Expert: D. Norkus - 4/4/2005

Question
My boyfriend has always had kind of a childhood dream of becoming a pilot.  He's fasinated with airplane, and how they work and would love to become a pilot.  He's never really looked into it, but I was wondering what all it took to become a pilot.  How long, what schooling, and for what type of planes, etc....?  Thanks so much!

Answer
Courtney

You are not clear as to whether he is interested in a Private Pilot License/PPL or becoming a Commercial pilot and is interested in an airline career.

As far as getting a PPL goes that can be done for around $5K-9K and the minimum FAA requirement for flight training to do so is 40 hours of flight time but most students take longer. That is why the cost varies so much. (The US national average is closer to 75 hours.) Training can be completed in as little as 4-6 weeks if a student flies 3-4 times per week and studies hard. Training is commonly done in Cessna "172" or Piper "Archer" aircraft. Hourly rates are on average $80/hr for the aircraft and $35/hr for the Certified Flight Instructor/CFI.

Regarding rental, many schools charge $120+/hr for 'new' aircraft. Most rental aircraft at clubs & schools in the USA are 20+ years old (do a search on aircraft product liability awsuits for the loooong story on that!). Training in an older more affordable model is just as good as training in a 2005 model as it all looks the same in the logbook and will save substantial amounts of money.  

Rather than posting the very legnthy list of requirements and factors to consider via this forum, I shall refer you to one of the most popular sites on the web and their FAQ section about becoming pilot:

http://www.flightinfo.com/learntofly.htm

It details the requirements for both private and commercial licenses and gives bits of advice.

Additionally, I have created my own webpage about becoming a pilot and airline careers that addresses common questions as I got so many inquiries about this topic. I found it easier to do that than sending a huge 'letter' via Allexperts as there is just too information! You can view my site here:

http://www.geocities.com/av8trxx99/FAQ.html

Another site that has lots of useful information for aspiring airline pilots, if that is his interest, is http://www.jetcareers.com .

Reading over the info on these links will give you a good general overview of the requirements and how to go about becoming a pilot. There is so much to explain and this forum is too limited to detail it all without sending you a novel. Once you read them over and get your general questions anwsered, let me know if you have more specific inquiries I can expand upon.

Dottie