“Above the planet on a wing and a prayer, My grubby halo, a vapor trail in the empty air. Across the clouds I see my shadow fly, Out of the corner of my watering eye, a dream unthreatened by the morning light, Could blow this soul right through the roof of the night, there’s no sensation to compare with this, Suspended animation, a state of bliss”. These poetic words make for a part of the lyrics of the iconic band Pink Floyd’s hit song ‘Learning to fly’, and it was a song all about flying. If you love flying, if you love to be one with the clear blue skies, if you love to look down on mere mortals from the heavens above, you probably need to become a commercial pilot. An individual at present can satiate his or her desire to fly via two ways: ‘Commercial’ or ‘Military’. However, if you’re the kind of person who believes more in peace and less in war, more in harmless productivity and less in military service, a commercial pilot is what you want to be. Commercial aviation as an industry includes passenger airlines, cargo planes, charter operations and international services. A commercial pilot’s job is a specialized one and there is no denying that. As a pilot, an individual is required to possess expert level knowledge in air navigation, operations of sophisticated electronic and mechanical controls, meteorology, etc. Read on to know what it takes to be eligible for a commercial pilot course, the career prospects and institutes offering commercial pilot courses.
Courses In Commercial Piloting
Eligibility
In commercial flying there are no specific degree courses as such. It is more about licenses and the training rendered to interested individuals. An individual in order to become a commercial pilot will first have to get a ‘Student Pilot License’. An individual can only be eligible for a SPL if he or she is done with a 10+2 or an equivalent from a recognized board with the sciences as the core subjects. The candidate should have scored at least 50% marks in mathematics and physics and also be above the age of 17. The aspiring flyer should also have a positive medical certificate, a bank guarantee and a security clearance. The second step in becoming a commercial pilot involves the procurement of a ‘Private Pilot License’ (PPL). In order to be eligible for a PPL, an individual should hold an SPL. It is only after and individual clears all barriers to gain a PPL that he/she can apply for a ‘Commercial Pilot License’. In order to be eligible for a CPL, an individual will have to be done with a certain number of hours of flying and posses other qualifications that warrant him/her to fly a plane commercially.
Details Of The Course
Pilot license courses are all about providing an aspirant with knowledge of the aeronautical environment. Courses will include ground training, knowhow on aeronautical equipment, principles of flight, navigation, meteorology, civil air regulations and aeronautical decision making. Students will be trained to acquire knowledge and confidence that is as good as a prerequisite to flying a plane. Advanced stages of training courses will focus on pre-flight procedures, basic and advanced maneuvers, radio navigation and cross country flying.
Career Prospects
Commercial pilots are a rare breed, a distinguished lot if you will. They can find plum jobs as pilots with government airlines, private airlines, international airlines, cargo planes, private planes and charter planes. There is no strict rule for a commercial pilot to fly throughout his career only a plane that belongs to the airlines of the country in which he procured his/her CPL. This only means that pilots can always broaden their avenues by flying for both domestic and international airlines. Pilots can also fly for large corporate houses who with their own ‘birds’ require the services of commercially experienced pilots. With the world being as globalised and liberalized as it is, there is no airline that will not find the services of a professional pilot useful and hirable. As far as remuneration goes, a starter earns comparatively less, but with experience, remunerations for commercial pilots only end up kissing the skies.
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Bangalore Aeronautics Technical Services, Mysore Aerodrome, Karnataka, India
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Boston Flight Simulator Academy, Massachusetts, United States of America
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Bihar Flying Institute, Civil Aerodrome, Patna, Bihar, India
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Flytech Aviation Academy, Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
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Colonial Air, Inc., New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States of America
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Ludhiana Aviation Club, Civil Aerodrome, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
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West Bengal Flying Training Institute, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
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Coimbatore Flying Club, Civil Aerodrome, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
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Nagpur Flying Club, Sonegaon Aerodrome, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
