Private Pilot License
The license that starts everything. Fly yourself, your friends and your family, anywhere in the country.
One license. The whole sky.
The private pilot license is the FAA certificate that lets you fly an airplane on your own, with passengers, wherever you want to go. Everything else in aviation is built on it, from weekend flights up the coast to an airline career.
At CFII you earn it as part of the Career Track, our one program from zero experience to commercial pilot and instructor. Flown full time, this step is months 1 to 3 of nine.
What the FAA requires
- Total flight time
- 40 hours
- With your instructor
- 20 hours
- Solo
- 10 hours
- Exams
- FAA written test and checkride
What you need to start
- Be at least 17 years old to get the license (16 to fly solo)
- Read, speak, write and understand English
- Hold at least a third-class FAA medical certificate
- Pass the FAA private pilot written exam
- No prior flying experience needed. The discovery flight is lesson one.
How it goes
First lessons
You take the controls on day one and learn to fly the airplane, not ride in it. Within weeks you are flying the traffic pattern with your instructor beside you.
First solo
One day your instructor steps out of the airplane and you fly alone. Every pilot remembers that date.
Cross-countries and checkride
You plan and fly real trips, solo, across Southern California. Then one flight with an FAA examiner makes it official.
What you learn
- Preflight, aircraft control and radio work
- Takeoffs, landings and the traffic pattern until they feel automatic
- Cross-country navigation on a Garmin glass cockpit
- Flying in busy Southern California airspace
- Night flying and emergency procedures, including engine-out landings
- Your first solo, then solo cross-countries
All of it in a factory-new Tecnam P-Mentor. See the fleet
How long it takes
The FAA minimum is 40 flight hours and most students need 50 to 60. Flying two to three times a week, that is four to six months.
In the Career Track, flown full time, it is months 1 to 3. It is covered by the program's one price.
- Private Pilot LicenseMonths 1 to 3
- Instrument RatingMonths 3 to 6
- Commercial Pilot LicenseMonths 6 to 7
- Certified Flight InstructorMonths 7 to 8
- Instrument InstructorMonths 8 to 9
- Commercial Multi-EngineMonth 9
Questions.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license?
The FAA minimum is 40 flight hours, and most students finish in 50 to 60. Flying two to three times a week, that is four to six months. The biggest factor is consistency, and Southern California weather means you almost never lose a lesson to the sky.
Can I train while working full time?
The Career Track is built to be flown full time. Training part time around a job stretches the training phase. Because instruction is one on one, the pace is set by your schedule, not a class calendar.
Do I need a medical certificate before I start?
Not for your first lessons. You need a third-class FAA medical before you fly solo, so we recommend getting it early. It is a basic exam with an aviation medical examiner and most people pass easily. If you have a specific health question, ask an AME before spending money on training.
Is it safe to learn in a small airplane?
Safer than most people assume, and safer still in the right airplane. Our trainers are factory-new Tecnams with Garmin glass cockpits and a parachute for the whole airplane. You also train one on one with a certified flight instructor, every lesson.
Next in the sequence
Instrument RatingFly in the clouds, on an IFR flight plan. The rating that turns a fair-weather pilot into an all-weather pilot.
Come see the airplanes.
Walk the hangar, sit in a factory-new cockpit and meet the people who would train you. Bring your parents, your partner, whoever is part of the decision. We are happy to show you around before you commit to anything.
Apply nowCreate your account and we will help you set up a visit.