Private Pilot · Student Guide · March 2027
Become a Pilot
Your step-by-step guide to earning your FAA Private Pilot Certificate. Written for people who grew up with no pilots in the family and no one to ask: where to start, what order things happen in, what works and what wastes time and money.
Paperback, hardcover and Kindle, March 2027. Price, final title and ISBNs pending.
Overview video
What's inside the book.
Who it's for, the 3 Pillars of Success and how the 21 chapters are organized.
- Who the book is written for
- The 3 Pillars of Success
- How the chapters answer real questions
Who it's for
The context a pilot family would have given you.
New to aviation
You want to fly but have never walked onto an airport. Every term is explained the first time it appears, and a glossary collects them.
Weighing a career
The book maps the path from private pilot to the airlines, and the alternatives along the way.
Already in training
A clear picture of the stages ahead, the FAA requirements and how to finish on time and on budget.
The core framework
The 3 Pillars of Success
Students who finish on time and on budget usually made three good choices early. Part III gives each one a full chapter.
Pillar 1
The flight school and aircraft
Part 61 versus Part 141, schools, clubs, academies and colleges, which trainers suit you and the red flags to watch for.
Pillar 2
The instructor
What a good fit looks like, what to ask at the first meeting, and when and how to switch without losing progress.
Pillar 3
Ground school preparation
How to study for understanding, prepare for the knowledge test and arrive at every lesson ready to fly.
What you'll learn
Find the chapter for the question you have now.
Every chapter answers one practical question, so you can open the book at the stage you're in.
Inside the book
21 chapters in six parts.
Read it straight through, or open any part when you reach that stage. Every chapter ends with “What I Wish I'd Known.”
Part I · Is Flying for You?
So You Want to Fly · Speaking Pilot · Choosing the Right Certificate · Your Discovery Flight
Part II · Getting Started
Eligibility and Your Student Pilot Certificate · Your FAA Medical · Finding Your People
Part III · The 3 Pillars of Success
Choosing a Flight School · Choosing a Training Aircraft · Choosing Your Instructor · Ground School and the FAA Knowledge Test
Part IV · The Training Footprint
Stage I: Pre-Solo · Stage II: Cross-Country and Night · Stage III: The Checkride
Part V · Time and Money
How Long It Really Takes · What It Really Costs · Paying for Training · Gear You Need (and Don't) · What I'd Do Differently
Part VI · After the Checkride
Using Your New Certificate · Should Flying Be Your Career?
Plus
Appendices: regulation quick reference, resources and a plain-English glossary.
From Chapter 5
What the FAA requires you to log.
The minimum flight experience for a private pilot certificate (airplane, single-engine) under 14 CFR 61.109. Most students need more than the minimum, and the book explains why.
| Requirement | Minimum | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Total flight time | 40 hr | Includes everything below |
| Flight training with an instructor | 20 hr | Includes cross-country, night, instrument and checkride preparation |
| Cross-country training | 3 hr | With an instructor |
| Night training | 3 hr | One cross-country over 100 NM total, plus 10 takeoffs and 10 full-stop landings |
| Flight by reference to instruments | 3 hr | Control by instruments only |
| Checkride preparation | 3 hr | Within the 2 calendar months before the test |
| Solo flight | 10 hr | Includes 5 hours of solo cross-country |
| Long solo cross-country | 150 NM | Full-stop landings at three airports, one leg over 50 NM |
| Towered-airport landings | 3 | Solo takeoffs and full-stop landings at a towered airport |
Regulations change. Confirm current requirements with your instructor and the eCFR.
Free
Read Chapter 1 before it's published.
Get the sample chapter now and a note when the book is out in March.