- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires new pilots to be taught to fly either by a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) or at an accredited flight school. Schools vary wildly in their teaching methods, ranging from mostly simulator time to 100% of actual flight time. To qualify as pilot in command (PIC), though, a student pilot must have at least forty (40) instructional flight hours.
- In addition to actual pilot time, it is critical for new pilots to understand why they perform the maneuvers they do and how certain conditions affect aircraft response. Ground schools range in time from a few days to a few weeks, and some ground schools can even be completed using correspondence courses. The ground school is the most comprehensive preparation for the FAA written test.
- Before a pilot can become licensed, he must take--and pass--the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) written test. This test is an indeterminate number of written questions on subjects such as weather conditions, weight/balance calculations, flight planning and other critical pieces of knowledge.
- Once the pilot-to-be completes a minimum of forty (40) hours of flight training and passes the FAA written test, the flight instructor will endorse the student pilot for a check ride with an official FAA representative. Assuming the student pilot has passed the written exam, answers all of the representative's questions correctly and makes no mistakes during the checkride, the FAA will award the student a pilot's license.
