Commercial Requirements

[southallb]

Wanting to get my commercial rating and CFI, been doing some research and need some clarification on time requirements.

Currently have PPL and Instrument ratings with ~150 hours

Part 141 - Commercial Pilot Certification Course

35 hours of ground instruction

flight training

120 hours of training if the course is for an airplane or powered-lift rating
?? Does my PPL and Instrument training time count toward this 120 hours ??

For an airplane single-engine course:
55 hours of flight training from a certificated flight instructor on the approved areas of operation listed in paragraph (d)(1) of this section that includes at least -

(i) 10 hours of instrument training using a view-limiting device including attitude instrument flying, partial panel skills, recovery from unusual flight attitudes, and intercepting and tracking navigational systems. 5 hours of the 10 hours required on instrument training must be in a single engine airplane;

?? Does my instrument training fulfill this requirement ??

(ii) 10 hours of training in an airplane that has a retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller, or is turbine-powered;

(iii) One 2-hour cross country flight in daytime conditions in a single engine airplane that consists of a total straight-line distance of more than 100 nautical miles from the original point of departure;

?? Does my instrument x-cntry fulfill this requirement ??

(iv) One 2-hour cross country flight in nighttime conditions in a single engine airplane that consists 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 60 days preceding the date of the test.

Solo training.

(a)For an airplane single engine course. Ten hours of solo flight time in a single engine airplane, or 10 hours of flight time while performing the duties of pilot in command in a single engine airplane with an authorized instructor on board. The training must consist of the approved areas of operation under paragraph (d)(1) of section 4 of this appendix, and include -

(1) One cross-country flight, if the training is being performed in the State of Hawaii, with landings at a minimum of three points, and one of the segments consisting of a straight-line distance of at least 150 nautical miles;

(2) One cross-country flight, if the training is being performed in a State other than Hawaii, with landings at a minimum of three points, and one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of at least 250 nautical miles; and

(3) 5 hours in night VFR conditions with 10 takeoffs and 10 landings (with each landing involving a flight with a traffic pattern) at an airport with an operating control tower.

Thanks

 

[iamtheari]

I don't know how the Part 141 requirements work. But I think that those who do will need to know if you got your private certificate and instrument rating through a Part 141 program and if you are only considering Part 141 for your commercial certificate. I can say that, under Part 61, my understanding is that the commercial certificate eligibility requirements do not exclude hours that were logged toward a private certificate or rating.

 

[RussR]

Generally, none of your previous experience counts towards a Part 141 curriculum, unless you did it as part of another Part 141 curriculum then there are some conditions for transfer.

So, you would need to complete the entire 120 hours of training in the school's 141 program and using their approved syllabus. I suspect this makes your others questions pretty much irrelevant anyway, since you have to do SOMETHING for those 120 hours. 55 of that has to be with a CFI, the rest is solo "training" experience but still must be done under the 141 program and their curriculum and using their airplanes.

As you can see, Part 141 commercial training is not designed for anybody who has any real post-private pilot flying experience. It's designed primarily for those "0 to hero" programs where the student will be in some form of training all the way through Commercial. That's why you also have the reduced minimum total experience requirement for Part 141 of 190 hours instead of the Part 61's 250 hours.

I have worked (at a previous location) with some Part 141 commercial students. At some point during their training, you're trying to find useful things to cover. 55 hours of training (and that's after their Private and Instrument ratings) is a lot! Only so many Chandelles you can do... So we'd do longer cross countries and that kind of thing. But anybody who came in with any outside flying experience would generally be better off going Part 61.

 

[southallb]

Thank you for the replies. That clears things up a bit. Am wanting to get the commercial and cfi as quickly as I can, but still ~100 hours from 250.

 

[dmspilot]

The regulation you are reading does not describe what is required by you to obtain certification as a pilot, it describes what is required of a school to obtain approval of a course.

You have to meet the requirements of the course you enroll in. As courses are approved on a case by case basis, it's best to consult the school.

 

[nosehair]

Spend all of that 100 hours practicing for your CFI. Start right away flying from the right seat doing everything teeny little thing as described in the PTS and talking yourself thru it until you are CFI checkride ready at 250hrs.
Also becoming commercial checkride ready along the way, but that's just one of the requirements.