About Our Private Pilot Course

Overview

Ocean Aviation is ready to prepare you to become a private pilot. Training with Ocean Aviation will not only prepares you to earn your private pilot license but also to be a safe and competent pilot.

The FAA Private Pilot Certificate is a certificate issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, which allows a person to legally operate an aircraft with passengers and baggage.

In order to earn a private pilot certificate, a student pilot complete a knowledge test, pass a FAA medical examination and then pass a practical flight test, which we refer to as your “check ride” with a designated flight examiner.

Before you decide that it seems too difficult, let us assure you that we are there not only to teach but also to guide you. From your initial interview, your first flight, your first solo, your first cross country flight, throughout this experience, our professional staff will be there to answer questions and help make this not only a learning experience but a fun experience that will change your life.

1. Be at least 16 years old to solo the airplane, 17 years old to acquire the certificate, but you can be any age to start training.
2. Be able to read, write, speak, and understand the English language.
3. Obtain at least a third-class FAA medical examination, which will also serve as the Student Pilot Certificate.
4. Pass the written aeronautical knowledge test.
5. Receive flight training from a certified flight instructor. Flight instruction must be logged in the student’s logbook.
6. Have at least a Minimum of 40 hours of flight-logged time, which includes both dual and solo flight. Additionally, the following specific requirements must be accomplished;
   1. A minimum of 3 hours instrument training
   2. A minimum of 3 hours of cross-country training
   3. A minimum of 3 hours of night training including one cross-country over 100 nautical miles and 10 takeoffs and landings to a full stop.
   4. Three hours of preparation for the practical test.
   5. Minimum of 10 hours of solo flight which include a minimum of 5 hours of solo cross-country with one solo cross country of at least 150 nautical miles with full stops at three destinations and a minimum of 3 takeoffs and landings to a full stop at a controlled airport. Additionally, the candidate must have at least 10 hours solo flight practicing takeoffs and landings, basic airport operations, flight maneuvers and navigation.
   6. A final endorsement from your Certified Flight Instructor stating that you meet all requirements and are prepared for a practical flight test.

Time and Hours

The Federal Aviation Administration has set a minimum time for an applicant to obtain a private pilot certificate at 40 hours. Since most applicants can not fly every day and immerse themselves in the private pilot course to the extent required to move rapidly though the training, we have found that the average time required for our students to obtain a private pilot certificate is between 55 and 65 hours. Time required to achieve your certificate is dependent on many factors including number of hours the candidate is able to fly each week, study habits, and many other factors.

Costs

Asking how much will it cost to learn to fly is much like asking how much it will cost to learn to play golf. You are embarking on a lifestyle change. From your first flight lesson on, you will be coming out to the airport, be it to begin flight training, fly your first solo cross country, rent an aircraft as a newly certificated pilot and take your friends for a ride or begin training anew for that advanced instrument rating of perhaps a high performance aircraft endorsement. My answer is that the most realistic response is one hundred to two hundred dollars a flight for the rest of your life. Allot of money. Yes, perhaps. But you are going to spent it eventually on some pastime you choose and I guarantee aviation is much more satisfying than most any other activity.

As an eventual career path or simply a way of life, there is nothing quite like the thrill of flying!