Ready for a Commercial Certificate:

If you are going to fly for compensation or hire, you'll need a commercial certificate. Luckily, much of the certificate can be done on your own.

Commercial Certificate Experience Requirements

Total Flight Experience: 250 hours minimum

Pilot in Command (PIC) Experience: 100 hours minimum

Airplane (PIC) Flight Experience: 50 hours minimum

Night Flight Solo Experience: 5 hours with 10 landings at a controlled field.

Cross Country Experience: 50 hours minimum, including one solo flight of at least 300 nautical miles.

Commercial Rating Instruction Required

Instrument Training: 10 hours or completion of instrument rating.

Complex Airplane Training: 10 hours

Day Cross Country Training: 2 hours

Night Cross Country Training: 2 hours

Check Ride Preparation: 3 hours

Frequently Asked Questions - Commercial Rating

Q. How long does it take to become a commercial pilot?

A. The total time depends upon how much you can fly. It is not unreasonable to expect to finish a commercial rating for single-engine land airplanes in under a year if you can stay reasonably active. A total of 250 flight hours is required for a single engine commercial rating.

Q. I want to fly corporate jets - how do I get there?

A. It all starts with the initial certificates and ratings (private, instrument, commercial). From there you can progress to multi-engine airplanes, type ratings, and turbine powered aircraft. Many people obtain an instructor rating and instruct others to both hone their own skills and acquire flight time while getting paid.