“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
― Leonardo da Vinci
In the US, there are approximately 160,000 active private pilots. A private pilot is a license designation that allows a pilot to fly themselves and passengers, without gaining a profit.
The initial certification generally takes between 3 and 6 months instruction and costs anywhere from $8000 and up.
But if you cannot make money with it, why do so many people get private pilot’s licenses?
Well, here are 14 things you can do with a private pilot’s license!
Table of Contents
1. You can become an airline pilot (with additional training)
Anyone who flies anything started out as a student pilot pursuing the equivalent of a private pilot’s license. It is the first major benchmark. Many airline pilots take the following road…
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- They get their private pilots license after around 40-80 hours of training
- They’ll fly on their own, building up hours and experience to get an instrument rating
- After the instrument rating is achieved, they’ll get a commercial license
- Following the commercial license, they’ll get a flight instructor certification and begin instructing other pilots in order to build hours and experience
- After enough hours, an instructor will enter into an airline transport pilot program and spend up to two years becoming an entry-level airline pilot
It all starts with the private pilot’s license…
2. You can cover vast distances faster than ever!
Probably the most obvious and common reason people choose to get their initial license is the incredible unique experiences that being a pilot provides.
A private pilot’s license allows you to fly almost any plane (that you are rated for) day or night, alone or with passengers. There is NO other feeling on earth quite like soaring above the earth amongst the clouds looking at your own familiar locale from an entirely new perspective.
Flying puts things in view unlike any other method of self-transportation. What once was a 45-minute drive turns into 5 minutes in the air. You can fly eye level with hikers summiting a 10,000-foot mountain, fly along the coastline at sunset, or see the city lights at night from above.
Many pilots get their private license and simply take the plane out locally and practice maneuvers just for the feel that flying an airplane provides.
3. You may fly with family and friends!
A private pilot is allowed to fly with passengers, which is an awesome way to bring along your friends and family to new places or to just look at the incredible views. Many student pilots dream of two things during their training; flying without getting prior approval from their instructor and flying around some friends to show them how ‘cool’ a stall feels.
Some people will hate flying (you may want to ask them beforehand how they are with heights), some will be unimpressed, but most will really cherish the flight piloted by someone they know. Sharing the novelty and their love of flying is a main reason many pilots continue to fly.
Additionally, by everyone sharing the cost of the plane rental or the fuel, flying with passengers can be an economical way to build up hours and travel to places otherwise difficult or time-consuming to get to by car.
4. Buy a $200 burger?
The $200 burger. Or the $150 burger depending on fuel costs in your area…. What burger is this? Any one you like!
Many small airfields have a restaurant on them or nearby. A great day can be spent planning out a flight to a small town a couple of hundred miles away, parking the airplane there, and eating at the local ‘spot’ before flying back. If you have passengers, they can grab some drinks. It’s like a picnic that you fly to instead of drive.
This same idea can be applied to concerts, baseball games, or any other local attraction that you feel like taking a day trip to go enjoy. Flying there and back turns every part of it into a memorable experience!
5. Visit local airfields and FBO’s
Unless you work in aviation, you probably don’t notice the little airports that are EVERYWHERE. Many, many towns have a small landing strip located somewhere in their boundaries. Many of these airfields have a Fixed Base Operator or FBO. An FBO is usually a spot for fuel, weather services, and may offer other maintenance capabilities.
FBO’s also generally have lounges, resources for pilots, and courtesy cars to get around town. They can be a great spot to recharge, park the airplane, grab some coffee or lunch, and plan the next aspect of flight.
These FBOs form a sort of support network for pilots and are a great way to learn about new areas and meet local pilots. Often well supplied with navigation equipment and vintage aviation memorabilia, they can provide an old-school feel to travel.
6. Business flights
Many private pilots start out learning on single-engine propeller planes, but this isn’t a requirement or a restriction. Private pilots can fly whatever planes they are rated in, be it a Cessna-152 or a small jet. With that, many pilots get their initial license to fly their own personal business planes.
Professionals whose positions require lots of travel use their private pilots’ licenses to fly to work on their own time. What used to be an all-day trip spent waiting in an airport can be cut down to a couple of hours of enjoyable flying.
For business personnel who would normally be driving long distances, having the ability to fly themselves can often save on unnecessary stays overnight!
7. Learn a new skill!
Getting a private pilot license requires learning a lot of new knowledge and motor skills. Learning a new skill is great for the mind at any age. Though the private pilot’s license is just the beginning certification for many pilots, the initial knowledge learned is some of the most valuable.
To earn a license, a student must learn at least the basics in the following areas:
1. Aerodynamics
2. Meteorology
3. Rules and Regulations
4. Aircraft systems
5. Navigation
6. Radio procedures
7. Flight controls
In addition, many hours are spent learning take-off, landing, and maneuvering procedures in all different scenarios and weather conditions.
While the training is rigorous, flight instructors are great at breaking it down to digestible chunks. It can be very rewarding upon completion to look at a complex chart or weather reading and have the ability to understand and practically apply every bit of it.
The best part is, there is no end to the learning. Aviation can be as complex and in-depth as you want it to be. There is always another skill, another plane, or new airspace to learn.
8. Join a Flying Club
An economical way for pilots who don’t own their own plane to fly often is to join a flying club. A flying club is a collection of pilots who either co-own or co-rent out airplanes. These clubs usually have reasonable monthly dues and several airplanes available to check-out.
Fleet maintenance is usually taken care of by the owners. This gives private pilots experience in many different types of aircraft than what they initially learned in. It also gives them exposure to pilots of varying experience levels.
9. Charitable Flights and Search and Rescue Operations
A private pilot can not get paid for their services. However, they may volunteer for jobs such as search and rescue or disaster relief. There are many groups around the world that incorporate private pilots for search and rescue, fire-spotting, or general reconnaissance.
Jobs may include delivering blood for the red cross, executing search patterns for people lost on land or sea (around 100 people per year are saved by private pilots conducting search and rescue), or delivering disaster relief supplies (private pilots can fly small planes into areas that may not be accessible otherwise).
These positions may offer unique opportunities and flight hours at reduced costs (fuel may and operating expenses are usually paid for in these cases).
10. Long Trips!
A long trip can be a solo getaway for a few days or a family vacation. With a private pilot’s license, you’re only limited by the operational limits of your plane.
You can spend the summer island hopping, fly the length of your favorite mountain range, or check out your national parks. These kinds of trips are available even if you do not own your own airplane. It is typically easy to find rental airplanes, even for days or weeks at a time (Rental costs are based on flight hours, not on days usually).
Most airfields have hangars available to park your plane at a reasonable price. Typically, a pilot will choose a destination in advance, set it up so a rental car is at the airfield waiting, park the plane until it’s time to leave, and then stay wherever they’d like in the area.
11. Foreign Flying
Checking out a new part of your own country is cool enough with a pilot’s license, but many countries recognize one another’s licenses and will allow pilots from other countries to fly in theirs relatively hassle-free.
More than 60 countries share similar standards and have an easy system (that usually involves a brief check-out flight) that allow foreign pilots to fly.
It’s possible to cross borders flying, rent planes in other countries, and travel over new territory much faster. Checking out airfields in other countries is an excellent way to make new friends, get the local scoop, and all-around make your vacation a lot more interesting.
12. Fly bush planes or seaplanes!
A private pilot’s license is a basic designation that allows many add-ons called endorsements. Common endorsements include tail-wheel, complex, and sea-plane.
This means that it may only take a few extra hours of training to upgrade to a seaplane endorsement. Training typically involves new landing, take-off, and emergency procedures.
A tailwheel airplane (a bush plane is a tailwheel) is another endorsement available. With every endorsement, the amount of rental opportunities increases for you, meaning as you travel, more and more space is available to explore.
13. Photography
There’s really no view quite like the view from an airplane. As a private pilot, you can set the perfect shot schedule, going out as early or late as you’d like.
There are some limitations and safety factors to consider as a pilot-in-command however. Most pilots will bring along a photographer with them while they fly to ensure their full attention is in the cockpit.
14. Flying Solo
Private pilots are able to fly alone and many enjoy doing so. Flying with others is great, but there’s a real peace to be found in flying alone, with no need to talk or even set a destination.
As long as it is done safely, places to stop and sights to see can be decided at the moment, Flying alone also sharpens your flying skills, since you are solely responsible for the success of every aspect of the flight!
Summary
Getting a private pilot’s license takes approximately 40 hours or more of flight training and about double that in ground training. It can cost anywhere from $8000 and up (depending on the plane you’re learning in).
However, once achieved, a private pilot’s license allows you to fly yourself and others in almost any aircraft. It is also the first major milestone towards any other license such as commercial or airline transport pilot.
What you do with your pilot’s license after that is limited only by your imagination. People have filmed documentaries, conducted rescue missions, and traveled the world with a private pilot’s license. Some people fly jets while others travel in seaplanes.
There are plenty of airplanes available for rent around the world, which makes flying a great universal skill that can be used anywhere, even on a budget. It can be done alone or with family and friends. Overall, flying opens up your list of possibilities in life.
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