How to Become a Commercial Pilot
The main licence that you need in order to become a commercial pilot is the Commercial Pilot Licence. This licence allows you to fly and be paid to fly.
The first licence that you must get before this licence is the Private Pilot Licence. This is the first step in how to become a pilot. This licence can be completed in a few months up to a couple of years. How long it takes depends on your talent and finances. This licence requires 45 hours of flying before you can take the exam. After getting the Private Pilot Licence, you will be able to fly, but not for money.
After you get your Private Pilot Licence, you will begin taking flight school classes for your Commercial Pilot Licence. This licence needs around 200 to 250 hrs of flying to take the licence exam. After you get this licence, you are now able to work as a pilot.
Now that you have a Commercial Pilot Licence and want to start working, you will begin looking for jobs. Remember that you will have about 250 hrs of flying experience. This is considered very little flying experience. Add to that the fact that you have never worked a real pilot job in your life. Therefore, it will be hard to get a job at first.
The reason that most people want to become pilots is to become an airline pilot. They want to be Captain of major airlines and live the comfortable, luxurious lifestyle. Travelling all around the world and being paid to do it.
In order to work at airlines and fly as Captain, you need to get the ATPL, which stands for Airline Transport Pilot License. This is the last license for pilots. It will require you to have a minimum of 1500 hrs of flying before you can take on the 2part written exam.
Now that you have learned how to become a pilot, a commercial pilot, and an airline pilot, the important thing is to take action. Look into getting a Familiarity flight at your local flight school. These are flights offered at a very low price that allow you to get a feel of what it is like to be a pilot. You sit in the cockpit with the instructor and you are free to handle some of the controlling of the plane. Of course, the instructor will be there to supervise you. You can't just touch whatever you want.
Another thing is to start getting lessons for your Private Pilot Licence. This licence is the first step in becoming a pilot. Even if you decide that you do not want to become a pilot after getting your licence, it is still a neat thing to have on your resume. And it's just cool to tell people you're also a licenced pilot.
After that, get your Commercial Pilot Licence and start working. After you gain more flying experience and have at least 1500 hrs of flying experience, you can take on the Airline Transport Pilot Licence and begin applying for Airline pilot positions and fly as Captain.
Mark Bascug - retired pilot