Commercial Pilot
Ever dreamed of getting your Commercial certificate?
ProFlight San Diego will help you achieve your recreational and professional aviation goals in the most efficient manner possible.
Getting your commercial pilot certificate will be one of the best certificates for your professional career.
Overview
General Info
The commercial rating is one that will define your career as a professional pilot. It will allow you to receive compensation for your pilot services. Crop dusters, banner tows, skydiver pilots are all commercially rated and are often time building towards their airline or business aviation goals.
Syllabus
The Airman Certification Standards is an FAA published document that lists all the required knowledge and flight maneuvers for the practical test (checkride). All of the training will be focused on the ACS so it's important to become familiar with it early on in training.
Organization
You will have access to a Google Drive Folder which contains great information: syllabus, study guides, weight and balance, maneuvers, and your flight tracker spreadsheet (where hour recording is kept).
The best part about the flying club is that it's flexible. it is important to follow a syllabus, but since the club isn't a flight school, there's more freedom you have in terms of your training. Proflight can accelerate or slow down in certain areas depending on your strengths/weaknesses.
Ground Instruction
Much of the commercial ground instruction is taken from knowledge primarily learned from the private pilot checkride. While not required for commercial, it's good to brush up on that VFR knowledge through the use of these programs. King Schools, Gleim, Sports are all good options for the ground school portion.
Payment
The cost of the plane is paid directly through schedule master. You will learn how to use this system for scheduling once you start flying. As for instructional costs, ProFlight keeps track of hours on a spreadsheet you have access to in your Google Drive. Billed weekly.
Requirements
Basic Requirements
Be at least 18 years of age
Be able to read, write, speak and understand the English language
Pass the required knowledge (written) test
Pass the required practical (checkride) test
Aeronautical requirements
250 hours of flight time
100 hrs PIC time
50 hours of cross-country
20 hours of 61.127 training
One 300 nm flight, with one leg being 250 nm
One two hour day/two hour night flight
10 hours of instrument training
10 hours in a complex or TAA plane
5 hours of night VFR
10 takeoffs and 10 landings at operating control tower
How long does it take to get my Commercial pilot certificate?
This question depends on your flexibility and how fast you'd like to work. The best way to retain information and proficiency is to fly at least two times a week. It is highly possible to start and finish your commercial rating in around a month if you're flying three times a week. If you are flying once a week, then you could see it taking around 2-3 months.
ProFlight offers accelerated flight training to help you save money. The more time you're in the cockpit, the easier it will be for you the next time you step in the cockpit. Meaning that the more you train, the less time you'll be spending on repeat lessons for skills that degraded or need more practice due to a time lapse.
What airplanes are accessible for my training?
ProFlight San Diego utilizes airplanes from two San Diego flying clubs: Plus One Flyers and Pacific Coast Flyers. A membership to one of these clubs is required to access the fleet and the online scheduling software.
Cessna or Piper? Which one should I Fly?
The two most common training aircraft are the Cessna 172 and the Piper Archer. The only main difference is Cessna is a high wing and the Piper is low wing aircraft. Both will accomplish the same training mission and it doesn't make a difference in terms of training. It is personal preference at the end of the day.
When should I do my written exam?
Getting your written completed as soon as you can is highly recommended. The checkride is a practical test whereas the written exam is a multiple choice exam. It's best to get the written test out of the way so you can solely focus on the practical application of learning to fly.
What materials do I need?
You will get a list of materials once you start flying. Many of these are FAA handbooks that can be found online as a free PDF. You can also purchase the hard copy if you prefer to take notes in the book. Other items include:
Headset
Fuel Sump
Logbook