How long does it take to get your pilot’s license?

It is natural to be afraid of flying at heights of 10,000 feet above the ground. After All, human beings are not born with wings naturally. Like any other form of Transportation, flying has its own inherent risks. However, it is the safest form of Travel, safer than driving. Apart from airplanes used in military combat and Airliners, travel by all general aviation aircraft is ten times safer than automobile Travel.

Flying a plane is not only exciting, but also a wonderful challenge. Traveling 400 Miles becomes a three to four hour trip by plane. Planning a weekend away to The beach or to mountains or to any other location can become a reality when You fly your own plane.

There are two major factors involved in determining how long it will take you to Get your pilot’s license.
They are (1) the kind of license you are getting
(2) Amount of flight time.

There are three kinds of licenses in general that most pilots receive:
(a) Private pilot license,
(b) Commercial license,
And (c) flight instructor license.
Apart from these main licenses, there are numerous other certificates That a pilot can receive to further enhance their knowledge, experience, and skill Level.

A private pilot’s license allows a pilot to fly a single-engine airplane using visual Flight rules (VFR) that require a visibility of at least three miles, even at night. Private pilots can share operating expenses with passengers but cannot be paid For flying them.

To be paid for transporting people across, a pilot has to get the Commercial license.

A flight instructor license allows the pilot to teach others how to fly and an airline transport certificate allows the pilot to fly an airliner.

The amount of flight time varies for each pilot license and certificate. Some Require twenty hours, other requires forty hours, and yet others, require a Minimum of two hundred and fifty hours. The average amount of time it takes a Pilot to get their private pilot license is about six months, during which time they Acquire all the knowledge and experience, take tests, and fly a lot with their Instructor and alone. Of course, there may be variations to this depending on
You’re own personal circumstances and the weather as well. Flying in the winter or in inclement weather, may take undue amount of time or may even be cancelled.

Taking classes in good weather and continuously will enable you to get your Private license in a relatively short amount of time.

The aeroplane is the nearest thing to animate life that man has created. In the air a machine ceases indeed to be a mere piece of mechanism; it becomes animate and is capable not only of primary guidance and control, but actually of expressing a pilot's temperament.

— Sir Ross Smith, K.B.E., 'National Geographic Magazine,' March 1921.

Be careful and calm and thorough and you will walk out with a prized possession:
your own private pilot license!

Thrust and Drag

The propulsive force that moves the airplane forward is called the thrust. Propellers are airfoils and they act upon the air similar to a wing. The curvature in the propeller produces lift.

Propellers are slightly twisted so that their undersides strike the stream of oncoming air at a positive angle of attack. As the airplane moves forward, it experiences resistance to its motion or drag.

As the wing tilts upward to increase the angle of attack, the increased in induced drag is also caused by the body of the airplane or fuselage, as it naturally tilts up with the wing.

Center of Gravity

An airplane is a balance machine that can rotate on three axes around the center of gravity.

The exact location of the center of gravity will change with how the airplane is loaded up with cargo, people, and fuel.

There are specific limits known as the loading envelope, on exactly where the center of gravity should be, represented by a series of graphs.

It is important to always know where the center of gravity is and will be throughout the flight and also what the weight of the plane is before take off. If you begin your flight with the total weight limit, you will be ok because throughout your flight, your airplane is getting lighter as fuel is being consumed.

Sincerely,

Satish KS

Author of “The Insiders Guide to Becoming A Private Pilot”