How long does it take to get your pilot’s license?

It is natural to be afraid of flying at heights of 10,000 feet above the ground. After All, human beings are not born with wings naturally. Like any other form of Transportation, flying has its own inherent risks. However, it is the safest form of Travel, safer than driving. Apart from airplanes used in military combat and Airliners, travel by all general aviation aircraft is ten times safer than automobile Travel.

Flying a plane is not only exciting, but also a wonderful challenge. Traveling 400 Miles becomes a three to four hour trip by plane. Planning a weekend away to The beach or to mountains or to any other location can become a reality when You fly your own plane.

There are two major factors involved in determining how long it will take you to Get your Pilot’s license.

They are (1) the kind of license you are getting

(2) Amount of flight time.

There are three kinds of licenses in general that most pilots receive:

(a) Private pilot license,

(b) Commercial license,

And (c) flight instructor license.

Apart from these main licenses, there are numerous other certificates That a pilot can receive to further enhance their knowledge, experience, and skill Level.

A private pilot’s license allows a pilot to fly a single-engine airplane using visual Flight rules (VFR) that require a visibility of at least three miles, even at night.

Private pilots can share operating expenses with passengers but cannot be paid For flying them.
To be paid for transporting people across, a pilot has to get the Commercial license.
A flight instructor license allows the pilot to teach others how to fly and an airline transport certificate allows the pilot to fly an airliner.

The amount of flight time varies for each pilot license and certificate. Some Require twenty hours, other requires forty hours, and yet others, require a Minimum of two hundred and fifty hours. The average amount of time it takes a Pilot to get their private pilot license is about six months, during which time they Acquire all the knowledge and experience, take tests, and fly a lot with their Instructor and alone.

Of course, there may be variations to this depending on You’re own personal circumstances and the weather as well. Flying in the winter or in inclement weather, may take undue amount of time or may even be cancelled.

Taking classes in good weather and continuously will enable you to get your Private license in a relatively short amount of time.

The aeroplane is the nearest thing to animate life that man has created. In the air a machine ceases indeed to be a mere piece of mechanism; it becomes animate and is capable not only of primary guidance and control, but actually of expressing a pilot's temperament.

— Sir Ross Smith, K.B.E., 'National Geographic Magazine,' March 1921.

Be careful and calm and thorough and you will walk out with a prized possession:
Your own private pilot license!

An airplane flies on its wings. The wings produce a force that keeps the plane aloft, known as lift.

Lift opposes gravity and comes in various shapes and sizes. A jet plane has short wings while a glider has long wings. Most wings are designed to have camber, or curvature to enhance flight.

The word airfoil is also used to describe the curvature of the flight wing.

So with that out of the way, let’s move on to our first topic:

Angle of Attack and Stalls

Everything that an airplane does in flight depends on the angle with which the leading edge of the wing meets the oncoming stream of air.

This is also called the angle of attack.

If you go too slowly while pulling the nose higher to try to maintain flight, the wing will stall. A wing can be stalled at any speed, including the airplane’s top speed.

To accomplish a stall, all you have to do is to simply increase the angle of attack past its critical point, normally between 16º and 18º in a light airplane.

Gliders have no engine but they still are able to fly.

Their wings produce lift as a glider moves in the air just as the wings of a powered airplane do. Stalling the wing is what destroys lift not shutting off the engine power.

Stall Warning Devices

All modern airplanes have some sort of device to warn the pilot of an impending stall. The first is the aerodynamic warning that occurs when the entire airplane buffets, which is usually accompanied by the control wheel shaking in the pilot’s hands.

Almost all airplanes have also an additional warning that is visual or aural. There is a sensor on the leading edge of the wing usually in the form of a little metal tab mounted upward, which moves and activates an electrical switch. This in turn, activates a horn in the cockpit or turns on a bright red warning light.

Again, thank you for signing up for this special mini-ecourse and I hope this installment has been informative for you! Your next installment will arrive shortly.

Sincerely,

Satish K.S

Author of “The Insiders Guide to Becoming A Private Pilot”