Private Pilot Certificate

The Private Certificate is for anyone who wants to fly for fun and recreation. You can take your family and friends for rides or just transport yourself from one location to the next. Many people also take this course to gain additional knowledge and experience for future ratings.

You begin the work for this certificate with instruction in the basic operations of the helicopter. Ground training and flight training are combined so you will be in the cockpit on day one. Your ground training will include topics such as airport and heliport operations, radio procedures, weather and navigation, while your hands-on training will focus on your first major goal of flying the helicopter solo.

You will also start to learn maneuvers like hovering and autorotations and how to operate safely from a tower-controlled airport. From there you will move on to more advanced lessons such as night flying and cross-country flying.

The final part of your private training involves sharpening the skills you have learned in preparation for the FAA’s practical examination (checkride). An FAA-designated examiner will conduct this test, and upon successful completion, you will receive your Private Pilot Certificate.

The minimum hour requirement for a Private Pilot Certificate is 35 hours of ground training and 40 hours of flight training. Most people complete their training in 50-60 hours. However, since every student learns at his or her own pace we cannot guarantee a specific timeframe for completion. We will not compromise your safety just to guarantee a minimum number of hours towards your certification.