of experience and skill, and your total flying time to date. Contact me for further information.
Following completion of the training, you must demonstrate your skill by passing a flight test.
The Commercial Pilot Licence is income tax deductible.
You may fly as little or as often as you like, but it is to your advantage to fly as often as possible, up to a maximum of one to two hours per day. Completion times range from thirteen weeks and up. For a person flying four hours per week, expect to complete the training in about eight months.