How Long Will It Take To Get A Pilot License?
It can take anywhere from a few months to a couple years or more depending on how much time, money and luck you have. For me it took 100 flight hours over the course of a year and a half.
Basic Flight Requirements
At the very least you must have 40 hours of flight time/training including the below flight experience.
3 Hours of cross country training
3 Hours of night flight training
3 Hours of instrument training
3 Hours of training for the practical test
10 Hours of solo flight time
On the surface, this might appear easily achievable in a short amount of time, but, as you dig deeper it quickly gets more complicated. How long will it take you to learn to safely and consistently land a plane by yourself? It is not unusual to have accumulated 100+ landings before you are ready to solo. You will also have to maneuver the plane to strict tolerances to be able to pass your practical test. Even though you might accumulate 40 hours, you may need many more to be able to meet these standards. For a full list of everything you must be able to do to pass your test take a look at the Airman Certification Standards .
Written Test
The written test is challenging, especially if you are new to all of the topics covered such as weather, aerodynamics, aircraft instruments, airspace, rules and regs, etc. Depending on your ability to study and retain knowledge it can take quite a few months to learn the material. Your study time will also be competing with your flight time so you need to budget accordingly. There are many great study tools to help ease the process such as Sporty’s Private Pilot Practice Test .
Weather
As always, weather plays a major role in aviation. You will quickly learn that you will spend much of your time learning about weather and analyzing forecasts. With weather being such a crucial factor, it can often lead to flight cancellations. Wind, rain, low clouds and freezing temps can cause major hazards to aviation. Over the course of getting my PPL I have probably had more cancellations than flights that got off the ground. I think my record was 7 cancelled flights in a row. It is just another part of aviation and can easily add months to your timeline.
Money
This one is pretty obvious. If you can only afford to fly once a month it will take a lot longer than if you have the funds to fly twice a week.
Airplane And CFI Availability
Sometimes you have the time, you have the money, but, you just can’t find an aircraft and CFI available at a time that works for your schedule. Finding a compatible airport, school and instructor can be a huge factor in how quickly you move through the process. Do your research and visit a few schools, it will be time well spent.
Pre-flight Study
I am not sure what the exact statistics are, but, for every 1 flight hour of my training I estimate I spent at least 3 or more hours studying, pre-flighting, and/or debriefing the flight. The flight time is just the tip of the iceberg of the overall hours of time it will take.
Why I Think You Should Take At Least 1 Year
Personally, I think you should not try to get your license any faster than 1 year for a few reasons.
First, there is only so much information you can absorb in any period of time. The skills and knowledge to be a good, safe pilot take time to learn. Rushing the process will lead to more gaps in your knowledge and deficiencies in your skills that you will have to fill in once you take to the skies on your own.
Weather - Yes, again weather comes up. In areas of the country that experience all 4 seasons it is extremely helpful to fly in all types of weather with the guidance of your CFI. Having the opportunity to fly in rain, snow, wind, heat and cold with the help of your CFI will make you a much better and safer pilot.
Enjoy the process. Naturally, we all are anxious to earn our certificate and finally be able to call ourselves a “pilot”. But, instead of stressing about the end goal why net take some pressure off and enjoy the process. Even a student pilot is very much a “pilot”. Some of my most enjoyable and memorable flights have been the extra cross country flights and fun flights I have taken with my CFIs. Landing on a grass strip, visiting local small airports and navigating the complexities of large commercial airports can be a lot less stressful (and a lot more fun) with the help of your CFI.
Take your time and you will come out the other end a much more skilled, competent and confident pilot.