Pilot licensing and certification
[1] In the United States, pilot certification is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
[3] In most European countries, licences are issued by the national civil aviation authority according to a set of common rules established by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), known as Part-FCL (Flight Crew Licensing).
All three organizations, as well as representatives from Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland founded the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) in 1905 as an international governing body for aeronautics.
The first certificates were to established pioneers, among them Frenchman Louis Bleriot, Henry and Maurice Farman (UK) and the Wright Brothers (US).
Among the earliest recipients of the first aviation certificates were: J. T. C. Moore-Brabazon, who conducted the first flight by a British pilot in Britain; Charles Stewart Rolls, co-founder of Rolls-Royce; Claude Grahame-White, who flew the first night flight; and Samuel Cody, pioneer of large kite flying.
The first recipients were Glenn Curtiss, Frank Purdy Lahm, Louis Paulhan and the Wright brothers.
Pilots of powered aircraft typically attain certifications in this order (with minimum time required in parentheses): Hours are cumulative and can often be earned concurrently.
Pilots trained according to accelerated curricula outlined in Part 141 of the Federal Aviation Regulations may be certified with a minimum of 35 hours of flight time.
[2] In EASA states and the United Kingdom, a private pilot licence requires at least 45 hours of flight instruction.
Private pilots must have a current Class III medical certificate, which must be renewed every 24 or 60 months (depending on age).
[15] To obtain a commercial pilot license in the United States, one must be at least 16 years old with parent permission or 18 years old without parent permission and have a minimum of 250 hours of total flight time (190 hours under the accelerated curriculum defined in Part 141 of the Federal Aviation Regulations).
In addition, commercial pilots must hold an instrument rating, or otherwise they would be restricted to flying for hire only in daylight, under visual flight rules (VFR), and within 50 miles of the originating airport.
After the 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407, Congress passed legislation, subsequently signed into law, requiring any pilot flying for a Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part 121 airline (all United States major airlines and their regional affiliates), that requires three or more pilots to include new-hire first officers, must have had at least an "ATP certificate with restricted privileges" license[17][18] except if you were licensed after July 31, 2013, then you must have an ATP certificate.
The licence is typically achieved in approximately 16–18 months total time from no flight experience to flying for an airline.
It was developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the requirements were included in the 10th edition of Annex 1 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Personnel Licensing), which superseded all previous editions of the Annex on 23 November 2006.
[22] It represents the first time in 30 years that ICAO had significantly reviewed the standards for the training of flight crew.
In Australia, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) issues the recreational pilot licence (RPL) for flying ultralights.
The Recreational Aviation Australia, the governing body for ultralights, issues the RA-Aus pilot certificate.
The United States also issues the recreational pilot certificate, which permits an individual to fly aircraft of up to 180 horsepower and 4 seats in the daytime for pleasure only.
[11][24] To operate small drones commercially, the United States issues the Remote Pilot Certificate.
[11] Further logbook endorsements are required for high-performance (more than 200 horsepower), complex (retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable-pitch propeller), or tailwheel-equipped aircraft, as well as for high-altitude operations.
In the US, all pilots who fly above 18,000 feet above mean sea level (MSL) (a lower limit of Class A airspace) must have an instrument rating,[2] and must be on an IFR flight plan.
This rating requires highly specialized training by a certificated flight instructor (CFI) with a special instrument instruction rating (CFII), and completion of an additional written exam, oral exam, and flight test.
