Introduction
To make a wage from flying you must complete the appropriate training to achieve your commercial pilots licence. To become the commander of any multi crew aircraft you must hold your Air Transports Pilots Licence (ATPL). To achieve your ATPL you must have the following ratings: - Commercial Pilots Licence (CPL), Instrument Rating (IR) and Multi Crew Course (MCC)
A newly qualified person with the CPL/IR and MCC is said to have a fATPL, the f stands for frozen, so any newly qualified person will have a frozen air transports pilots licence; this still isn't good enough to become commander of a multi crew aircraft. To unfreeze your fATPL licence you must complete a number of flying hours, these are gained from flying as the first officer (2nd in command), mostly to give the newly qualified person experience in his new environment, opposed to giving them complete control of a multi million pound aircraft with X amount of lives on board.
My Background
Born in 1985, stay in West Lothian, central Scotland! I attended my local high school for the full 6 years while obtaining higher level education. I spent 5 years in the Air Training Corps (Squadron 2535 Livingston) which further fuelled my flying ambition. I didn't have the luxury of funding a full time modular or integrated course so I had to work full time and use spend all my monthly wages on flying. I am how ever quite fortunate to have a strong backing from my family.
My Progress
PPL Course |
Completed |
|---|---|
Class One medical |
Completed |
Night Rating |
|
IMC Training |
|
150 Hours Experience |
Completed |
ATPL Theory |
|
Commercial Pilots Licence |
|
Multi Engine Piston Rating |
|
Flying Instructor Rating |
(undecided) |
Instrument Rating |
In progress |
MCC |
Not Completed |
My Chosen Modular Route to fATPL
So far we have talked about the CPL (Commercial Pilots Licence) and ATPL (Air Transport Pilots Licence) but we haven't mentioned what you need to achieve your CPL. to achieve your CPL you must have your PPL (Private Pilots Licence), Night rating, 150 hours flying experience and a pass in all 14 ATPL Theory examinations. To try and simplify things further, see each step listed below in my planned sequence:
Private Pilots Licence PPL
The PPL stage requires a minimum of class 2 medical examination, minimum of 45 flying hours, 25 of those hours must be from dual instruction (with a flying instructor), 10 hours solo, a pass in the PPL theory examinations and a solo navigation flight longer than 150nm (170 miles). The PPL teaches you the basic elements of flight and navigation. Exact same concepts as learning to drive, one may know the whole theory behind the process but you don't become proficient until you gain experience. Exact same principles with flying. The PPL is designed to make you proficient enough to fly and navigate solo so you can continue your learning at a safe standard.
Night Rating
The night rating is just a short course were your required to do 5 hours night flying; the training is mainly concentrated on landing and navigation (as the techniques and perspective changes). I completed this course at Inverness Airport over a period of 4 weeks, it can be done easily in a few nights. Click on the Night Rating link at the top of the page to read about my experiences during this course.
150 hours of flying
This isn't a rating but you require flying experience to start your commercial training. You can do what ever you like during this phase!! some choose to do aerobatic courses, Instrument Meteorology Courses (learn the basics of flying on instruments, allows you to climb and descend through cloud) tail wheel flying, mountain flying...some people fly around in circles doing nothing!! the choice is yours! although its important to keep gaining P1 time opposed to PUT, so a sensible balance is required between flying solo and doing some additional courses otherwise you could inadvertently increase your costs
ATPL Theory Examinations
Probably the most difficult part of the whole process is the ATPL exams. ATPL Theory schools offer courses lasting 6 months with around 700-900 hours of training in order to pass 14 examinations, sounds easy eh? The pass mark for each exam is 75%. You have 6 sittings to complete all 14 exams, i.e. 7 papers in 1 sitting, 7 papers in the 2nd sitting. If you fail any exams you have 4 sittings left to pass them and using no more than 4 sittings for any individual exam. If you break any of these limits, you have to do all your examinations again and at £65 per exam, you really dont want to fail any!
The subjects covered are:
| Meteorology | Principles of Flight, |
| Aircraft General Knowledge (Electrics, Engines and Airframe Systems) | Radio Navigation |
| Mass and Balance | Instruments |
| Human Performance | Aircraft Performance |
| Communications | Flight Planning |
| Air law | Operational Procedures |
Once a person has completed this stage they are generally on the home straight as most of the training remaining is practical (the expensive and fun part!!)! but its still very hard and demanding! especially the instrument rating! and by no means easy.
Commercial Pilots Licence (CPL)
Once all of the above is completed you can go ahead and start your practical CPL training providing you have a class 1 medical examination (recommended you get your class 1 medical prior to your PPL, the class 1 medical is pretty strict, without it you can't be issued with a CPL)
The CPL is a pretty short course, doing the course full time you could complete it in 3-4weeks. The course consists of a minimum 25 hours flying training where 5 hours and the test will be on a complex aircraft (retractable under carriage, variable pitch propeller, turbo or supercharged engine etc). You can complete your CPL on a multi engine aircraft providing you do additional hours to receive your multi engine piston rating. The MEP rating is just a short course of around 5 to 10 hours flying a twin engine aircraft.
Most people recommend doing the MEP rating after the CPL which at this current stage, I’m planning on doing.
The commercial pilots licence test is similar to the PPL test but you have a more strict approach and little room for errors. The aircraft will be faster and heavier so things become a lot more complicated (especially with the additional features of a complex aircraft). Your flying must be smooth, accurate and precise. Your examined as if you where carrying fare paying passengers in a complex single engine aircraft that means when then examiner gives you a simulated problem, you must do a text book procedure while briefing your ''fare paying'' passengers.
Multi Engine Piston Rating (MEP)
Can be completed in 1 week and consists off a handful of theory knowledge and practical flying (7 hours minimum) in a multi engine aircraft. Not a large course, can easily be at any point before or after the CPL providing you have minimum 70 hours P1 time.
Flying Instructors Rating (FI Rating)
This rating isn't necessary to receive your fATPL but it is necessary to receive my first planned revenue job, most airlines don't employ low houred fATPL holders so many pilots opt to do flying instruction to receive more experience and gain more hours. I'm looking forward to receiving my FI rating as I believe I would be a very good flying instructor and I enjoy teaching people. The FI rating enables me to teach students doing their PPL training. To complete the FI rating you must do around 30 hours dual flying and a minimum of 125 hours theory training.
Instrument Rating (IR)
This course will probably be the hardest practical flying course I will encounter in my journey to achieve my fATPL. The instrument rating enables you to fly in all weather conditions. You are taught to follow certain procedures which will enable a pilot to fly his aircraft from A to B and land it without ever looking out the window. When flying for an airline you will use this part of your training almost every day.
This course is also the most expensive as the course consists of around 50 flying hours under instrument conditions of which a handful of the hours will be in a multi engine aircraft and so will the test. I am led to believe the first time pass rate for the IR (called a series 1 pass) is around 30%. Get a series 1 pass and you have something good to put on your CV when applying for a job with an airline!
Once I complete the IR rating I can say I have got: CPL/IR, the next stage would be to complete my MCC course to receive my frozen ATPL licence.
MCC Course (Multi Crew Cooperation)
This course mainly gives an insight into a multi crew environment, the entire course is completed on a flight simulator (can be a full motion simulator or a static simulator, full motion is more expensive).
The course has no test or examination; you receive a course completion certificate if you show satisfactory performance. The course generally consists of around 25 hours instruction, 10 - 20 hours flight simulator time. You normally pair up with a partner to complete this course. So you will receive around 10 to 20 hours flying the simulator and 10 to 20 hours in the co-pilots position (P2 or Pilot Not Flying (PNF))
CPL/IR/MCC = fATPL the licence required for employment! Remember, a frozen ATPL (fATPL) is a term used by pilots for someone who has all the required licences (i.e. CPL/IR/MCC!) once you have the required experience you then get your ATPL licence (Air Transport Pilots Licence). fATPL is not a licence just an adapted term within the industry, which was created by a marketing department at a certain integrated school here in the UK.