How to Become a Pilot
Student Pilot Certificate Eligibility:
- Be at least 16 years old.
- Be able to read, speak, and understand English
- Hold at least a current third-class medical certificate.
You only need a Student Pilot Certificate before you can fly solo, not to start flying lessons.
The first step to obtaining the Student Pilot Certificate is getting a flight physical from an FAA-authorized aviation medical examiner. On the Big Island there is one doctor from Kona who uses our facilities on Saturday to do physicals. Call HFA to help you with the scheduling. Once completed the doctor will issue you a combined Medical Certificate and Student Pilot Certificate. The medical certificate is your student pilot certificate.
US Federal Government Regulation
CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) This is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law) published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States. The CFR is divided into 50 titles that represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation. The Federal Aviation Regulations, or FARs, are rules prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) governing all aviation activities in the US. The FARs are part of Title 14 of the CFR. A wide variety of activities are regulated, such as airplane design, typical airline flights, pilot training, man made structure heights, and even model aircraft operation. The rules are designed to promote safe aviation, protect pilots, passengers and the general public from unnecessary risk. They are also intended to protect the national security of the United States, especially in light of the 911 attacks. The student must become familiar with the CFR parts that pertain to pilot training as soon as possible– even before the first day of training. A student will find direction and can clarify and project to some extent his future course of training by reading published CFR’s.
Transportation Security Administration Mandates: Us citizens must present proof of US citizenship in the form of a Birth Certificate or US Passport directly to the school. Non-US citizens must first submit a training request to the TSA directly.
Training Guidelines
CFR part 61 or CFR part 141 Training? The FAA affords the initial student pilot a choice between one of two training course outlines expressed in the CFR. CFR part 61 and CFR part 141 are the titles to these two respective training course outlines. Both 61 and 141 outlines include the necessary Flight Training (aircraft time) and Aeronautical Knowledge Training (classroom time referred to as “ground school”) for achieving FAA certification (a pilot license). All legal flight training must be conducted according to at least part 61, but certain schools have withstood additional FAA approval to conduct training under either part 61 and 141 guidelines. HFA is currently approved to train for the 141 Private and 141 Instrument Course. If the student is serious about being a pilot, part 141 training is the choice. The FAR’s rewards the 141 student by allowing him the opportunity to earn his wings in less time. The result is that a good student pilot who flies well under part 141 can finish with less flight time logged than under part 61 and therefore save a good deal of money!