Getting a Commercial Pilots License

A commercial pilot's license is a very expensive proposition if done as a civilian. If money is a concern, the military is the best way to get this license and the hours and experience necessary. Getting a commercial license requires a total of 250 hours of flight time, and a first class medical certificate. Just to get on with the low paying regional airlines, which have the lowest requirements, you need a minimum of 1,500 hours total flight time with 500 hours cross-country and 300 hours in multi engine.

Requirements:
Private pilots license (40 hours single engine, fixed gear and fixed pitch)
Instrument rating (40 hours of IFR training)
Ground school (60 hours)
Night flight checkout (5 hours)
Commercial pilots flight school and an additional 165 hours of flight time

Step 1: Choose the right school to provide the proper training and minimize the cost. The school must have a good classroom with visual aids, a link trainer or simulator, and the right up to date aircraft with the latest in instrumentation. Present real world avionics need to be used from the beginning. Aircraft are in categories such as simple, complex and multiengine, for the purposes of training. Each aircraft requires more flight time to get checked out and certified in it. It is best to move into complex and multi engine as fast as possible. This is useful time--expensive but useful--as opposed to a small simple Cessna or similar.

Step 2: Purchase a hand held flight computer and crosswind component wheel protractor. The best way to save a lot of money also is to get the Piper private pilot's manuals and study them prior to attending the school so that the concepts are readily apparent. The schools are expensive by the hour and much of the time can be eliminated.

Step 3: Inquire as to the qualifications of the instructors in respect to advanced training in complex and multengine, so instructors do not have to be substituted midstream. The whole idea here is to advance as quickly as possible and have usable hours when it comes time to job hunt. Small single-engine simple aircraft are next to worthless past the first learning sequence. Consider that the small aircraft will cost somewhere in the $70 plus an hour range--the complex, which are aircraft with variable pitch props and retractable landing gear will double the price and multi engine will double or triple that price per hour. Some schools charge extra for aircraft with advanced avionics also.

Step 4: Inquire as to the cost of flight time on a multi engine aircraft for the 300 hours necessary and for the 950 or so hours needed to get the very minimum requirements for a small regional airline.

~~ The author has 6,500 hours in fixed wing and helicopter hours.