Flight Training: Commercial Pilot

Obtaining a Commercial pilot certificate allows you to fly for compensation or hire. Whether you want to fly for the airlines, become a charter pilot, fly cargo, or provide flight instruction, becoming a Commercial pilot is the first step in this process.

It is most common that you obtain your instrument rating prior to starting commercial pilot flight training. A commercial pilot without an instrument rating will have the limitation "The carriage of passengers for hire in airplanes on cross-country flights in excess of 50 nautical miles or at night is prohibited." (FAR §61.133)

If you don't already have a complex endorsement, this can be part of the training. A complex aircraft is one having flaps, a controllable pitch propeller, and retractable landing gear. Although you do still need 10 hours of complex aircraft time (which can also be in a multiengine aircraft), a complex aircraft is no longer required for the practical test.

What you can do as a Commercial Pilot

Note that what you can and can't do is complicated as a Commercial pilot. You are not able to "hold out", as in advertising your services along with providing an airplane, for the purposes of flying cargo or passengers. Operations such as these fall under the regulations in parts 119, 121, 125, 129, and 135 and have further requirements. For example, if you want to run a charter or "Air carrier" service, you will need to do that under a Part 135 certificate. You can work as a Commercial pilot for a Part 121 airline, but you can't be your own airline with just a basic Commercial certifcate. The jobs you can do with a basic Commercial Pilot certificate include:

• Sight-seeing flights within 25sm
• Ferry Flights
• Crop dusting
• Aerial photography
• Banner towing

Commercial Pilot Flight Maneuvers

Some maneuvers that are part of the Commercial Airmen Certification Standards (previously Practical Test Standards, or PTS):

• Lazy Eights
• Eights on Pylons
• Chandelles
• Power off 180 landings
• Short field landings (within 100 ft. touchdown point)
• Steep Spirals
• Steep turns (at 50 degrees bank vs. 45 for Private, and after completion of one 360 degree turn, enter into a steep turn in the other direction)
• Stalls, power on, off and accelerated

Experience requirements:

• 250 hours total time
• 100 hours PIC time, including:
  • 50 hours cross country time
  • 20 hours of Commercial training including:
    • 10 hours of instrument training
    • 10 hours of complex aircraft training
    • 1 two hour cross country in day conditions of more than 100 nautical miles
    • 1 two hour cross country in night conditions of more than 100 nautical miles
    • 3 hours dual flight training in preparation for the practical test within the preceding 2 calendar months
• 10 hours of solo time including:
  • 1 cross country flight of at least 300 nautical miles total distance, with a landing at a minimum of three points, one of which is a straight-line distance of at least 250 nautical miles from the original departure point
  • 5 hours in night VFR conditions with 10 takeoffs and 10 landings (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport with an operating control tower


* Note these are the minimum times required by the FAA §61.129 and are the general requirements that are most common, please see Part 61 or 141 as appropriate for more details.



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