Flight training

Flight training

Occupation
Occupation type	Vocational training
Activity sectors	Aviation
Specialty	{{#statements:P1995}}
Description
Competencies	Airmanship, navigation, meteorology, aerodynamics
Education required	Flight school, ground school, simulator training
Fields of employment	Airline, general aviation, military aviation
Related jobs	Pilot, flight instructor

Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a structured accredited syllabus with a flight instructor at a flight school or club, or through a college or university program. The purpose of flight training is to meet all experience requirements for the desired pilot certificate or license.

Flight training consists of a combination of flight lessons given in the aircraft or a flight simulator and ground school instruction covering theoretical subjects such as air law, meteorology, navigation, and aerodynamics. The training process varies by country and the type of license sought, but generally follows a progression from Private Pilot License (PPL) through Commercial Pilot License (CPL) to Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL).

History

Early flight schools

One of the earliest flying schools was established in 1910 by Orville and Wilbur Wright in Alabama, at the current site of Maxwell Air Force Base. They quickly moved operations to their hometown of Dayton, Ohio, at Huffman Prairie Flying Field. Notable students included Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, Thomas DeWitt Milling, and John Rodgers.

Glenn Curtiss established the Curtiss Flying School in San Diego, California, in 1910. He expanded to Miami and then his hometown of Hammondsport, New York. In 1915, Curtiss expanded flying school operations north of the border to the Long Branch Aerodrome in Toronto, Canada.

The Moisant Aviation School was opened in 1911 by Alfred Moisant, part of the Moisant family—John, Alfred, and Matilde—who helped spark America's early interest in aviation. Matilde Moisant became the second woman in the United States to earn her pilot's license.

Early American flying schools were not open to African Americans. Bessie Coleman had to travel to France's École d'Aviation des Frères Caudron to learn to fly. In 1931, Cornelius Coffey graduated as part of the first all-black class at the Curtiss-Wright Aeronautical School. He and John C. Robinson returned to Chicago to create the Challenger Air Pilots Association, opening the first airport built for African Americans in Robbins, Illinois.

Development of simulators

Prior to the late 1920s, most pilot training was undertaken in real airplanes, with some ground equipment use. In 1929, Edwin A. Link, a self-taught engineer and licensed pilot, created the first commercially successful flight simulator, later named the Link Trainer. This innovation marked a significant shift in flight training methodology, allowing pilots to practice instrument flying and emergency procedures on the ground.

Civilian Pilot Training Program

On 1 July 1937, there were 16,578 licensed pilots in the United States, according to The New York Times. The Civilian Pilot Training Program began as a temporary program in 1938, and the following year, Robert Hinckley, the head of the program, oversaw its expansion. The program was instrumental in training a generation of pilots in the lead-up to World War II.

Types of pilot licenses

Flight training programmes lead to different categories of pilot licenses, each with distinct privileges and requirements. The three primary license categories recognised by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) are the Private Pilot License (PPL), Commercial Pilot License (CPL), and Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL).

Private Pilot License (PPL)

The Private Pilot License is the entry-level license that permits the holder to fly an aircraft for personal, non-commercial purposes. The holder is entitled to act as pilot in command of a light single-piston aircraft.

Under European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulations, applicants must complete a minimum of 45 flying hours to obtain a PPL. Although 45 hours is the minimum requirement, most students generally need about 60–70 hours to reach the sufficient standard. The aim is to fly the first solo flight after approximately 15 hours of tuition. Under Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, the minimum is 40 hours total flight time (35 hours under Part 141 approved training).

Commercial Pilot License (CPL)

The Commercial Pilot License is a more advanced license requiring greater accuracy in flying and a higher standard of airmanship. The holder of a CPL is able to act as pilot in command of a small piston-engine aircraft carrying fewer than 9 passengers for commercial purposes, such as revenue flights in visual meteorological conditions (VMC).

The CPL is valid for multi-engine aircraft only if the CPL skills test is passed in a multi-engine aircraft; otherwise, privileges are restricted to single-engine aircraft. In order to operate in cloud or instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), the pilot must hold an instrument rating. Under EASA regulations, CPL training requires 200 hours (modular) or 150 hours (integrated) total flight time. Under FAA regulations, the requirement is 250 hours (Part 61) or 190 hours (Part 141).

Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL)

The Airline Transport Pilot License is the highest level of pilot certification. To operate as a commercial airline pilot, the minimum qualification is a frozen ATPL with a type rating specific to the aircraft the candidate is employed to operate. The ATPL is required for captains of commercial airliners and allows the holder to act as pilot in command of multi-crew aircraft.

Training for the ATPL includes both theoretical knowledge examinations and practical skill tests. The theoretical subjects include air law, human performance, meteorology, communications, principles of flight, operational procedures, flight performance and planning, aircraft general knowledge, and navigation.

Multi-Crew Pilot License (MPL)

The Multi-Crew Pilot License is a certification originally introduced by ICAO in 2006. The MPL allows the holder to act as co-pilot in a multi-engine, multi-crew aircraft. The MPL training course relies heavily on simulator-based instruction and is used in several countries across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Cadets typically complete between 100 and 120 hours in training aircraft, including at least 20 hours of solo flight time.

Training structure

Ground school

Ground school is the educational foundation of flight training. It covers the theory, procedures, and decision-making that make safe flying possible. Ground school prepares the student for the written examination and covers essential topics including aerodynamics, weather and meteorology, airspace and navigation, flight planning and performance, and federal aviation regulations.

Ground school can be completed in a classroom setting or online. For ATPL training, the ground school component may comprise over 100 hours of classroom instruction and 800+ hours of guided distance learning.

Flight lessons

Flight lessons are conducted in the aircraft or in a certified flight simulator with a qualified flight instructor. The syllabus of flight instruction typically covers:

• Pre-flight operations, including mass and balance determination, aircraft inspection and servicing
• Aerodrome and traffic pattern operations, collision avoidance precautions and procedures
• Flight manoeuvres and procedures, including manual flight with and without flight directors
• Flight at critically low airspeeds, recognition of, and recovery from, incipient and full stalls
• Flight at critically high airspeeds
• Normal and crosswind take-offs and landings
• Maximum performance take-offs and landings
• Flight by reference solely to instruments

Flight simulators

Flight simulators play a crucial role in modern flight training. Research has shown that simulator training effectively expedites motor skill acquisition among flight cadets. Studies have evaluated the impact of flight simulator training on the enhancement of perceptual-motor skills, with scenarios including takeoff, flight control, landing, and carrier landing.

There has been increased focus on the utilisation of virtual reality (VR) flight simulators in flight training, driven by their advantages compared to conventional methods. Research has demonstrated that a VR headset simulator can provide an immersive and educational experience comparable to that of a cockpit simulator.

Instrument rating

An instrument rating allows a pilot to fly under instrument flight rules (IFR). When training for the instrument rating, the instructor places special screens in the windshield of the aircraft, or the student wears special goggles, to ensure the student cannot see outside. The screens go up at about 400 feet above ground level and are removed when coming in to land at about the same height. After take-off, the student must navigate only using the aircraft instruments and radio beacons on a predetermined routing. A typical route involves navigating to another airfield, making an instrument approach, followed by carrying out a missed approach before navigating back to the departure aerodrome to land.

Under EASA regulations, the practical training for an instrument rating consists of 30 hours of flight time in an FNPT II simulator and 15 flight hours of dual, instructed flight. Under FAA Part 141 regulations, the flight training must include at least 35 hours for an initial instrument rating, or 15 hours for an additional rating.

Flight instructor rating

A flight instructor rating entitles the holder to impart flying instructions. To be eligible for a flight instructor certificate, a person must hold an effective pilot certificate with ratings appropriate to the flight instructor rating sought, have at least 15 hours as pilot in command in the aircraft category and class appropriate to the rating sought, and pass a practical test.

Regulatory framework

Pilot licensing and training are governed by national aviation authorities, which operate under standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The two largest regulatory frameworks are those of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in Europe. Both FAA and EASA meet ICAO standards for pilot certification and offer the private pilot, commercial pilot, and airline transport pilot certifications.

FAA (United States)

The FAA provides comprehensive guidance in Advisory Circular (AC) 120-35 for line-oriented flight training programmes. The FAA mandates that commercial pilots complete recurrent training every 12 months under the framework of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 (for air carriers) and Part 135 (for commuter and on-demand operations).

The FAA system emphasises total flight experience, with rules related to 1,500 hours for ATP certification.

EASA (Europe)

EASA provides the regulatory framework for oversight of European countries' national aviation authorities, which carry out the requirements for pilot licensing and training. EASA establishes common safety and environmental regulations and standards and monitors the implementation of standards through inspections in its member states. The EASA system emphasises aeronautical knowledge (ground school) instruction and testing, with simulation and multi-crew requirements widely applied.

DGCA (India)

In India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) approves Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) as per laid down rules and regulations. As of 2024, there were 38 FTOs operating at 56 bases approved by the DGCA. By April 2026, this had increased to 41 DGCA-approved FTOs operating at 63 flying bases.

The cost of training for obtaining a Commercial Pilot License is determined by the FTOs. The DGCA does not regulate the financial aspects of obtaining CPLs by students from FTOs. The DGCA also approves the syllabus for flight training, which must be completed in accordance with the prescribed requirements.

Flight training organisations

India

The DGCA maintains a list of approved Flying Training Organisations across India. As of December 2024, these included:

• Bihar Flying Institute, Patna
• Blue Ray Aviation Pvt. Ltd., Mehsana
• Dunes Aviation Academy, Bhavnagar
• Gujarat Flying Club, Vadodara
• Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA), Amethi
• Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University (RGNAU), Amethi
• National Flying Training Institute, Gondia
• Bombay Flying Club, Mumbai
• Chimes Aviation Academy, Dhana
• Orient Flights Aviation Academy, Mysore
• FSTC Flying School Pvt Ltd
• Academy of Carver Aviation Pvt Ltd
• Ambitions Flying Club Pvt Ltd
• Flytech Aviation Academy
• Indian Flying Academy
• Sha-Shib Flying Academy
• Government Aviation Training Institute

The Ministry of Civil Aviation released the second phase of FTO rankings in April 2026. Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) and National Flying Training Institute were among the top-ranked institutions.

International

Flight training schools operate globally, with national aviation authorities maintaining registers of approved training organisations. According to FlightLogger, a flight school directory, there are 962 flight schools, ATOs, airline academies, and flying clubs in 75 countries. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) maintains a network of training excellence that includes institutions such as OMNI Aviation Corporation in the Philippines, Orient Flights Private Limited in India, and Prince Sultan Aviation Academy in Saudi Arabia.

Military flight training

Military flight training has a distinct history and structure. Training to Fly: Military Flight Training, 1907–1945 is an institutional history of flight training by the predecessor organisations of the United States Air Force. The U.S. Army purchased its first airplane, built and successfully flown by Orville and Wilbur Wright, in 1909. During this first era of military aviation, a flight training system was established on firm footing.

The Advanced Flying School at Tuskegee, Alabama, was the first military school of aviation to train African Americans.

See also

• Pilot licensing and certification
• Flight instructor
• Flight simulator
• Ground school
• Private Pilot License
• Commercial Pilot License
• Airline Transport Pilot License
• Multi-Crew Pilot License
• Instrument rating
• Aviation safety