All about the Commercial Pilot course

As a little child when you see an aero plane for the first time in the sky, out of your curiosity, you ask you parents about what is it, what does it do, how does it fly, and who flies it. When you get answers to your innocent questions, you are amazed and aspired at the same time. As you grow up and find out the challenges, perks, and respect associated with the career as a pilot, it becomes your aim.

In this article you fill read about the things you need to do for becoming a Commercial Pilot.        

If you aspire to become a Commercial Pilot, you will be required to complete flying training from any flying school which is recognized by the DGCA. DGCA is the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. So make sure to select a flying school recognised by the DGCA before enrolling. Also ensure that the institute has sufficient facilities, lab, instructors and more.

There are various type of training programmes offered by Flying schools such as:

SPL i.e. Student Pilot License

PPL i.e. Private Pilot License

For the CPL you will have to clear six exams and about 210 to 220 hours of flying which include at least a Single Engine with instructor till the time the institute is confident on you.

The six exams are:

Technical General: It is a general knowledge about how an aircraft works

Technical Specific: It is the study about a specific aircraft which you flying for your CPL.

Navigation: How to reach different places from your point, calculating distances, estimating time and fuel consumption.

Regulations: Rules and regulations to be followed while flying.

Meteorology:  The study of atmosphere.

Radio Telephony: Composite exams of Regulations, Meteorology, and Navigation, followed by an interview.

So in order to become a commercial pilot, select a school which offers CPL training programme.

The eligibility criteria in most of the flying schools is that to become a Commercial Pilot you must pass your 12^th board exams with the subjects- Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Different schools might demand a minimum aggregate as per their own requirements. Other than this, they also lay down specific physical as well as medical eligibility criteria related to height, weight, eyesight etc.

The cost involved in order to complete Commercial Pilot training will differ from institute to institute. You can keep an estimate of around Rs. 30 lakhs to Rs. 60 lakhs for the entire course.

For completion of this course as prescribed by DGCA you need to complete a minimum of 200 hours of training to complete the course. After completion, it is very essential to get Type Rating which is an additional certificate which includes additional training too. The cost of this will also be added to the whole programme.

Career opportunities- The course would take around minimum of 8-10 months ideally and such courses offer dual/ solo, general flying, circuit & landing sorties. Instruments and cross country flights, skill tests, route checks and night flying rating as per DGCA requirement and as per offered by each individual institute. This license after completion of the course would be normally valid internationally. You can seek employment as a pilot in Government and civil airlines or even in private companies, corporate companies, flying clubs which includes a vast variety of career opportunities

You can also complete the flying course by joining the IAF (Indian Air Force). Here you can take admission directly after Class 12^th through NDA. For this mode of admission you must have Physics as a compulsory subject in 12^th. You can get into IAF after graduation too through AFCAT.

Hope the given information gives you the idea regarding the Commercial Pilot License and course.