Insight FlyerInsight FlyerAn airline pilot is one that flies airplanes for an airline as a flight deck crew member. All airlines within a country and all applicable laws under which they are allowed to operate are usually governed by the Civil Aviation Authority of that country. In India that authority is the Directorate General of Civil Aviation or the DGCA, which has been empowered through the Indian Aircraft Act of 1937 passed by the parliament as a regulating body for Civil Aviation. Being headquartered in New Delhi the DGCA functions under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and is the rule making and licensing authority for Civil Aviation in India. Apart from issuing licenses to different airplane and airline operators, they also issues licenses to qualified personnel like Engineers and Pilots. For Pilots there are various categories of licenses and ratings issued by the DGCA according to the nature of activities and type of airplanes they wish to qualify to operate.
43 Air School at Port Alfred where our trainees complete their flight training
To qualify as an airline pilot, an individual must possess at least a “Commercial Pilot’s License” usually referred to as a CPL that is issued by the DGCA. To obtain this license the individual needs to satisfy a list of complex flying, medical fitness, knowledge, educational and other such requirements which usually take from 1 to 2 years depending usually on the quality of flying training establishment and the individual’s effort and ability to pass all flying related examinations.
Among the requirements to qualify for this license there is a complex mix of flying requirements such as cross country flying, instrument flying, night flying, PIC hours, total hours and skills tests. The total minimum number of flying hours required to obtain this license is 200 hours but these hours have to be completed over a graduated period as a lot of learning has to occur while flying these hours. Usually the aircraft used for this training seats 2 to 6 people and fly over short distances of up to a few hundred miles without refuelling.
Once a CPL is obtained, the individual is qualified to fly the type of airplane which is “rated” on his license for commercial purposes but airlines fly much bigger airplanes than training aircraft. Ones which seat 20 to 600 people with far more complex systems, controls and responsibilities and so in order to qualify to fly this bigger airplane, a CPL “holder” has to undergo airplane specific training. This training is called a “Type Rating”.
A Type Rating typically qualifies a CPL license holder to fly a commercial airplane such as a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A320 as a First Officer or a Co-Pilot and requires additional specialized training of 2-3 months during which the trainee learns the airplane operating systems, air frame and engine performance, normal and emergency procedures, crew and resource management, problem solving and decision making techniques, communications and many other competencies required of a flight crew member. This training is almost entirely conducted in extremely expensive and complex “simulators” where almost all emergencies and operating conditions for that particular airplane can be simulated along with “motion” sensing to simulate to a reasonable extent the actual aircraft movement.
Following the type rating, there is finally a requirement to conduct some flight training on board the “type” of airplane which is carried out with a full load of commercial passengers and/or cargo but under the guidance of competent instructors and safety/cover pilots. This training is normally referred to as “Supervised Line Flying” and usually takes a month or so to conclude. It is during this period that you would finally experience what it’s like to be an airline pilot.
At Insight Aviation we have a lifetime of experience flying for Airlines all over the planet. We have flown in multi-cultural crew environments and functioned in senior flight operational management roles. We are able to bring the value of that experience into the training we offer our alumni. We understand that the most important ingredient in making a good pilot is the quality of instruction delivered to him during the entire process of his flight training. This quality is very difficult to find in India because with the rapid growth of aviation, every competent pilot has been able to get a flying job with a good airline. Flying schools are constantly struggling with recruiting and retaining good instructors. We have selected 43 Air School in South Africa as our training partner for the excellent quality of instruction delivered there.
To become an airline pilot, you need to have a CPL (Commercial Pilot’s License) issued by the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation). The minimum qualification requirements for issue of this license are:
• 10+2 or Senior Secondary with Physics and Math.
• Minimum 18 years of age
• Class 1 medical certificate School
• 200 hours of flying training with other specific flying requirements for PIC, Night, Instrument and Cross Country.
• Pass DGCA written exams.
It takes a minimum period of 1.5-2 years to get a CPL in India once you have decided to become a pilot. Some schools claim to have reduced that period down to 12 months but mostly flying schools in India are taking longer than that.
The main reason for this time period is the limited infrastructure and shortage of qualified flight instructors. Flying clubs in India also have a very high student to aircraft and student to instructor ratio resulting in delays during training. On occasion the fuel for training aircraft is not available due to low volumes of import by Oil importers and in such situations both the airplanes and the students are stranded on the ground with no fuel to fly.
If you do not meet this requirement, you can pursue these subjects (Physics and Math level 10+2) via the National Institute of Open Schooling to achieve the desired grade. (https://www.nios.ac.in/student-information-section.aspx)
The medical standards are quite normal. The percentage of people that are found to be medically unfit is very, very, low. As long as the vision is correctable with spectacles, there is no limitation with wearing glasses.
The DGCA is the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and it is the regulatory body that has been empowered by the Ministry of Civil Aviation for making rules for regulating all Civil Aviation activities in the country. They are also the licensing authority. https://dgca.gov.in
An airline pilot typically works throughout the year. Vacation time for a pilot is governed by the labor laws and airline policy and besides vacation, usually a pilot would get 5-10 days OFF in a month on his flying schedule. A pilot’s working hours are regulated by the DGCA to a maximum number of hours that can be flown in a week, month and year and this is mandated by regular rest periods to ensure pilots are well rested for their flight duties. Discipline is an important part of a pilots work life to ensure rest and level of alertness and clarity with which one goes to work.
Usually an airplane is manned by two pilots. One a Captain and the other a First Officer. For training flights there may be up to two Captains and occasionally a third safety pilot. For long distance flights of over 9-10 hours, 3 or even 4 pilots may be required as per the length of flight and the rest period enroute.
Pilots have challenging schedules sometimes when they have to fly at night time, but the rest is regulated by law and gives ample time for recovery from such flights which are also limited in number within a week.
Pilots have rest periods which are established by law. During their rest periods, they cannot be assigned flight duties and the rest period between flights allows them to recover well before their next duty.
A total number of at least 10 pilots are required to fly each airplane for short haul operations and about 20 for long haul. Nearly half of those are First Officers and the other half Captains plus there is some provision for Instructor pilots and Examiner pilots. Airlines in India have about 1000 airplanes on order for delivery by 2027
To become a captain you will need an ATPL license and about three years of flying experience as a First Officer which means approximately 3000 flying hours. Some airlines upgrade their First Officers to Captain with as little as 2000 hours total flying time.
Once you have flying experience of at least 2000 hours on an airline Jet, you will be able to seek employment globally. Some countries have very firm labor laws so you will need a status to seek employment, but experienced pilots are in demand globally. To fly for an European airline, one needs an EASA (European Civil Aviation Authority) license which has to be obtained from an European training organization, but most other countries have a process of validating an Indian License. Currently a lot of Indian pilots are flying for airlines like Qatar Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines, Korean Airlines, Japan Airlines, Turkish Airlines and many more on the basis of their Indian license.
This depends on the airlines policy. Some airlines give free tickets in limited numbers to their employees, but most airlines give significantly discounted (90% discounted) tickets to their employees and even though they are subject to seats available basis, one can plan travel quite easily.
The challenges faced in the USA start with the choice of flying school. There are many schools today with poor financial health, shortage of instructors, poor training quality, significant hidden costs that are luring students by offering discounted prices. This results in students making bad choices and getting entangled in legal processes and losing precious time and money. It is also important to choose a part 141 school instead of a part 61. It is also important follow carefully the DGCA curriculum requirement to successfully convert a FAA license to a DGCA license. Any lapses can result in expensive license conversion costs and extended delays. Living conditions and safety is also a consideration in the USA with increasing law and order problems and there is always a probability of not getting a US visa for pursuing flight training.
Canada has a robust civil aviation authority in Transportation Canada. The quality of infrastructure is not as good as the US but there are some good quality flying schools offering excellent quality training. The real challenges here remain identifying a school with good weather conditions, and good student to instructor ratios. The schools get crowded in summer time with lots of hobby flyers resulting in delays in training. There is also a possibility of not getting a visa for pursuing flight training.
The international Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) mandates that every contracting state must have a system of recognizing a member states license. To fulfill this requirement, the DGCA of India has laid down requirements on fulfillment of which they can issue an Indian CPL to a CPL holder of a contracting state. Basically, through this process, a foreign CPL can be converted to an Indian CPL. This requires passing some examinations and fulfilling some flying checks.
If you have any questions that have not been answered by reading our website and going through our FAQs, request a call back or register for a counselling session with one of our professionals at our training centre in Gurugram.
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Insight Aviation is a company of professional airline pilots. We have tens of thousands of hours of experience of instructing and examining aircrew from all around the planet. We have experienced and highly knowledgeable instructors in our dedicated ground school. We have collaborations with only the best, and the most dependable flying schools whose solvency is an important consideration for our association. We also monitor the training of each of our students till they have obtained their license ensuring they always have airplanes to fly and instructors to train with. When you train with us, you will not waste your precious time looking for rules and regulatory processes because we guide you every step of the way, ensuring that your time is focused only on learning while we take care of the process. We offer training at our partner schools only after a thorough risk analysis of all factors including living and transportation.
You will save time effort and money by training with us because we uncover and lay bare all hidden costs that no one will tell you about. Many training institutions and schools do not uncover those hidden expenses that you will end up having to provision for after having exceeded your budget for training. That will not happen with Insight Aviation. We manage the training process so efficiently that you will attain your license and training in the least possible time in the best cost for quality.
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