Training Programs - COMMERCIAL PILOT LICENCE

The Commercial Pilot Licence is the minimum licence needed to be employed as a pilot and will allow you to fly all single engine aircraft that are classified as non-high performance during day/night hours under Visual Flight Rules.

A Commercial Pilot Licence may be enhanced with additional endorsements to allow the holder to fly floatplanes or multi engine aircraft as well as flight in any weather condition day or night.

The minimum training requirements are outlined below.

*P r e r e q u i s i t e:   P r i v a t e   P i l o t   L i c e n c e

Training Overview

The Commercial Pilot Program is divided into two separate related paths, ground school and air instruction. Ground school will furnish you with the required background knowledge and understanding to successfully challenge the written examination, while the air instruction and solo practice will provide you with the skills required to succeed at the flight test.

Age

A minimum age of eighteen (18) years old is required for a Commercial Licence; however flight training can be started as early as fourteen (14) years of age, as this is the minimum age required to obtain a student pilot permit and complete the prerequisite Private Pilot Licence training (licensing age of 17).

Medical Requirement

All pilots are required to have a Medical Certificate. There are four categories of medical certificates and the process of obtaining a certificate will differ depending on the category and your age. Category one is required for a Commercial Licence.

The Medical examination must be performed by a Civil Aviation Medical Examiner. The fee for the examination will vary with the individual examiner, but is usually between $100.00 and $150.00. This fee is not normally covered under any medical plans.

Ground School

Ground school is conducted in a classroom setting. All students will be required to attend ground school for a minimum of 80 hours on the following subjects. The ground school classes are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM.

• Theory of Flight
• Licensing Requirements
• Aerodynamics Airframes and Engines
• Systems and Flight Instruments
• Canadian Aviation Regulations
• Meteorology
• Human Factors
• Pilot Decision Making
• Flight Operations
• Navigation Radio and Electronic Theory

Ground school is 5 months in duration.

Knowledge

Students will be required to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the required subjects by obtaining a mark of no less than 60% in each of the following mandatory areas as well as overall.

Air Law: regulations, rules and orders, air traffic services, practices and procedures, and licensing requirements

Navigation: navigation, radio aids and electronic theory

Meteorology: active weather and weather information

General Knowledge: airframes, engines and systems, theory of flight, flight instruments, flight operations and human factors

The written examination is a computer based exam which is administered by Transport Canada. The questions are in a multiple choice format.

Experience

Air instruction is separated into dual instruction and solo practice. During dual instruction students will be introduced to new exercises and practice previous exercises. Once a level of skill and competence has been reached, students will fly solo in the aircraft to practice the air exercises.

Once students have completed their PPL they will receive a total of 65 hours of the flight training while on course. The training requirements are divided up as follows:

35 hours of dual flight instruction

(a) 5 hours cross country flight
(b) 5 hours night flying, 2 hours of this during cross country flight
(c) 20 hours of instrument training
(i) of which 10 hours can be done in a simulator
(d) 5 hours of improvement of general flying skills

30 hours of solo flight practice

(a) 25 hours for improvement of general flying skills
(b) Cross country flight of not less than 300 nautical miles from the point of departure with three landings at other points
(c) 5 hours night flying

200 hrs total time including not less than 100 hrs pilot-in-command of which 20 hours must be cross country time.

Skill

Following the completion of your flight training you will be required to complete a flight test. During the flight test you will be tested on your understanding of aircraft performance, aircraft systems, emergency procedures and navigational skills. Additionally your performance of the required air exercises will be tested to the standard outlined in the Flight Test Guide Commercial Pilot Licence - Aeroplane.

Cost Estimate

Notes:

1. Aircraft rates are based on the C152 rates
2. Costs and hours are based on a minimum of 45 hours training received in PPL
3. Mandatory government taxes not included

This program has been approved by the registrar of the Private Training Institutions Branch (PTIB) of the Ministry of Advanced Educations, Skills and Training.