Flight schools

Definition: An institution providing the education and training necessary for a student to pilot an aircraft.

Significance: Flight schools educate pilots and prepare them for certification. They teach pilots who intend to fly for the military, commercial companies, as well as for personal enjoyment.

History

In the early days of aviation, there were no government regulations to control the certification of pilots. Learning to fly was primarily a matter of experimentation, observation of others who knew how to fly, and trial and error. As the aviation field evolved, the need for more formal methods of training pilots became apparent. Flight schools first began to appear in the late 1920s. Parks College was the first flight school to be awarded a Transport and Limited Commercial Ground and Flying School Certificate in 1929 by the U.S. government. During the Great Depression years of the 1930s, the few flight schools were fortunate if they could stay in business, and significant growth in flight training did not occur until the early 1940s.

The outbreak of World War II generated a need for a large number of pilots, each of whom needed to be trained to a certain standard in a relatively short time. In 1939, the U.S. Congress appropriated four million dollars to create the Civilian Pilot Training Program. The flight training under this program was conducted at more than 400 colleges nationwide. After World War II, there continued to be a strong interest in aviation, particularly by returning veterans. The G.I. Bill (1944) provided funding for veterans to obtain flight training, and thousands of students took advantage of this program. This source of income provided a foundation for flight schools to continue to grow and prosper.

Today, pilot training is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a federal government agency that issues Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) governing aviation in the United States. These rules include the certification of pilots and aircraft and the governance of flight operations. Flight schools train prospective pilots to meet the certification requirements specified by the FARs for various pilot certificates and ratings levels.

Types of Schools

Several institutions in the United States provide flight training and education. These include fixed-base operators (FBOs), collegiate aviation programs, proprietary professional aviation academies, and military programs. The type of flight school best suited to a particular student depends on that student's goals and intentions in aviation.

FBOs are businesses that operate at airports. They often provide various services to the aviation community, including aircraft rental, maintenance, refueling, and the sale of aviation equipment, in addition to pilot training. Pilot training at this facility is typically tailored to an individual's schedule and personal goals. This type of flight school is usually attended by students interested in flying for pleasure or personal business transportation.

Collegiate aviation programsavailable at two-year and four-year institutionsare designed for those students who wish to pursue a career as a pilot. Both institutions typically provide flight training through at least the Commercial Pilot Certificate and usually the Certified Flight Instructor Certificate. Graduates of two-year programs receive an associate of science degree, whereas graduates of four-year programs receive a Bachelor of Science degree. In addition to completing the required ground and flight training for a Commercial Pilot Certificate, students at these institutions complete coursework in various areas essential to understanding aviation. These may include maintenance, weather, aerodynamics, and aviation management courses. More than one hundred colleges and universities, large and small, offer flight training as part of the curriculum for a degree. The Council on Aviation Accreditation is the accrediting body for collegiate aviation programs, and most reputable college programs have received accreditation from this organization.

Proprietary professional aviation academies are also designed for students who wish to enter the aviation profession as pilots. These schools typically provide training through at least the Commercial Pilot Certificate and often through the Certified Flight Instructor Certificate. Enrollment in this type of school is most often a full-time endeavor. Since the late 1980s, the educational requirement for career advancement to a position as a pilot for a major airline has been a four-year college degree, so several proprietary aviation academies are also associated with a collegiate institution.

Military flight schools are utilized to train those personnel accepted into a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces for a pilot position. These programs provide high-quality initial training in basic piloting skills, followed by training in the specific aircraft type and operation to which the person will be assigned. The training period for the initial and advanced courses is typically one year each. The U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard have large numbers of pilots. These personnel are trained at various military bases throughout the country. In addition to basic pilot instruction, the military also conducts advanced training for a wide variety of aircraft types and missions.

Whatever the type of institution, a flight school will provide a fleet of aircraft to conduct training and a staff of certified flight instructors (CFIs) to provide flight training. The size of the aircraft fleet and the CFI staff may vary from one to more than one hundred.

Types of Training Offered

At any of the civilian institutions described above, flight training may be conducted under either FAR Part 61 or FAR Part 141. Part 141 describes explicitly minimum requirements regarding training facilities, personnel, course syllabi, and student performance rates for FAA-approved flight schools. Programs conducted under Part 141 are subject to continuing oversight and approval by the FAA. Collegiate and proprietary aviation academies are typically certified under FAR Part 141, although several FBOs also have Part 141 certification. FAR Part 61 explicitly governs the certification of aircraft and pilots, and flight training can also be conducted under this part. Often, training for students interested in flying for their benefit or enjoyment is conducted under Part 61 at a local airport FBO, whereas training for students who desire a career as a pilot is undertaken at a Part 141 school. Part 141 schools tend to be more structured and formalized, and Part 61 schools tend to be tailored more toward the individual requirements of the person receiving training. For example, a businessperson who wants to obtain a pilot certificate for transportation purposes may desire to participate in flight training only twice a week and at a different time each week. This type of schedule is often best accommodated at a local airport FBO under Part 61. A person interested in a career as a pilot would most likely desire to pursue this goal full-time, and many Part 141 schools can accommodate this arrangement.

Types of Certificates

There are several types of pilot certificates issued by the FAA. These include the Recreational Pilot Certificate, the Private Pilot Certificate, the Commercial Pilot Certificate, the Certified Flight Instructor Certificate, and the Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) Certificate. Training to obtain any of these certificates involves a specified minimum of both flight and ground training, often called ground school. Both the Recreational and Private Pilot Certificates are designed for individuals who wish to fly for their enjoyment. The Recreational Pilot Certificate has several limitations, such as the requirement that recreational pilots remain within 50 nautical miles of the departure airport, carrying up to one passenger, and that a recreational pilot only flies an aircraft with up to four seats. The Private Pilot Certificate allows more freedom without limits on passengers or distance from the departure airport.

A pilot must have a Commercial Pilot Certificate to be paid to fly an aircraft. The CFI Certificate is needed to instruct others in flight training, and the ATP Certificate is required to be a captain (or pilot in command) of an aircraft operated by a commercial air carrier. In addition to these certificates, a vital rating that can be added to the Private and Commercial Certificates is the instrument rating. The ATP Certificate includes an instrument rating as part of its privileges and limitations. The instrument rating allows pilots to fly in bad weather, called instrument meteorological conditions, including clouds or low visibilities. Before obtaining an instrument rating, pilots are restricted to visual meteorological conditions, so they must maintain certain minimum visibilities and distances from clouds. Obtaining an instrument rating is essential if a person intends to use aviation as a dependable and regular means of personal transportation. An instrument rating is likewise required if a pilot is to fly for hire.

A multiengine rating is one additional rating that must be obtained before flying an airplane with more than one engine. Since most flight students learn to fly in a single-engine aircraft, this rating is usually added to an existing Private or Commercial Single-Engine Certificate. CFI and ATP Certificates also specify whether the pilot has single-engine privileges, multiengine privileges, or both.

Ground Training

Training conducted at flight schools, often termed flight training, consists of ground training and training in an actual aircraft. Ground training may be conducted in a formal classroom setting, with several students receiving instruction from a teacher, or it may be conducted informally by a student's flight instructor before or after a flight. Typically, Part 61 flight schools use more informal methods, whereas larger Part 141 flight schools and college programs use traditional classroom settings for ground school. Again, the best method depends on the interests and background of the flight student.

Ground school covers various topics, including applicable FARs, aircraft systems and performance, aerodynamics, weather, flight planning, and navigation. Often, flight schools own one or more flight training devices in addition to their fleet of aircraft. These flight-training devices are simplified versions of what are commonly known as flight simulators. Most often, they have a cockpit mock-up and a rudimentary visual display. However, the device has no movement in response to aircraft control movements. These devices are used most heavily during training for the Instrument Rating. Students working on this rating receive training in these flight-training devices in addition to conventional ground school and flight training in an aircraft.

Obtaining a Pilot Certificate

To obtain any pilot certificate or rating level, an applicant must do several things. First, the ground and flight instructions specified by the FARs must be obtained from and certified by a CFI. A knowledge test, administered in a computer-based testing format, must be taken and passed with a minimum score of 70 percent. An aviation medical examiner must obtain an appropriate medical certificate for the desired certificate level. For example, a Private Pilot Certificate requires a third-class medical certificate. A second-class medical certificate is required for a Commercial Pilot Certificate, and a first-class medical certificate is required for an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate. Finally, a practical test is conducted by a pilot examiner. This test consists of both an oral exam and a flight exam. The examiner will cover aerodynamics, weather, aircraft systems, aircraft performance, and flight planning during the oral exam. During the flight, a series of maneuvers will be evaluated to determine whether applicants meet the minimum standards for the certificate they apply for. If the check ride is satisfactory, the student will be issued the certificate for which they used.

Selecting a Flight School

A flight school is best selected by considering the needs of an individual. Such items as the location of the school and the schedule of lessons are vital issues, as are the types of training typically conducted and the structure of the school, for instance, whether it is geared toward those interested in aviation as a profession or toward those interested in learning to fly for fun. Other things to consider are the size and availability of the training aircraft fleet and the availability of instructional staff. The school's safety record, how long the school has been in operation, and its reputation are also important. In addition, maintenance of the training fleet should be examined. Many schools offer an introductory flight lesson, during which a CFI will allow a prospective student to manipulate the airplane's controls in flight. This allows the prospective student to examine the flight environment firsthand and experience a representative training aircraft and instructor.

One aspect of the decision regarding a flight school selection involves selecting a FAR Part 141-approved flight school or a FAR Part 61 flight school. Thirty-five hours of flight training are required under Part 141 to obtain a Private Pilot Certificate, whereas forty hours of flight training are required under Part 61. However, the national average of flight hours to get a Private Pilot Certificate ranges from sixty-five to seventy hours, so it would be an error to base a decision to use a Part 141 school instead of a Part 61 facility solely on the flight-time requirement for a Private Pilot Certificate. If a student is interested in pursuing a Commercial Pilot Certificate, there is a flight-time benefit in utilizing a Part 141 flight school. The flight time required for a Commercial Pilot Certificate is 250 hours under Part 61 and 190 hours under Part 141.

Cost of Flight Training

The cost of flight training varies widely depending on the area of the United States in which a student resides and the type of flight school attended. Many flight schools offer package deals for flight instruction, but it is essential to understand what items are included in the package. An airplane rental fee and a flight instructor's hourly fee are charged during flight training in an aircraft. Aircraft used for instruction usually have a digital recording clock, called a Hobbs meter, which records the flight time for a given flight by subtracting the Hobbs meter reading at the beginning of the flight from the Hobbs meter reading at the end. Preflight and postflight briefing time, conducted by a student's CFI and necessary for practical flight training, is also billed.

The most common package offer includes the cost of these items up to a certain number of hours, with excess hours becoming the student's responsibility if required. Other packages may guarantee the obtainment of a certificate, with no maximum number of hours specified, although this kind of package often has many other stipulations. The minimum time the FARs require to obtain a Private Pilot Certificate under FAR Part 61 is forty hours: twenty hours with an instructor, called dual instruction, and twenty hours of solo flight time. However, for flight-school package offer-comparison purposes, an average student usually requires sixty-five to seventy hours to obtain a Private Pilot Certificate, with forty to forty-five flight hours of dual instruction and twenty-five hours of solo flight time.

The total cost of a university education, including obtaining Commercial Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor Certificates and a four-year degree at a private university, can equal more than $100,000. However, much of this cost would also be incurred while obtaining a bachelor's degree from a private university in a field other than aviation. The price is typically lower at state-supported universities and still lower at junior or community colleges. Two-year program graduates can often continue their studies at a four-year university to complete a bachelor of science degree.

The cost to attend a proprietary professional academy, usually resulting in obtaining Commercial Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor Certificates, can range from approximately $50,000 to $85,000. This type of program is often selected by individuals who have already obtained a four-year college degree and are interested in changing careers. The sole focus on flight training allows such individuals to accelerate their training to begin pursuing their new career path. In addition, some students enroll in this type of program right after high school and then serve as certified flight instructors while earning their college degrees.

Other Types of Flight Schools

The preponderance of flight schools in the United States are for airplane pilots. However, in addition to training for pilot certificates for airplanes, there are also flight schools that conduct specialized training in other types of aircraft or operations. For example, helicopter pilots, glider pilots, pilots involved in agricultural operations, and seaplane pilots must receive appropriate ground and flight training for the type of operation and aircraft they pilot. Some large flight schools conduct these types of training in addition to more traditional airplane pilot training, whereas others specialize in a niche market.

Historically, a large percentage of civilian commercial pilots came from the military. In one estimate, in the decade of the 1980s, approximately 67 percent of these pilots got their start in the armed forces. In the 2020s, this figure has fallen to about one-third. One reason for the drop is that, given the cost of pilot production, the U.S. military has made a concerted effort to retain its pilot corps. Pilots are obligated to serve in the military for up to ten years.

U.S. commercial airlines will face an acute pilot shortage through the 2020 decade. One reason was the anticipated retirements of large numbers of older pilots. Also, in the mid-2020s, as the effects of COVID-19 decreased, the number of commercial passengers surged to reach similar levels as before the pandemic. A shortfall of approximately 30,000 pilots was expected, leading to a hiring boom. For example, in 2021, over 5,400 new pilots were brought on board by the twelve largest U.S. carriers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, this trend will continue, and an 11% growth in pilot employment is projected through 2030. Commercial airline carriers are resorting to innovative methods to address this upcoming shortage. In 2022, Delta Airlines dropped its long-standing requirement for applicants to have a bachelor's degree. Another measure was for U.S. airlines to open proprietary flight schools. In 2022, United Airlines announced the formation of its training facility in Goodyear, Arizonaoutside of Phoenix.

A favorable development is that these pilot shortfalls create opportunities for women and persons of color, two groups historically under-represented in the aviation community.

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