Now what? Commercial?

[GBSoren]

So I've really reached my goals as far as ratings go, private then on to getting my IFR. I'm 53, no interest in becoming a CFI, I'd be terrible at it, I have ZERO patients. No interest in getting into passenger transport. No interest in becoming a spray plane pilot. Just questioning if it has any value at all to add a commercial rating?

I'm sure plenty of others have had this situation too. Maybe now I should add endorsements? Tail wheel, mutli engine?

I'd love to hear what others have done.

 

[Cici]

I like to go fly new places and get out of the pattern. And by pattern I mean the 100nm circle around my home airport.

 

[Juliet Hotel]

I always recommend the commercial. If you're already done the IR then adding commercial is not a ton of work. But it does add useful skills for improving your flying regardless of whether you're going to go pro or not. Tailwheel is also a good one. But I'd only recommend tailwheel if you're planning on doing a significant amount of time in one. Doing 10 hours to get the endorsement and then never flying tailwheel again isn't going to improve your stick and rudder skills significantly the way doing a few hundred hours of tailwheel will.

 

[JOhnH]

I'd say go for it (commercial). You don't have to use it, but it could protect you in case you accidentally accept some sort of gratuity for flying someone sometime. Plus, it never hurts to learn something new to keep you mind sharp.

 

[Grum.Man]

I don't see much point in getting your commercial if you have no plans to fly for hire. I would suggest getting add on like floats, TW, Multi, maybe take some heli lessons, or try out weight shift trikes. Lots of cool things you can do that are way more fun than practicing commercial maneuvers.

 

[TCABM]

Time to just fly. Do some day/weekend trip XCs; fly charitable organization missions.

Whatever made you decide to fly, go do it. Whatever made you pursue the IR, go do it.

This is supposed to be fun.

 

[Juliet Hotel]

I'd say go for it (commercial). You don't have to use it, but it could protect you in case you accidentally accept some sort of gratuity for flying someone sometime.

Unless the person giving you the gratuity owns or otherwise supplies the airplane, having a commercial cert would offer no more protection than having a private cert would.

 

[idahoflier]

If you have no interest in being a CFI and never plan on receiving compensation for hire then there's no reason to getting the Commercial Certificate. I would definitely pursue some instruction to get you on your way to flying to Commercial PTS, that really wouldn't be too hard or expensive. I added commercial because I figured I would become a CFI in the future but liability concerns have dissuaded me from pursuing the CFI. Not that you're ever going to commit an enforceable action, but I have been told the FAA measures out enforcement action on a progressive scale according to your rating. Something to think about...

 

[GBSoren]

Unless the person giving you the gratuity owns or otherwise supplies the airplane, having a commercial cert would offer no more protection than having a private cert would.

That is my understanding as well, If I'm flying my plane I can't take payment anyway, even with a commercial license.

I like to learn so that would be the only reason I'd add the commercial, but I'm leaning towards just enjoying what I have! I(we) do a lot of long cross country flights already, that was really the reason I wanted to add the IFR. Multi engine is something I'd be interested in, floats maybe. Tail wheel isn't all that important to me, I don't see myself going to a tail dragger. Helicopter....hadn't thought about that!

Thanks for the responses!

 

[BrianNC]

I'd go for it. Well, I actually did. Just got mine last year at 62. You never know what might come up that you could take advantage of if you have it.

 

[sarangan]

So I've really reached my goals as far as ratings go, private then on to getting my IFR. I'm 53, no interest in becoming a CFI, I'd be terrible at it, I have ZERO patients. No interest in getting into passenger transport. No interest in becoming a spray plane pilot. Just questioning if it has any value at all to add a commercial rating?

I'm sure plenty of others have had this situation too. Maybe now I should add endorsements? Tail wheel, mutli engine?

I'd love to hear what others have done.

Even if you do not plan on flying for hire, a commercial certificate will cover you in case you end up doing things that fall in the grey area, such as running a youtube channel getting revenue from it.

 

[Rgbeard]

Do you have a sailplane facility nearby?

 

[brcase]

So I've really reached my goals as far as ratings go, private then on to getting my IFR. I'm 53, no interest in becoming a CFI, I'd be terrible at it, I have ZERO patients. No interest in getting into passenger transport. No interest in becoming a spray plane pilot. Just questioning if it has any value at all to add a commercial rating?

I'm sure plenty of others have had this situation too. Maybe now I should add endorsements? Tail wheel, mutli engine?

I'd love to hear what others have done.

Any of the above, Commerical, Tailweel, Multi engine, Seaplane, Mountain flying, complex, glider.

Many people don't realize it but they actually like the learning process/challenge as much as the actually flying.

So pick something available and that interests you and work toward it.

Brian

 

[pigpenracing]

So I've really reached my goals as far as ratings go, private then on to getting my IFR. I'm 53, no interest in becoming a CFI, I'd be terrible at it, I have ZERO patients. No interest in getting into passenger transport. No interest in becoming a spray plane pilot. Just questioning if it has any value at all to add a commercial rating?

I'm sure plenty of others have had this situation too. Maybe now I should add endorsements? Tail wheel, mutli engine?

I'd love to hear what others have done.

A commercial isn't fun.... Go get a J-3, Pitts or a Stearman and enjoy life. Enough of the boring flying!

 

[Jim_CAK]

I'd go for it. Well, I actually did. Just got mine last year at 62. You never know what might come up that you could take advantage of if you have it.

I really regret not getting the commercial right after the IFR. Everything from the private and instrument rating is fresh and you can get through the commercial in short order. I would also say the answer is you never know what may happen in the future. I got my instrument rating 15 years ago. I also had no interest in the instructors rating or flying for a living. As I get closer to retirement age - some part time flying does sound intriguing. I decided to start working on the commercial and am about to take the written. I can tell you it is a lot harder to re-learn all the stuff from the private and IFR written tests. There is so much covered on the written you don’t use in regular flying.

 

[kaiser]

Following. I’m closing in on finishing my PPL with $$ reserved for IFR next and have wondered whether commercial should also be part of the plan - with the objective of becoming a better aviator. If anything I’ve been sliding away from continuing into Commercial. Mind not made up yet.

 

[BrianNC]

I really regret not getting the commercial right after the IFR. Everything from the private and instrument rating is fresh and you can get through the commercial in short order. I would also say the answer is you never know what may happen in the future. I got my instrument rating 15 years ago. I also had no interest in the instructors rating or flying for a living. As I get closer to retirement age - some part time flying does sound intriguing. I decided to start working on the commercial and am about to take the written. I can tell you it is a lot harder to re-learn all the stuff from the private and IFR written tests. There is so much covered on the written you don’t use in regular flying.

I started the commercial after getting my instrument in 2002, but then life and money got in the way. You don't know how many times I wished I already had it while I was doing the training for it last year. I hadn't flown in 11 years when I started back flying in '17 and started right in on the commercial. I then decided I just needed to fly awhile and not pursue it until I really got proficient again. Picked it back up in '18 and took the check ride in Sept '18. Failed it the first time. First thing he did was the power off 180 and I had it nailed and blew it right at the last second with an abrupt control maneuver. Still not sure what happened. Went downhill from there on the landings but I went ahead and did everything else. Had to go back and do the landings again the second check ride. Glad that's all over with. lol.

 

[BrianNC]

Following. I’m closing in on finishing my PPL with $$ reserved for IFR next and have wondered whether commercial should also be part of the plan - with the objective of becoming a better aviator. If anything I’ve been sliding away from continuing into Commercial. Mind not made up yet.

I'd just put my head down and do it after the IFR. I don't think you'll regret it. But I think at some point in the future you would regret not having done it.

 

[N1120A]

The maneuvers for a commercial make you that much more knowledgeable about the airplanes you fly. The smoothness and other standards are similar to the instrument in how they make you a better pilot.

 

[Kenny Phillips]

The maneuvers for a commercial make you that much more knowledgeable about the airplanes you fly. The smoothness and other standards are similar to the instrument in how they make you a better pilot.

My instructor had me do all of the maneuvers for commercial to enforce tighter standards of flight. At the very least, it's challenging and fun, two of life's spices!

 

[N1120A]

My instructor had me do all of the maneuvers for commercial to enforce tighter standards of flight. At the very least, it's challenging and fun, two of life's spices!

The bonus of doing the commercial with the intent of getting my CFI is that I've been doing everything from the right seat, so I'm now perfectly comfortable flying in either.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

FWIW, I have commercial single and multiengine land and instrument airplane, and endorsements for high performance, complex, and tailwheel.

Go do some fun stuff. IMO, the Commercial is a pretty fun rating. But, there's SO much to do in aviation... Here's a list of the fun extra stuff I've done (with the idea that most of my flying would be covered by private ASEL instrument with high performance and complex):

• Commercial
• Multi
• Tailwheel
• Aerobatics
• Gliders
• Skiplanes
• Seaplanes
• Mountain course
• P-51 Mustang flight
• Flying new aircraft types: Everything from J-3 Cub to Citabria to Stearman to King Air to Hawker 800. (And having the ratings to both have some of those opportunities as well as be able to log them was nice.)

And, of course, the list of things I haven't done is significantly longer. One of the things I really love about aviation is you can never do it all or know it all. There are always opportunities to have new experiences and learn new things, and it's all a blast.

So yes, do your commercial, even if it's just for fun. Do your multi. Do your tailwheel. Fly a Beech 18 and use 'em all at once! And go find other new opportunities as well. There's so much fun to be had, if you just go do it!

 

[SToL]

What flyingcheesehead said x2, plus gliders!!!

There was also some mention of heli lessons, but in my opinion, the most worthless cert you can get is a Private Pilot Helicopter cert. Heli certs are really for people who want to fly for a living, or have lots of money to throw away.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

What flyingcheesehead said x2, plus gliders!!!

Whoops! How could I forget that? It was even with PoAers! (@wby0nder in the back seat, and @tonycondon flying the towplane!) Fixed my list.

There was also some mention of heli lessons, but in my opinion, the most worthless cert you can get is a Private Pilot Helicopter cert. Heli certs are really for people who want to fly for a living, or have lots of money to throw away.

Jesus bolts are expensive.