How long does it take to become a pilot?

Last checked November 5, 2026. General information, not flight-planning or legal advice.

The FAA minimum for a private pilot certificate is 40 hours of flight time under Part 61 (35 hours in a Part 141 school course), and the FAA's FAQ gives the U.S. average as approximately 75 hours (stated for applicants without a hearing impairment). At 2 to 6 flight hours a week, 75 hours works out to roughly 3 to 9 months by our estimate, while the 1,500 hours needed for an airline transport pilot certificate take years of further ratings and flying.

This guide sets out the FAA minimums for each step, the real-world figures the FAA and schools publish, and the arithmetic that turns hours into months. Every month figure is an estimate, not a promise. Minimum hours are minimums, and many students log more.

The short answer: hours and months by certificate

The table follows the usual path toward an airline job. The month columns are our estimates: hours divided by a steady weekly pace, at 4.33 weeks per month, with no breaks for weather, checkrides or time off.

The rows overlap rather than add up: hours flown for the instrument rating also count toward the 250 total for the commercial certificate, and so on up the ladder.

At the 40-hour private minimum, the same arithmetic gives about 4.6 months at 2 hours a week and 1.5 months at 6. The ATP row shows how far the time-building step is from a student pace: If a pilot needed 1,250 more hours, ATP Flight School's published 18 to 24 months would imply roughly 52 to 69 flight hours a month (our arithmetic; the school does not state an hour total), far above a student pace. To run the numbers at your own pace, the flight time calculator adds up logged hours, and the pilot training cost guide turns the same hours into a budget.

How long the private pilot certificate takes

Under 14 CFR 61.109(a), an applicant for the airplane single-engine rating must log at least 40 hours of flight time, including 20 hours of training from an authorized instructor and 10 hours of solo flight. The rule also sets 3-hour blocks of cross-country, night, instrument and test-preparation training, plus solo cross-country flights.

The FAA's FAQ puts the U.S. average well above the minimum, at approximately 75 hours for applicants without a hearing impairment. AOPA says there is no industrywide data, but the figure is "most likely somewhere between 50 hours and 70 hours." In calendar time, the pace matters most: about 8.7 months at 2 flight hours a week, or about 2.9 months at 6 (estimates). Epic Flight Academy publishes "3 months of training to earn a Private Pilot License" at its school.

Part 61 vs Part 141: does it change the timeline?

Part 61 sets the requirements for pilot certificates in general, and an instructor has flexibility in the order of training, subject to the prerequisites and endorsements the rules require (for example before solo and solo cross-country flights, 14 CFR 61.87 and 61.93). Part 141 sets the rules for pilot schools that operate under that part, which teach a structured course with stage checks. The Part 141 appendices set course minimums for students who complete that course: 35 hours of flight training for the private certificate, plus 35 hours of ground training (Appendix B), against 40 hours of aeronautical experience under Part 61; and 120 hours of flight training for a Part 141 commercial course (Appendix D), against 250 hours of total time under Part 61. The measures differ, so they do not compare one to one.

For the private certificate, the national average sits well above both minimums. Flight School Map lists Part 141 school locations from the FAA record, by state, in the flight school directory.

How long the instrument rating takes

The instrument rating lets a pilot fly in clouds and low visibility under instrument flight rules. Under 14 CFR 61.65(d), an applicant needs 50 hours of cross-country time as pilot in command, 10 of them in an airplane, and 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time, 15 of them from an instrument-rated instructor. The rule also requires one instrument cross-country flight with an instructor of 250 nautical miles, with an approach at each airport and three different kinds of approaches. A Part 141 course requires 35 hours of instrument training and 30 hours of ground training, and a private pilot certificate before the flight portion (Appendix C).

The 40 instrument hours alone take about 4.6 months at 2 hours a week, or 1.5 months at 6 (estimates). A pilot who still needs cross-country hours needs more time. For ground-school practice with the wind triangle used in cross-country planning, try our E6B calculator, a training aid only.

How long the commercial pilot certificate takes

The commercial certificate is the one that allows flying for compensation or hire, within the limits of 14 CFR 61.133. Under 14 CFR 61.129(a), an airplane single-engine applicant must log at least 250 hours as a pilot. That includes 100 hours as pilot in command, including 50 hours of cross-country flight, and 20 hours of training with 10 hours of instrument training and 10 hours in a complex, turbine-powered or technically advanced airplane. A Part 141 commercial course sets 120 hours of flight training (Appendix D). Before its flight portion, a student must hold at least a private pilot certificate, and an airplane student must also hold an instrument rating or be enrolled in an instrument course, passing that practical test before completing the commercial course.

From a private certificate at 75 hours, 250 hours means about 175 more. That is about 20 months at 2 flight hours a week, or 6.7 months at 6 (estimates). From zero, 250 hours is about 29 months at 2 hours a week and 9.6 months at 6 (estimates).

From commercial pilot to the airlines: CFI, time building and the ATP

Under 14 CFR 121.436, a pilot serving as second in command at a Part 121 airline must hold an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate. The standard route under 14 CFR 61.159(a) requires 1,500 hours of total time, including 500 hours of cross-country, 100 hours of night and 75 hours of instrument time. That leaves about 1,250 hours to log after a 250-hour commercial certificate.

Flight instructing and time building

Flight instructing is one common way to build that time, and it is the first job ATP Flight School names for its graduates. Under 14 CFR 61.183, a flight instructor applicant must be at least 18 and hold a commercial or ATP certificate with an instrument rating; the rule adds no hour total of its own. A Part 141 instructor course requires 25 hours of flight training and 40 hours of ground training (Appendix F). ATP Flight School says instructing allows its graduates "to meet airline hiring minimums in about 18–24 months." Meeting a minimum is not the same as being hired, and this guide makes no hiring prediction.

Restricted ATP: fewer hours for some pilots

14 CFR 61.160 allows a restricted ATP certificate, limited to multiengine airplanes, at lower totals:

• 750 hours. For U.S. military pilots who graduated from military undergraduate pilot training (61.160(a)).
• 1,000 hours. For graduates of a bachelor's degree with an aviation major from a school holding a letter of authorization under 61.169, with at least 60 semester credit hours of qualifying aviation coursework (61.160(b)).
• 1,250 hours. For graduates of a similar associate's degree with at least 30 credit hours, or bachelor's graduates with 30 to 59 credit hours (61.160(c) and (d)).

The degree routes also require the commercial and instrument training to be done in a Part 141 curriculum tied to that school. Before the ATP knowledge test for a multiengine rating, an applicant must complete a training program with at least 30 hours of classroom instruction and 10 hours in a flight simulation device (14 CFR 61.156).

The whole path in time terms

The path runs private, instrument, commercial, flight instructor, then time building to the ATP or restricted ATP total. ATP Flight School publishes that a pilot can "reach an airline pilot job in as little as 2½ years." That is the school's own claim for its full-time program.

Minimum ages that set the earliest dates

• Student pilot: 16. 14 CFR 61.83, for airplanes (14 for gliders and balloons).
• Private pilot: 17. 14 CFR 61.103, for an airplane rating.
• Commercial pilot and flight instructor: 18. 14 CFR 61.123 and 61.183.
• ATP: 23, or 21 for a restricted ATP. 14 CFR 61.153(a).

The FAA notes that no student pilot certificate is needed to take flying lessons. It is needed before the first solo.

What speeds training up or slows it down

Lessons per week

The weekly pace changes the month figures the most in the table above. AOPA puts it bluntly: "Flying only once a week or twice a month will kill your progress."

Weather and season

A student pilot may not fly as pilot in command with visibility below 3 statute miles in daylight or 5 at night, or when the flight cannot be made with visual reference to the surface (14 CFR 61.89(a)). Regions with long stretches of low clouds, storms or strong winds lose more lesson days. The crosswind calculator shows how a day's wind lines up with the runway.

Medical certificate and student pilot certificate

A student pilot generally needs at least a third-class medical certificate (14 CFR 61.23(a)(3), which lists limited exceptions), issued by an FAA aviation medical examiner listed on the FAA's medical certification page. Airline flying requires a higher class under the same rule. The FAA says a student pilot certificate arrives by mail in approximately three weeks, and that applying through its IACRA system reduces that time. Schools differ on when they ask for both.

Knowledge tests

Most certificates and ratings need a written knowledge test. Under 14 CFR 61.39(a)(1), a passed test generally must fall within the 24 calendar months before the practical test (ATP applicants who complete the 61.156 program get 60 months).

Checkride examiner availability

Many practical tests, or checkrides, are given by FAA designated pilot examiners (DPEs). AOPA reported in November 2024 that the examiner shortage persisted and that "wait times are all too often measured in months."

Money

When training is paid for lesson by lesson, the budget sets the weekly pace, and the same AOPA warning about infrequent flying applies.

Accelerated programs: what schools publish

Full-time programs publish timelines much shorter than a part-time pace. These are examples of published claims, checked on November 5, 2026, not promises and not a ranking:

• ATP Flight School, Airline Career Pilot Program. The program page lists 9 months from zero experience (282 logged hours, including 53 simulator hours), 7 months with credit for solo, and 6 months with credit for a private certificate.
• Epic Flight Academy. The school's timeline page estimates 3 months for the private certificate, "about 12-13 months to become a commercial pilot," and 13.5 months for its professional program, and says training times are estimates.

What to ask a flight school before you start

These questions help compare schools on time, whatever the path. Schools are listed in the directory by state, for example Florida.

• Do you train under Part 61, Part 141, or both? Ask which course a student would be enrolled in.
• How many hours do your private pilot students log on average? Compare the answer with the FAA's figure of about 75 hours.
• How many lessons a week can you schedule for one student? Ask about aircraft and instructor availability in the busiest season.
• How do you schedule checkrides? Ask how long recent students waited for an examiner.
• What happens to the schedule in bad weather? Ask whether lessons move to a simulator or ground session.
• When should a student get the medical and student pilot certificates? Ask where the syllabus expects them.
• If you publish a program time frame, what share of students finish within it? Ask what usually causes delays.