SEO Content: "Primary Flight Training"

Every child has an idea of what they want to be when they grow up, and one of the most popular career choices is that of a professional pilot. However, before one can don a pair of gold wings and jet around the globe, they must first complete primary flight training.

The education needed to become an airline captain is accomplished in a series of stages, through which the pilot obtains various licenses and ratings. Through primary flight training, student pilots learn and apply the basics of airmanship to obtain their private pilot license. Once they have completed their primary flight training, they can progress through the advanced stages to receive licensing as a commercial or airline transport pilot, as well as additional ratings like instrument and multi-engine piloting.

Student pilots can expect to learn a wide variety of topics during their primary flight training, including: navigation, aircraft systems, radio communications, and weather. What many new student pilots do not realize is how many hours are spent in a classroom environment, studying materials and reviewing the information with their instructor. However, all of that work on the ground supplies the foundation of knowledge necessary to perform well in the sky! Although there is no legal minimum age to begin primary flight training, most flight schools will only instruct a student if they are of legal age to fly an airplane alone, which is sixteen years old in the United States. It can be quite expensive to become a professional pilot, but fortunately there are dozens of scholarship programs available to students. Most countries require that a student log forty hours of flying during their primary flight training in order to be eligible to receive a pilot's license. However, the average student will need over seventy hours of flight instruction before they are ready for their final test.

There are four sequential elements in the training process that all student pilots should be aware of. An introductory flight, typically in a single-engine aircraft, usually constitutes the first lesson of primary flight training. After several flights and ground-based lessons, the student can expect to pilot the plane by themselves (called "soloing"). Soon thereafter, the student is expected to take a written exam in which they are tested on all knowledge needed complete their primary flight training. Lastly, when all of their required flying has been accomplished, they undergo a final test with a special examiner called a "Checkride".

Pilots are not required to obtain additional licenses or ratings once they are done with primary flight training. With a private airmen's certificate, flyers are free to pilot their plane wherever and whenever they want, with only a few restrictions. That being said, many private pilots eventually choose to pursue other ratings for safety reasons, such as an Instrument rating. Regardless of how they plan to utilize their skills, all pilots began their education through a primary flight training program.