There are many people all over the world who aspire to be aircraft pilots. This is not surprising at all; being able to fly an aircraft can be a heady experience. Fortunately, these days there are several flight training schools and while learning to fly is not cheap by any means, it is more affordable than it used to be in the past when pilot training was the exclusive reserve of the wealthy.
However, before you can even get to the cost of the training, there are a few requirements that need to be met so that you can enroll into any of these programs.
Age Requirements: To get a student pilot license you will have to be at least 16 years of age or older to be able to operate any thing else other than a balloon or glider.
Language Requirements: Most countries including the US require that anybody who applies for a student pilot license should be able to talk, read, understand and write English.
Medical requirements: Anyone who wishes to enroll in a flight training program has to be healthy and free from any medical problems. Flying requires good health and your career can come to an abrupt halt if you do not pass the stringent health requirements. This is especially important for military pilots and pilots of commercial airlines.
Every student who enrolls will have to first pass a medical examination. There are three classes of medical certificates that are issued out to the students depending on the course you wish to pursue – the First-Class Medical, the Second-Class medical and the Third-Class medical.
If your aim is to be an airline transport pilot, you will need to pass the First-Class Medical.
This certificate will have to be renewed every year if you are under 40 years of age and every 6 months if you are over 40 years of age.
To become a commercial pilot, you will have to pass the Second-Class Medical, which is valid for a year and will have to be renewed annually.
As a private pilot, you have to obtain a Third-Class Medical certificate, which is valid for five years till if you are under 40 years of age, after that, the certificate will have to be renewed every year.
Students from outside the US who wish to enroll in a pilot training school in America can choose to get their medical certificate either in America or in their country of origin. If you are applying from outside the US, it is important to ensure that your application is correctly filled out and that the medical examiner has filled in all the information correctly. If the information is wrong or is not filled in, you will have to re-submit the form before thirty days, failing which you may be required to undergo another medical all over again.
If you are applying from outside the US for a flying school in the US, you will also be required to have a student visa. In addition to that, you will also need to understand, read, write and speak English fluently and prove that you have sufficient funds to cover all your expenses of the course as well as of living in America. Foreign students are also required to furnish proof that they intend to return to their country after the course.
Knowing the basic requirements for any Flight Training program is the first step to learning how to fly. To know more about Pilot training requirements, check out Flight Learnings.
