The number 1 way to ensure your success in becoming a pilot is by properly managing your time and money.

And the easiest way to properly manage your time & money is by doing ground school before it’s too late and ACTUALLY understanding the material

5 years ago I saw NO ONE mentoring unsuspecting students on the traps in flight training that was costing them $1000s.

This is why I created the Part Time Pilot Online Ground School.

The ground school was created with these ideas at the heart of our mission statement:

Mentoring students from start to finish
Providing content that saves time & money & provides a deep understanding

How does Part Time Pilot compare to other Online Ground Schools?

I went to the website of each of the Top 10 Online Ground Schools and gathered ALL the relevant info a student pilot like you needs to make an informed decision.

Things like cost, student ratings, lifetime access or not, types of lessons, bonuses included, scholarships included, support available and more.

Then, I lined them all up and compared them all in a single table so that student pilots could make the best, most informed decision on their training.

Click here to watch the video

Ultimate Step by Step Guide to Becoming an Airline Pilot

This posts goes step by step over how to become an airline pilot and make the big bucks flying Boeings, Airbus’ and more across the world!

Step 1: Meet Eligibility Requirements

The first step is simply to be eligible.

Age: In order to start flight training and fly an aircraft solo you must be at least 16 years old. To become a Private Pilot you must be at least 17 years old. And to become an Airline Transport Pilot you need to be at least 23 years old.
Language: You must be able to read, write, speak and understand English
ID: You must have a valid and current ID accepted by the FAA
Medical: To become a Private Pilot you need a 3rd Class Medical certificate. To become a Commercial Pilot you need a 2nd Class Medical certificate. And to become an Airline Transport Pilot you need a 1st Class Medical certificate. 1st class is most stringent and you can get this first if you want to cut to the chase.

Step 2: Earn Private Pilot Certificate

The first certificate you must achieve is a Private Pilot certificate. If you want to be an Airline Pilot you cannot start with a Sport or Recreational Pilot… it must be Private Pilot.

Obtaining your Private Pilot certificate includes:

Ground training and endorsement from instructor to take the FAA Written Exam
Passing FAA Written Exam
Flight Training (40 hours minimum for part 61 & 35 hours for part 141) and endorsement from instructor to take FAA Checkride Exam
Passing FAA Checkride Exam

Step 3: Earn your Instrument Rating

A private pilot certificate allows you to become a pilot and fly passengers but you can’t fly for hire and you can’t fly in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and can only fly in visual flight rules or VFR conditions. This essentially means a private pilot is limited to flying in good visibility weather conditions.

To get hired as an airline pilot you are going to need to carry passengers at night and fly in IMC with bad visibility/poor weather conditions. To do that, you need an Instrument Flight Rules or IFR rating add on. Technically, IFR is not a certificate but an add on to your private pilot certificate. However, the process of achieving your IFR rating is similar to getting a certificate:

Ground training and endorsement for the FAA Written Exam
Passing the FAA Written Exam
Flight Training (40 hours of instrument time, 15 hours with instrument instructor and 50 hours of cross-country time) and endorsement for the FAA Checkride Exam
Passing the FAA Checkride Exam

Step 4: Earn your Commercial Pilot Certificate

Next up is earning your Commercial Pilot certificate. A Commercial certificate allows you to fly for hire such that once you complete this step you’ll be allowed to fly passengers for hire in the day, night and in VFR or IFR weather.

Just like private and instrument, you need to complete the following:

Ground training and endorsement for the FAA Written Exam
Passing the FAA Written Exam
Flight Training (total flight time of 250 hours, 100 hours of PIC time with 50 hours in an airplane, 50 hours of cross-country time, 10 hours instrument time, 10 hours complex time, and 10 hours of night time) and endorsement for the FAA Checkride Exam
Passing the FAA Checkride Exam

Step 5a: Build Flight Hours

At this point in your training you’ll have at least 250 flight hours but more likely 300 to 500 flight hours.

Your next step is to build those hours to the hours needed to qualify for an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, which is 1500 hours. There are military paths or university paths that allow for less hours. These are called restricted ATP certificate requirements. Depending on the academic program you may need 1000 hours (bachelors program) or 1250 hours (associates program).

The most common way to build hours is by becoming a flight instructor (CFI). You will need to take some Written Exams and a Checkride just like you did for previous certificates but most of the knowledge is stuff you have already learned except for the required knowledge to pass the fundamentals of instructing exam. Becoming a CFI allows you to build time while getting paid and not paying for the aircraft rental. This significantly reduces your costs to build hours.

Step 5b: Earn Multi-Engine Rating

If you want to fly for the airlines then you need a multi-engine rating because airlines fly planes with multiple engines.

To get your multi-engine add on you will need:

Ground training on multi-engine aircraft flight
Flight Training on multi-engine aircraft and an endorsement from your instructor (no minimum flight time requirement) to take the FAA Checkride Exam
Passing the FAA Checkride Exam

There is no Written Exam for a multi-engine add on.

Step 6: Earn your Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) Certificate

Oh boy… you’ve made it to the highest level FAA certificate, the Airline Transport Pilot certificate. In order to receive this certificate you will need the following:

Ground training and endorsement for the FAA Written Exam
Passing the FAA Written Exam
Flight Training (total of 1500 hours or 1000 if restricted ATP from bachelors program or 1250 if restricted ATP from associates program) and endorsement for the FAA Checkride Exam
Passing the FAA Checkride Exam

As mentioned previously, you also need to be at least 23 years old.

Step 7a: Get Hired at Regional Airline

Now you just need to get hired. To get hired you need to apply and interview while continuing to build hours and any experience you can get.

Most new pilots start at regional airlines as a First Officer or co-pilot. Once hired, the airline will provide specific training for the jet aircraft they own and you will need to earn a Type Certificate for each Type Certified aircraft they want you to fly (usually just 1).

Step 7b: Get Hired at Major Airline

As you build up experience flying at a regional airline and first officer you will want to apply and look for opportunities to upgrade to captain or fly as first officer at a major airline such as Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska or others.

Once hired, the airline will again provide you training for a Type Certificate in the aircraft they plan for you to fly.

That’s it. Easy peasy right? In all honesty it is a long road… but it is a rewarding road. As of 2024, pilots have a better return on investment than doctors or lawyers with some experienced captains making a million dollars per year $$$. Good luck!