Preparing For Flight With Career Pilot Training

Career pilot training prepares people to get paid to do what they love, but it's required that people finish private pilot training first. Commercial airline pilot training culminates in the awarding of a certificate, which proves that the individual has a solid understanding of aircraft systems and a higher standard of airmanship.

During career pilot training, students learn to operate a complex airplane, and they must obtain a specific number of hours of complex aircraft time. Although private pilot training can be completed in small aircraft, at least a portion of the practical examination for commercial airline pilot training is performed in a complex aircraft. After completing all the requirements and passing all the tests, the student is awarded with a certificate, as long as they are in good physical health.

The certificates that career pilot training students receive do not permit the pilot to set up an operation that carries members of the public for hire; there are further regulations that they must meet. After completing the career pilot training, though, the pilot can be paid for certain types of flights, such as banner towing, agricultural applications and photography, and they can be paid for instructing if they hold a flight instructor certificate. To fly for hire in these situations, the pilot must hold a second class medical certificate, which is valid for one year.

Though the certificate is not the end of career pilot training for anyone who wants to work for a major air carrier, it proves their knowledge, and gets them started on the road to a commercial piloting career.

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