Getting your Commercial Pilots License.
Updated: Sep 28, 2023
Getting your commercial pilot license is no easy road, there are many things to consider to know before diving into any flying training.
It is a requirement before you conduct your Recreational, Private or Commercial Pilots license to know what is required before and during the training before your can sit your flight test. This article will go through what is required for the commercial pilots license. A lot of what is required for your commercial pilots license is obtained by flight experience that you get during your RPL, PPL and onto completing CPL Exams and flight experience required to sit the test.
Contents:
Medical Information:
First of all a valid Class 1 Medical is required and this is valid for a year. Generally the costs associated with a class one medical is anywhere from 200-400 dollars and varies with the Doctors themselves. I would recommend taking a class one before signing up to a CPL course or starting a career with flying as it has been seen that some people start training and then find out they are colour blind or medication they are on can not allow them to hold a Class 1 Medical. If that is the case then you have wasted your valuable money and time. A list of Aviation medical examiners can be found on the CASA website on l this link.
Below is a Document from the CASA website that will give you information regarding the type of license you are obtaining and what medical and additional testing is required. You will note as you get older the frequency of testing increases for ECG's and Audiograms. Once over 60 Testing for everything is nearly yearly.
The Processing time for an initial medical is 20-50 days. To speed up the process I would recommend paying for the CASA processing fee before hand as that can take 3 days to process itself. The application should begin on this website. You need to logon/create a account and start the application and payment fee through this link.
A valid medical is required before you can fly by yourself (first solo 10 hours), If you don't have more medical before this then you could potentially slow down your flying training and recency. I would recommend completing your medical a couple of weeks of your first lesson if not before if conducting a full course. I would not complete or enrol in a course before obtaining a Class one medical.
Flying Experience and Hours Required for Commercial Pilot License:
To be able to sit the flying exam for a commercial flight test with an examiner you must have the required aeronautical experience. This includes 150 hrs total aeronautical experience which compromises of 140 hours as pilot, 70 hrs must be as Pilot in Command (solo/PIC) which of that; 20 hrs must be PIC conducting Navigation exercises ( cross country flying) and 10 hours Dual Instrument Time which 5 hours must be in the aircraft. If you are learning in a non integrated course then the hours increase and this can be found on this link.
How long does it take to get your commercial Pilots License?
The time required to get your Private Pilot's License or Commercial Pilots license depends on many different factors including affordability to complete the course, weather and availability to fly constantly. If you have the time off and money to conduct multiple lessons a day or week then you may be able to finish your first stage of Solo flying in a couple of weeks and Area Solo a week after. To complete the 50 hours required for your PPL it could take about 2 months including completing all theory. To complete a CPL (Commercial Pilots License) will take a at least 6 months to complete including the theory that must be completed.
What Theory is Required to Complete a Commercial Pilot's License?
The theory required to complete and conduct your Commercial Pilots License consist of:
Meteorology (70% Pass Mark)
Human Factors (70% Pass Mark)
Aircraft General Systems and Engines (70% Pass Mark)
Aerodynamics (70% Pass Mark)
Performance and Loading (70% Pass Mark)
Navigation (70% Pass Mark)
Air Law (80% Pass Mark)
The time required to do these exams depends on the exam as some are harder than others; the easy ones consist of Meteorology and Human Factors. The rough time if you pass them all first time can take a couple of months. If you fail a exam 3 times you are locked out for 3 months and must conduct retraining at a flying school or through a company like 'Easy Theory'.