One solution is to get a good flight simulator and fly it. One of the best and most affordable that I know of is the Microsoft Flight Simulator. It has a built-in instructor who will take your from take-off to landing and more. It even has an instrument training program.

The software isn’t enough to get you your license, but it will certainly help. Just remember nothing can replace actual time with a good instructor in a real airplane. Use the flight simulator to supplement your training from the instructor. Better yet, have him fly the simulator with you. It will be a great learning experience and the cost, not including the instructor’s time, will be far less than a cup of coffee.

Besides the flight simulator software, you’ll need a yoke. A set of rudder pedals will be helpful, too. However, you’ll be able to fly the simulator well without them.

You’ll be able to find Microsoft FlightSim X, the yoke and rudder pedals at Amazon.com.

Enjoy your flight!

Custom Search

Air Traffic Controllers, never seen and usually heard only by pilots, work to make sure that no two airplanes try to occupy the same point in space at the same time.Separation is the key, both on the ground and in the air.

The Air traffic controller (ATC) folks coordinate the flow of air traffic to insure that airplanes remain a safe distance apart to avoid mid-air collisions and move efficiently through the airspace an ATC tower or center is watching over and on to the next ATC tower or center’s airspace.

At a controlled airport (one with a tower) a departing pilot, before taking off, will talk to the Clearance and Delivery controller. This controller is responsible for determining that the pilot has the current weather data and giving the pilot his clearance. The clearance consists of the initial altitude the pilot is to fly, the route of flight, the radio frequency in use and the code for the airplane transponder, an instrument that reports the airplane’s altitude to the controllers.

The next controller the pilot talks with is the Ground Controller. This controller watches and directs airplane and other vehicular traffic on the ground. He directs departing aircraft to the run-up area which is usually just off the beginning of the departing runway. The aircraft is under his control until the pilot announces to the tower he is ready to depart. In some cases the Clearance and Delivery and Ground Controllers are the same person.

When the pilot announces that he is ready to depart he talks to the Tower Controller. The Tower Controller gives the pilot his final pre-takeoff instructions. Those instructions are usually to fly the runway heading or make a turn to a compass point. Once the aircraft is in the air the Tower Controller monitors its flight either visually or on radar and checks to see that the aircraft transponder is sending the proper signal. Shortly after that the Tower Controller will tell the pilot to contact the Departure Controller. This is called a hand-off.

The Departure Controller acknowledges the contact, verifies the altitude the aircraft transponder is reporting, and then tells the pilot proceed on course or go to a point prior to proceeding on course. The Departure Controller will keep the aircraft under his surveillance and control until it leaves his airspace or he hands it off to another controller.

If the aircraft is flying under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and there isn’t another Air Traffic Control Tower within radio range the Departure Controller will hand it off to a Center Controller at an Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). The Center Controller will handle the aircraft if it remains in his sector of control until it is within 40 miles of its destination or another Air Traffic Control Tower on or near the aircraft’s route. If the destination airport has no operational tower, then the Center Controller controls the aircraft during final approach and landing.

If the aircraft is flying under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) with flight following and there isn’t another Air Traffic Control Tower within radio range the Departure Controller will hand it off to a Center Controller if ARTCC isn’t too busy and the aircraft has sufficient altitude for good radio reception. If ARTCC can’t or won’t handle the aircraft it is handed off to the next Air Traffic Control Tower on the route if flight following has been requested. This is repeated until is within communication distance of its destination airport if it is towered. If it is not towered the aircraft is released from Air Traffic Control and told to, “squawk VFR (1200 code on the transponder),” and communicate with the destination airport and traffic.

If the aircraft is flying under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) without flight following the Departure Controller will monitor the flight until it reaches the end of his airspace. At that time the Departure Controller releases it from Air Traffic Control and tells it to, “squawk VFR (1200 code on the transponder),” and communicate with the destination airport and traffic. He may add, “for further flight following contact ____ (Air Traffic Control Tower) on _____ (frequency).

Coming in to a towered airport is nearly the reverse of leaving one.

When the aircraft is 20 miles out contact should be made with the tower. If the aircraft has been handed off all that is necessary is to let the Approach Controller know you are on frequency. If the aircraft was not handed off then at contact with the Approach Controller aircraft position, altitude and destination needs to be given. When the aircraft is within a very few miles of the airport the Approach Controller will hand off the aircraft to the Tower Controller. The Tower Controller clears the aircraft to land on a specific runway.

After the aircraft has landed and exited the runway the tower controller hands the aircraft off to the Ground Controller. The Ground Controller directs, and guides if necessary, the aircraft to its destination on the airport.

It isn’t unusual at low traffic airports on light days for the Clearance and Delivery Controller, Ground Controller, and Tower Controller to be the same person, though he may be talking to you on three different radios.

There is another group of controllers are not involved in actively managing air traffic. These are flight service specialists who work in flight service stations. These flight service specialists provide pilots with terrain; preflight and in-flight weather information, suggested routes, and other important information. Flight service specialists help pilots in emergencies and initiate and coordinate missing or overdue aircraft searches.

The air traffic control system is a vast network of approximately 25,000 people and equipment that ensures the safe operation of commercial and private aircraft. The vast majority work for the FAA. However, a small number of civilian controllers work for the U.S. Department of Defense. In addition to controllers employed by the Federal Government, some work for private air traffic control companies providing service to non-FAA towers.

Air Traffic Controllers are employed at airports—in towers and flight service stations—and in air route traffic control centers. Some work at the FAA’s Air Traffic Control Systems Command Center in Herndon, VA, where they oversee the entire system. In addition there are controllers who conduct research at the FAA’s national experimental center near Atlantic City, NJ. Air Traffic Controllers also serve as instructors at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, OK.

You may see an ATC radar screen and listen to contollers on the Internet at http://atcmonitor.com/

“Pilots without Aviation Maintenance Technicians are just pedestrians with cool jackets and sunglasses,” my favorite AMT often reminds me!

So you’re interested in becoming an Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT), or if you’re a private pilot you may ask, what qualifies this person to work on my airplane? An AMT is a great deal more than an automobile mechanic that fixes airplanes. Your training takes more time, is more intense, and often more sophisticated. And though you may be able to work as an aircraft mechanic for lower pay without certification your advancement in the field will depend upon your earning General, Airframe, and Power plant certifications to become an FAA licensed A & P technician. Beyond those is the Inspection Authorization certification. Any certification requires continuing education to maintain it.

As a candidate for the AMT certificate first must be 18 years or older; able to read, write, speak, and understand English.

The next requirement is to get 18 months of hands-on (”practical” as the FAA says) experience with either power plants or airframes, or 30 months of hands-on experience of both at the same time. In place of this hands-on experience you may graduate from an FAA approved Aviation Maintenance Technician school. There are about 170 schools sanctioned under FAA regulations 14 CFR Part 147 with a designated curriculum and monitored by the FAA.

Upon completion of the hands-on experience or Part 147 school you must sit for written examinations, an oral examination, and a practical test. You apply for the examinations by presenting proof of experience to an FAA inspector at a local FAA office.

There are three separate written examinations, one each for General, Airframe, and Power plant certificates. Each takes about eight hours and is given at computer testing facilities. A Designated Mechanic Examiner gives you the practical and oral tests, which cover 43 technical subjects.

Whether you prepare for the FAA knowledge tests at a part 147 school or by self-study you’ll probably use texts published by ASA or Jeppesen. Both publishers provide basic and advanced Aviation Maintenance Technician course books and FAA knowledge examination test preparation books. All are available from the Avid Aviator.

All tests have to be passed within a 24-month period. There’s a 30 day waiting period for retest should you fail part of a test. You can get around the waiting period if you can give the examiner a letter showing that you have received additional training in the failed areas.

Your job as an Aviation Maintenance Technician is to keep aircraft in peak operating condition. You’ll perform scheduled maintenance, make repairs, and complete inspections required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The larger the company you work for the more likely you will specialize in aviation maintenance and repair.

One area of specialization that requires you get training outside the typical AMT training programs is avionics. Though radios, transponders and navigation units are often sent to manufacturers and FAA repair stations, an AMT with good electronics training can do field repairs. All the employees at an avionic and instrument repair station do not have to be certified AMTs. However, their lead people should be.

Avionics technicians cross-trained to master the complex aircraft systems of the aircraft and work with A&P mechanics have excellent job prospects. Additionally, avionics technicians with AMT certifications that enable them to work on the airplane, either removing or reinstalling equipment, are expected to be in especially high demand.

If you are an AMT with the necessary pilot licenses and flying experience you may take the FAA examination for the position of flight engineer.

Job opportunities should be excellent for you when you have completed an aircraft mechanic training program and passed your examinations. Of course, expect keen competition when applying for the best paying airline jobs. Your best opportunities are likely to be at small commuter and regional airlines, at FAA repair stations, and in general aviation.

Opportunities for aircraft and avionics equipment mechanics and service technicians should be excellent for who have completed Aviation Maintenance Technician programs. Employment is expected to increase about as fast as average for all occupations through the year 2014, and large numbers of additional job openings should arise from the need to replace experienced mechanics that retire.

Small commuter and regional airlines, FAA repair stations, and general aviation are likely to have the best job opportunities. Commuter and regional airlines are the fastest growing segment of the air transportation industry, however wages there tend to be a little lower than those in the major airlines, so they attract fewer job applicants.

Whether you find employment with the major airlines, small commuter and regional airlines, FAA repair stations, or general aviation companies you find a position as an AMT to be very rewarding and even a good stepping stone to your next level of employment.

Holding an Airline Transport Pilot license means you have received the most challenging of all the pilot licenses and ratings. You’re at the master’s level of flying skills and aeronautical knowledge. The ATP license is the pinnacle of pilot licenses.

As a candidate for the ATP license you must hold a Commercial Pilot license and an Instrument Rating and have 1,500 hours as a pilot that includes 500 hours of cross-country flight time, 100 hours of night flight time, 75 hours of instrument flight time, and 250 hours of flight time in an airplane as pilot in command which includes 100 hours of cross-country flight time and 25 hours of night flight time.

If you have made 20 night takeoffs and landings to a full stop you may substitute each additional takeoff and landing to a full stop for 1 hour of night flight time. However, a maximum of 25 hours of night flight time may be credited in this manner.

You must prepare for and pass an aeronautical knowledge test for the Airline Transport Pilot certification. You may study for it in a flight school or use a home-study course.

Of the 75 hours of instrument flight time noted above, 25 hours can be done with an approved flight simulator or 50 hours can be done in a simulator through a course at a certified FAA Part 142 school. However, no more than 100 hours of the total aeronautical experience requirements for the ATP license can be done in accordance with FAA Part 142 in an approved flight simulator or approved flight-training device that represents an airplane.

Flight time is logged time between engine start and engine shutdown after a flight in an actual airplane.

Simulator time is logged DUAL instruction in a certified flight simulator or flight training device representing an airplane. Cross-country time is trips of 50 NM and more can be logged and used for ATP experience purposes even without a landing (private pilot and commercial pilot cross-country requires a landing).

ATP Privileges
An ATP with a First or Second Class Medical can exercise all of the privileges of a commercial pilot with an instrument rating. He may also instruct pilots in air transportation service in aircraft for which he is rated and endorse pilot logbooks for the training given. He may do the same in simulators of the same aircraft for which he is rated.

An Airline Transport Pilot’s privileges are limited to the Type Rating he has acquired. An ATP license acquired in a single engine aircraft would limit the pilot to single engine ATP privileges

Conclusion
I hope this article helped you learn a little about pilot licenses. Space doesn’t permit me to cover all the rules and all the regulations. You may get all the information at www.faa.gov and do a search there for specific information. A copy of the FAR/ AIM (Federal Aviation Regulations / Aeronautical Information Manual) is available at the Avid Aviator.

” Once you have tested flight you would forever walk on the Earth with your eyes turn skyward, for there you have been and for there you would always long to return.” Leonardo Di Vinci

How easy is it to learn to fly and what do I need to do to get a license?

You can attend a flight school, and for a job with an airline getting your Airline Transport Pilot license from an ATP flight school will put you on the fast track.

Most Private Pilot licenses and Commercial Pilot licenses are earned at flight centers at local airports. Many study for the FAA knowledge tests with home study courses available from pilot supply shops such as the Avid Aviator.

Let’s take a brief look at some of the different licenses and some of the different aircraft and see what’s available. By the way, the FAA calls them certificates, but we’ll use the term license to avoid confusion.

At first glance the FAA designations of aircraft and pilot licenses appear to be confusing. The same words, “Category,” “Class,” “Rating,” and, “Type,” are used for both pilot and aircraft certification but they mean different things for each.

An aircraft will be certified as one of three Categories, normal, utility, or acrobatic. These Categories can be further defines as limited, restricted and provisional. The Class of an aircraft is defined as airplane, rotorcraft, glider, balloon, landplane and seaplane. In aircraft certification type refers to aircraft of similar design and method of operation. Type is also applied to the aircraft’s method of propulsion, which could be reciprocating engine, turbo prop, turbo shaft, turbo jet, turbo fan, or ramjet. The word, “Rating,” used in used in the certification of either pilots or aircraft means the special conditions, limitations, or privileges placed on the certification.

A pilot’s license will list one or more of five categories of aircraft: airplane, rotorcraft, lighter-than-air, gliders, and powered-lift. Categories are subdivided into classes. So one or more of the four classes (single engine land, single engine sea, multi-engine land, multi-engine sea) will follow the category. Included in the ratings section of the license may be the word, “Instrument,” which indicates that the pilot may fly under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR).

Recently the FAA added another category called Light Sport Aircraft. Most people’s first thought of an aircraft is a fixed-wing airplane. However, powered parachutes, weight-shift-control aircraft (i.e., Trikes), balloons, airships, gliders and gyroplanes meeting the definition outlined in Federal Aviation Regulations Part 1.1 can be Light Sport Aircraft.

In addition to Category and class of aircraft, a pilot’s license may also have Type ratings indicating that the pilot may fly large aircraft (12,500 pounds or more gross weight), and, as appropriate, turbo prop, turbo shaft, turbo jet, turbo fan, or ramjet aircraft.

So, now that we know about the licenses, what is required to get them and what can we fly?

Everyone starts out as a student pilot, even if you’re going to fly an ultralight and nothing else.

Ultralight
A single seat ultralight aircraft does not require FAA registration or a pilot’s license to fly it. But don’t let that fool you into a false sense of security. An ultralight pilot needs to know about aerodynamics and flight safety, and he definitely needs to know where and when he can fly his machine legally. FAA regulation compliance is mandatory. The Ultralight page of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) at http://www.eaa.org/ultralights/ has a link to those regulations.

An ultralight with more than one seat needs to be registered with the FAA and have the N number visible on the aircraft. You’ll need at least a Light Sport Aircraft or Private Pilot license to fly the multi-seat ultralight as pilot in command.

Light Sport Aircraft - Airplane
For our purposes here we’ll say the next level up in aircraft is the Light Sport Aircraft. The Light Sport Aircraft is a simple, low-performance, low-energy aircraft that must have an FAA registration N number. Airplanes, gliders, gyroplanes, balloons, airships, weight-shift control (trikes), and powered parachutes can fit into this class. You must be 16 years old to become a student and 17 to test for the certification. The FAA requires that you take instruction from a Certified Flight Instructor to earn this license.

The requirements for Light Sport Aircraft - Airplane Category are the same for Light Sport Aircraft - Rotorcraft, - Airship, and - Weight-Shift-Control. Fewer flight hours are required Light Sport Aircraft - Glider, - Balloon, and - Power Parachute.

Certification for Airplane - Light Sport Aircraft requires that you prepare for and pass an aeronautical knowledge test for the Light Sport Aircraft certification. You may study for it in a ground school or use a home-study course. You must have 20 hours of flight time that includes 15 hours instruction from a Certified Flight Instructor in a single engine airplane. Five of the minimum 20 hours required must be solo. Your instruction and solo work must include preflight preparation, preflight procedures, airport, and seaplane base operations, as applicable, takeoffs, landings, and go-arounds, performance maneuvers, ground reference maneuvers, navigation, slow flight, stalls, emergency operations, and post-flight procedures.

You will also need two hours of cross-country flight training, 10 takeoffs and landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport; one solo cross-country flight of at least 75 nautical miles total distance, with one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of at least 25 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations. Finally, you’ll need 3 hours of flight training covering all of the above in preparing for the practical test within 60 days before the date of the test.

The Light Sport Aircraft certification requires either a 3rd class FAA medical license or a current and valid U.S. driver’s license as evidence of medical eligibility. That means your driver’s license is evidence of medical fitness. However, if your most recent application for an FAA medical license was denied, revoked, suspended or withdrawn you must apply to the FAA for the cause of the denial, revocation or withdrawal.

If you are transitioning from aircraft that you flew as a private pilot to the Light Sport Aircraft category and keeping your private pilot certification there are no restrictions added to your flying. Even night flying is permitted if you have a third-class medical and the airplane is properly equipped.

If you started your flying experience by getting a Light Sport Aircraft license your instruction and flight time can be credited toward more advanced pilot ratings.

Recreational Pilot
The Recreational Pilot license has more restrictions than the Light Sport Aircraft pilot license and it requires a third-class medical. It takes more time and training to acquire. Its only advantage over the Light Sport Aircraft rating is that you may fly a larger aircraft (but no more than a four place aircraft). Since the rating has little use we’ll bypass comment on it in this article.

Ultralights and Light Sport Aircraft make it easy, affordable, and certainly less time-consuming than other levels of pilot licenses to learn to fly. Because of the mandatory instruction and requirements of the aircraft the Light Sport Aircraft is the safest way to go. Once you’ve flown a small airplane you’ll find it hard to wait until you can do it again.

Nothing compares to the exhilaration of flying!

This is the first of a two part series on this subject. The second part is titled, “Licensed to Fly Higher and Faster! A short guide to getting Advanced Pilot Licenses”