This is a very common question. The Private Pilot Pilot License is an amazing journey, and by the end of your training your reward is the gift of flight - the ability to rent/buy and aircraft and fly it just about anywhere you want to. The purpose of this article is to outline the process and requirements of getting your Private Pilot License.

A Minimum of 40 Hours of Flight Time.
You will be required to have a minimum of 40 Hour of Flight Time… Oh, you wish it was that simple…

Of the 40 Total Hours, you must accomplish the following:

20 Hours of Flight Instruction
You will need to fly at least 20 hours with a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI). Keep in mind that this is a minimum. In actuality it will probably be closer to 30 hours.

3 Hours of Cross Country Training
3 of your 20 hours of flight instruction must be used for Cross Country Training. Don’t be intimidated by the word ‘Cross Country’ as it just means a flight more than 50 miles from the airport from which you started.

3 Hours of Night Flight
Flying at night isn’t something you’ll be doing a lot, but with a Private Pilot License you are allowed to, so part your time with a flight instructor will be done at night.

1 Night Cross Country of at least 100 nautical miles.
At some point during your night flight training you will be required to do a night cross country flight of at least 100 miles total distance - basically the airport needs to be at least 50 miles away to make the 100 mile total distance requirement.

3 Hours Simulated Instrument Training
Simulated Instrument Training is done by having you wear some special glasses that restrict your view outside the cockpit, but allow you a clear view of your instruments. These 3 hours are used to hone your skills flying the aircraft and reading the instruments without being able to back them up by looking outside.

10 Hours of Solo
10 Hours of your time must be while you are the Pilot in Command (PIC) - since you can’t carry passengers as a Student Pilot this can only be done when you are alone in the airplane, so you need 10 hours alone in the airplane. Like the Flight Instruction time, the 10 hours of solo time is also a minimum - more than likely, you will have around 20 hour of solo flight time.

5 Hours Cross Country
Of your 10 hours of solo, 5 must be done flying cross country (again, keep in mind that cross country is defined as a flight more than 50 miles from the origin airport).

1 Cross Country flight of at least 150 nautical miles total distance with landings at a minimum of 3 points with one leg of the flight having a straight line distance of at least 50 nautical miles.
You are only required to have one cross country flight meeting the requirements above, but you more than likely have 1 or 2 shorter solo cross country flights in preparation for the required “long” cross country flight.

3 Take Offs and Landings to a Full Stop and a Controlled Airport
You will have many many solo take offs and landings at your home airport, but if that airport doesn’t have an operating control tower (such as our training airport at Stead) you will be required to meet this requirement by going to a controlled airport and doing your 3 full stop landings (as opposed to touch-and-go’s where you do not stop on the runway, you just touch down and take off again)

3 Hours in Preparation for the Practical Exam Within 60 Days of the Practical Exam
This is a complicated way of the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) saying they don’t want you taking you Practical Exam (simply you “final exam” that is done with an FAA examiner) without flying at least once withing the last 2 months. Honestly, this really isn’t an issue, but it’s a requirement so I had to list it…

And that concludes the Flight Experience portion of the requirements to get a Private Pilot License. The only other requirements that the FAA has outlines is the ability to read, write and speak English, and be at least 17 Years Old. However, you can fly Solo at the age of 16 and there is no requirement on when you can start your flight training.

I hope this article helps clear up some of your questions regarding the requirements to get a Private Pilot License. Another article that I highly recommend you read is 3 Crucial Tips on Picking a Flight School. It will help give you an idea what to watch out for with some flight schools that could end up costing you extra time and money.

Thank you for your interest, and I hope your consider Ace Flight School for your Flight Training Needs!

Learning to fly is an exhilarating experience and it is important to know how to pick a flight school so you can ensure your experience is as good as possible. My name is Scott Morris. I am a CFI/CFII at Ace Flight School. Below you will see my 5 crucial tips on picking a flight school.

1. Equipment – The equipment in which you will be training is probably one of the most important areas in picking your flight school. Cessna 172’s are the most common training aircraft, but just saying Cessna 172 is like saying, “I drive a Toyota Corolla.” Ok, that’s great, what year? What condition is it in? What features does it have? I’ve seen too many flight schools that use 1960’s Cessna training aircraft that do not have any form of modern instruments and look like something out of a wrecking yard. There are many different types of aircraft that schools are using as trainers. For example, at Ace Flight School we use new Diamond aircraft as our trainers, both of which are newer than 2001, have a color moving map GPS and use a newer airframe design that saves fuel and increases speed. Bottom line, do your research and don’t get stuck with a piece of junk!

2. Flight Instructors – There are two breeds of flight instructors and flight schools: flight instructors who are teaching to build hours and there are flight instructors that simply like to teach. As yourself this question – “Would I rather have an instructor that cares more about hours, or an instructor that cares more about me?” Simple, right? A flight instructor that is there to build hours won’t hesitate to move on to the next big flying job when he has the hours necessary to do so, leaving you mid-training to find a new flight instructor that knows nothing about you, where you are in your training or your personal flying characteristics. This will significantly slow down your flight training and cost you a lot more money. Ace Flight School has two instructors who are dedicated to your flight training, not the hours they receive from it.

3. Cost – Cost will vary between flight schools depending on where the flight school is located, the type of airport used and equipment used. A flight school at a large airport in a big city that uses nice aircraft will cost more than a flight school at a small airport that uses junkers – or will it? This is where your research will come into play. Some flight schools try to charge top dollar for substandard locations and aircraft. Look around the area in which you want to learn to fly and weigh all the factors to see if they are charging a fair price. Also, be very aware of hidden costs. With fuel prices going out of control it is very common to see a very fair hourly rate for an aircraft with fine print that specifies a 20% fuel surcharge on top, making is a not so fair rate. Ask about landing fees – some larger airports charge a fee for every landing done at that airport, which will obviously add up. At Ace Flight School, be operate out of an airport less than 10 miles outside of the Reno-Tahoe International Airport that does not have a control tower (meaning less time to get into the air = saving money), no landing fees are charged, fuel is always at a competitive price and our bottom line aircraft rental rates are always clearly known (no surcharges of any kind).

If you would like more information on learning to fly or about Ace Flight School, please visit http://www.AceFlightSchool.com.