invertedspin10
7th Mar 2007, 10:56
Hi,
I am currently a PPL SEP holder with around 500hrs. I am considering doing an FAA CPL/IR and was wondering how long I should allow for it. I have a full time job so ideally would like to do some sort of distance learning for the groundschool and take some time off work/holiday to complete the CPL. Can anyone give first hand advice as to how long I should allow assuming i do a full time course.
Thanks
For pre-course reading try Google for "ASA Commercial Pilot test Prep" and the IR version. These books will prepare you for the 2 written exams. Then you'll need the "ASA Oral guide" for both CPL and IR and these books will help you prepare for the oral portion of the skills test.
The FAA IR can be done on accelerated courses (as mentioned in a recent pprune thread) but I would advise to allow 4 to 5 weeks for a full time course. The FAA CPL will be training as required for someone with your experience and I would look to budget 10 to 15 hours and a couple of weeks.
These requirements are;
§ 61.129 Aeronautical experience.
(a) For an airplane single-engine rating. Except as provided in paragraph (i) of this section, a person who applies for a commercial pilot certificate with an airplane category and single-engine class rating must log at least 250 hours of flight time as a pilot that consists of at least:
(1) 100 hours in powered aircraft, of which 50 hours must be in airplanes.
(2) 100 hours of pilot-in-command flight time, which includes at least—
(i) 50 hours in airplanes; and
(ii) 50 hours in cross-country flight of which at least 10 hours must be in airplanes.
(3) 20 hours of training on the areas of operation listed in §61.127(b)(1) of this part that includes at least—
(i) 10 hours of instrument training of which at least 5 hours must be in a single-engine airplane;
(ii) 10 hours of training in an airplane that has a retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller, or is turbine-powered, or for an applicant seeking a single-engine seaplane rating, 10 hours of training in a seaplane that has flaps and a controllable pitch propeller;
(iii) One cross-country flight of at least 2 hours in a single-engine airplane in day VFR conditions, consisting of a total straight-line distance of more than 100 nautical miles from the original point of departure;
(iv) One cross-country flight of at least 2 hours in a single-engine airplane in night VFR conditions, consisting of a total straight-line distance of more than 100 nautical miles from the original point of departure; and
(v) 3 hours in a single-engine airplane in preparation for the practical test within the 60-day period preceding the date of the test.
(4) 10 hours of solo flight in a single-engine airplane on the areas of operation listed in §61.127(b)(1) of this part, which includes at least—
(i) One cross-country flight of not less than 300 nautical miles total distance, with landings at a minimum of three points, one of which is a straight-line distance of at least 250 nautical miles from the original departure point. However, if this requirement is being met in Hawaii, the longest segment need only have a straight-line distance of at least 150 nautical miles; and
(ii) 5 hours 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.
Don't forget you'll need to choose a school which issues M1 Visa's and you may need to allow a week to be TSA cleared. Also, if you don't hold a FAA PPL, you'll also need a letter of authenticity from the CAA which needs to be within 6 months of issue on the day of the skills test. This process can be found on other threads.
Hope this helps.
Rob's Dad
7th Mar 2007, 21:29
I agree, about 7 weeks should be enough but suggest 8 in winter (as I've just found out to my cost).
Grab copies of the gleim books as they are exactly what you will see in the exams. They are slightly different to our ATPL exams - and you find out straight away if you passed (most do in 90%s). To save time you can sit the exams at Flight Safety at Farnborough but it is a lot more expensive (each exam is $95 in US): I'd recommend doing that though as it allows you to concentrate on the oral prep which will be unfamiliar to you and require considerable research of books and US FAR/AIM. Flt Safety can also do your TSA fingerprinting and you can do the forms online: very quick and painless - total about 2 weeks to receive auth but saves 1 week in country and you can not commence trg until you have TSA auth.