Private Pilot License

Requirements for the Private Pilot License:

• A minimum of 45 total flight hours must be completed.
  • Of these hours, a minimum of 17 hours must be Dual Instruction, including 3 hours of cross country time and 5 hours of Instrument time.
  • A minimum of 12 hours must be Solo time, which must include 5 hours of cross country time.
• A valid Category III medical obtained from a Transport Canada authorized Medical Examiner.
• Lastly, the minimum age to acquire the Private Pilot licence is 17 years of age.

During your training you will gain extensive experience in aircraft handling, emergency procedures, radio procedures, navigation and basic instrument scanning.

Students must attend a minimum 40 hours of Private Pilot Ground School, in-house or online at Cooking Lake Aviation. Throughout the course, you will gain valuable knowledge on topics including Air Law, Navigation, Meteorology, and Aeronautics – General Knowledge. Please feel free to refer to our current Private Pilot Ground School Schedule.

Private Pilot Ground School prepares you for the mandatory Private Pilot Transport Canada Written Examination, which Cooking Lake Aviation can administer. To pass the exam, a candidate must obtain a minimum of 60% in each of the 4 knowledge sections. In addition, a flight test must be successfully completed by a Flight Test Examiner. Lastly, you must also pass an oral English Proficiency Exam.

In Summary, a Private Pilot License allows the holder to fly single pilot, on single engine, non – high performance aircraft, during day VFR operations. Further, you can upgrade your Private Pilot License to ratings such as a Night, VFR Over The Top, Multi Engine & an Instrument Rating. Lastly, you can complete a Commercial Pilot’s License once you have a Private Pilot License. You can enrol in all of the above ratings and licenses listed above at Cooking Lake Aviation.

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