Stewart McPeak

Certified Flight Instructor

Updated: 11/16/2008
 

Flight Training

I will train you to become the best pilot you can be. The flight training that I provide will ensure your success, now and throughout your flight career, be it as a Private Pilot that just wants to fly around or as a Professional Pilot, ready to work in the Aviation Industry.  Whatever your goals, I can make them happen.

 Personalized flight training programs can be designed for customers with special flight training needs.  

Flight Training Services Include:

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FAA Requirements to Obtain a Sport or Private Pilot Certificate

Requirements to Obtain a Commercial Pilot Certificate

Requirements to Obtain an Instrument Rating

 

FAA Requirements to Obtain a Sport or Private Pilot Certificate

  1. You must be at least 17 years of age [when you finish your training and take your FAA practical (flight) test].
  2. You must be able to read, speak, write, and converse fluently in English.
  3. You must obtain at least a third-class FAA medical certificate (or a driver's license for sport pilot) and student pilot certificate.
  4. You must pass the pilot knowledge test with a score of 70% or better. All FAA tests are administered at FAA-designated computer testing centers.
    1. The sport pilot knowledge test consists of 40 multiple-choice questions selected from the FAA's sport pilot test bank. Test Guides are available with all possible questions with Answers/Explanations.
    2. The private pilot knowledge test consists of 60 multiple-choice questions selected from the 700+ airplane-related questions in the FAA's test bank. Test Guides are available with all possible questions with Answers/Explanations.
  5. Flight Proficiency Requirements:  (Note that these are the minimums required by the FAA and you will most likely want more training for comfort and proficiency)
    1. For a sport pilot certificate, you must receive a minimum of 20 hours of flight training, including a minimum of 5 hours of solo flight time.
    2. For a private pilot certificate issued under Part 61 of the federal aviation regulations, you must receive a minimum of 40 hours of flight time, including a minimum of 10 hours of solo (i.e., by yourself) flight time in an airplane.
    3. As an alternative to Part 61 training, you may enroll in an FAA-certificated pilot school that has an approved private pilot certification course (airplane).
      1. These schools are known as Part 141 schools because they are authorized by Part 141 of the Federal Aviation Regulations.
      2. The Part 141 course must consist of at least 35 hours of ground training and 35 hours of flight training.
      3. There is little difference between Part 61 training and Part 141 training, except that a Part 61 course has more flexibility to adjust to your individual needs.
  6. You must successfully complete a practical (flight) test, which will be given as a final exam by an FAA-designated pilot examiner. FAA-designated pilot examiners are proficient, experienced flight instructors/pilots who are authorized by the FAA to conduct practical tests. They typically charge a fee for their services.
  7. If you have any questions now or throughout your flight training, please contact Stewart at info@StewartMcPeak.com.

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FAA Requirements to Obtain a Commercial Pilot Certificate

  1. Be at least 18 years of age.
  2. Be able to read, write, and converse fluently in English.
  3. Hold a current FAA Medical Certificate.
  4. Receive and log ground training from an authorized instructor or complete a home-study course, such as studying Commercial Pilot FAA Knowledge Test and Pilot Handbook. Subjects include:
    1. FARs
    2. NTSB Part 830
    3. Aerodynamics
    4. Aviation weather
    5. Operation of aircraft
    6. Weight and balance
    7. Performance charts
    8. Effects of exceeding limitations
    9. VFR charts
    10. Navigation facilities
    11. Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM)
    12. Aircraft systems
    13. Maneuvers, procedures, and emergency operations in the airplane
    14. Night and high-altitude operations
    15. National airspace system
  5. Pass the FAA commercial pilot knowledge test with a score of 70% or better.
  6. Accumulate flight experience (FAR 61.129). You must log at least 250 hr. of flight time as a pilot that consists of at least:
    1. 100 hr. in powered aircraft, of which 50 hr. must be in airplanes
    2. 100 hr. as pilot in command flight time, which includes at least:
      1. 50 hr. in airplanes
      2. 50 hr. in cross-country flight of which at least 10 hr. must be in airplanes
    3. 20 hr. of training in the areas of operation listed in item 8. below, including at least:
      1. 10 hr. of instrument training of which at least 5 hr. must be in a single-engine airplane
      2. 10 hr. of training in an airplane that has a retractable landing gear, flaps, and controllable pitch propeller, or is turbine-powered
      3. One cross-country flight of at least 2 hr. in a single-engine airplane in day-VFR conditions, consisting of a total straight-line distance of more than 100 NM from the original point of departure
      4. One cross-country flight of at least 2 hr. in a single-engine airplane in night-VFR conditions, consisting of a straight-line distance of more than 100 NM from the original point of departure
      5. 3 hr. in a single-engine airplane in preparation for the practical test within the 60 days preceding the test
    4. 10 hr. of solo flight in a single-engine airplane training in the areas of operation required for a single-engine rating, which includes at least:
      1. One cross-country flight of not less than 300 NM total distance, with landings at a minimum of three points, one of which is a straight-line distance of at least 250 NM from the original departure point
        1. In Hawaii, the longest segment need have only a straight-line distance of at least 150 NM.
      2. 5 hr. in night-VFR conditions with 10 takeoffs and 10 landings (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport with an operating control tower
  7. Hold an instrument rating or your commercial certificate will be endorsed with a prohibition against carrying passengers for hire on flights beyond 50 NM or at night.
  8. Demonstrate flight proficiency (FAR 61.127). You must receive and log training, and obtain a logbook sign-off (endorsement) from your CFI on the following areas of operation:
    1. Preflight preparation
    2. Preflight procedures
    3. Airport and seaplane base operations
    4. Takeoffs, landings, and go-arounds
    5. Performance maneuvers
    6. Ground reference maneuvers
    7. Navigation
    8. Slow flight and stalls
    9. Emergency operations
    10. High-altitude operations
    11. Postflight procedures

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  1. Hold at least a private pilot certificate.
  2. Be able to read, write, and converse fluently in English.
  3. Hold a current FAA Medical Certificate.
  4. Receive and log ground training from an authorized instructor or complete a home-study course, such as using Instrument Pilot FAA Knowledge Test  and Pilot Handbook. Subjects include:
    1. FARs
    2. IFR-related items in the AIM
    3. ATC system and procedures
    4. IFR navigation
    5. Use of IFR charts
    6. Aviation weather
    7. Operating under IFR
    8. Recognition of critical weather
    9. Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM)
    10. Crew Resource Management (CRM)
  5. Pass the FAA instrument rating knowledge test with a score of 70% or better.
  6. Accumulate flight experience (FAR 61.65):
    1. 50 hr. of cross-country flight time as pilot in command, of which at least 10 hr. must be in airplanes:
      1. The 50 hr. includes solo cross-country time as a student pilot, which is logged as pilot-in-command time.
      2. Each cross-country must have a landing at an airport that was at least a straight-line distance of more than 50 NM from the original departure point.
    2. A total of 40 hr. of actual or simulated instrument time in the areas of operation listed in 7. below, including:
      1. 15 hr. of instrument flight training from a CFII (CFII is an instructor who is authorized to give instrument instruction) days preceding the practical test
      2. Cross-country flight procedures that include at least one cross-country flight in an airplane that is performed under IFR and consists of:
        1. A distance of at least 250 NM along airways or ATC-directed routing
        2. An instrument approach at each airport
        3. Three different kinds of approaches with the use of navigation systems
    3. If the instrument training was provided by a CFII, a maximum of 20hr. may be accomplished in an approved flight simulator or flight training device.
  7. Demonstrate flight proficiency (FAR 61.65). You must receive and log training, as well as obtain a logbook sign-off (endorsement) from your CFII on the following areas of operation:
    1. Preflight preparation
    2. Preflight procedures
    3. Air traffic control clearances and procedures
    4. Flight by reference to instruments
    5. Navigation systems
    6. Instrument approach procedures
    7. Emergency operations
    8. Postflight procedures

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