Flight School Blog

Holding your Private Pilot License (PPL) or Private Pilot Certificate as in the U.S, allows you to act as the pilot of an aircraft for private purposes and not for compensation. As with other licenses, the requirements, guidelines and allowed privileges are set by the ICAO. Implementation varies broadly from country to country, but the ICAO states that it is gained by successfully completing a course of flight training of at least 40 duration(45 in the UK), passing a number of theory exams, and notably demonstrating flying skills to an examiner during a flight test or checkride. The average minimum age to obtain a Private Pilot Certificate is 17.

Different types of PPL are issued for the major categories of aircraft: powered airplanes/aeroplanes; gliders; helicopters; gyro planes; balloons; airships.

PPL is issued either according to the FAA (American licenses) or JAR (European licenses) regulations. Each organization has different requirements, and one a PPL license issued according by another regulator is only valid after application.

A license will contain a number of sub-qualifications or ratings. These specify in more detail the actual privileges of the license, including the types of aircraft that can be flown, whether flight under Instrument Flight Rules and at night is allowed, and whether instructing and examining of trainee pilots can be done.

In addition, a number of endorsements are available for specific skills (additional requirements apply):

• Night VFR
• Instrument Flying (IFR)
• Multi-Engine
• Piston/Turbine
• Design features: Tail wheel, Retractable Undercarriage, Float-Plane, etc.
• Aerobatics, spins, formation flying, etc.
• Agricultural, stock-mustering, etc.

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