Commercial pilot

Welcome to Chickadee Aviation’s Commercial Pilot's Certificate Training Program. We’re a FAR Part 61 school and your first step to earning your commercial pilot certificate. If you want to be paid to fly in any capacity, a commercial pilot certificate is required. Training for the certificate takes a pilot back to the basics of airmanship, and away from the rigors of instrument training.

A pilot must obtain ratings for each category and class of airplane they wish to be paid to operate. For example, if a pilot aspires to fly skydivers in a Cessna 182 and cargo in a King Air C90, they must a have commercial certificate with a single engine and a multiengine rating.

A 2018 FAA rule change made obtaining the commercial certificate easier and more relevant. Now instead of training in an older retractable-gear aircraft, pilots can train in new, modern technically advanced aircraft that will better mirror what they fly as a professional.

To obtain a commercial certificate in an airplane under FAR Part 61 rules a pilot must have:

*250 hours of flight time, 100 hours of which must be in powered aircraft, and 50 must be in airplanes.

*100 hours of pilot-in-command time, 50 of which must be in airplanes.

*50 hours of cross-country time, 10 of which must be in an airplane.

*20 hours of training, including 10 of instrument, 10 of complex or TAA, and a smattering of cross-country and practical test preparation.

*10 hours of solo training, including a smattering of cross-country and night.

Additional class ratings, such as adding a multi-engine rating to single-engine commercial pilot certificate or adding a single-engine rating to a multi-engine commercial pilot certificate, will require additional training.