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A definitive Reference Guide – How to earn your Commercial Pilot License (CPL) in India and become a Commercial Pilot!

I get this question from young aviation enthusiast all the time, and despite a plethora of information available on the topic, very few seem to have captured all the elements together. Therefore, in this article I attempt to craft a definitive guide to an aspiring Aviator’s most important First Question.

 YOU Need to study before you Study!

 Minimum education requirements: A student pilot is required to have passed Physics and Mathematics 12th Standard examinations. Science students with Physics and Mathematics as core subjects, automatically fulfil this requirement. On the other hand, if you do not have these Science subjects in your 12th Standard, but still want to take up the flying profession, there’s a Hack! – you have an option to appear for these subjects through National Indian Open School (NIOS). I am deliberately not including links in the article as the links do change over time,information keeps updating, and the best way is use these key words and just do a simple online search 😊

YOU Need to be fit before you fit in the Cockpit!

If anyone needs to be fit, it’s You! But don’t worry, I haven’t come across all athletes in the profession, and you can probably breath. What’s important is meeting the prescribed medical fitness of DGCA Class-2 medical examination - to start your journey as a student pilot. Although, to get the Commercial Pilot License (CPL), you would need to have a fit DGCA Class-1 medical assessment. There a few extra tests in a Class-1 medical examination, as compared to Class-2, and I would suggest you to ask your doctor to do those extra tests too so that you can satisfy yourself that you meet the standards, and if there is any condition that can be corrected through treatment, you can consider that and discuss with your doctor during this early stage of your process. You can check the list of approved medical examiners on the DGCA website. Also, I would like to burst a few myths here – I have seen many misguided students who think they need to have perfect eye sight and other conditions. That’s far from the truth! You can wear spectacles within prescribed limits, and you can treat many other temporary conditions through correct treatment, diet and exercise. Even during the course of your career, you might not fall within normal range of annual / semi-annual tests ( for over 40 years of age / ATPL holders), and you might temporarily be declared unfit for a specified duration to undergo treatment and finally get your fitness certificate again. Under extreme conditions, pilots do get declared permanently unfit as well and this of course could be career ending as a cockpit crew – but these instances are rare and professional pilots are adequately covered through insurance policies as well.

Let’s do some paperwork!

You must apply with DGCA to get a unique computer number, which remains with you like forever!To secure this unique ID, you need to apply on the DGCA designated portal -UDAAN. The website hosts all details of requisite documentation- educational and ID proofs that you need to submit in the prescribed format with the prescribed fees.

 Once you have your Computer Number, you can sign-up and complete your Udaan online profile, which enables you to apply for the DGCA theoretical examinations.

Alright, let’s get to the books now!

It is recommendedthat you do enrol in a good ground school or institute and study the core subjects before you begin your flying training. This not only helps you gain vital knowledge and confidence, it is crucial for your flying as it helps you come into harmony with your aircraft and rules of the air. Most of the flying schools do have a ground school component, but if you would want be proactive and clear your theory exams before you start flying, you would need to enrol with a good ground study institute and appear for DGCA CPL examinations. There are overall 5 theoreticalsubjects, which are mentioned below:

1.    Aviation meteorology

2.    Air regulations

3.    Air navigation

4.    Technical general

5.    Technical specific 

DGCA conducts the examinations in 4 sessions every year, usually in the months of - January, April, July and October. These examinations are valid for 5 years (except multi-engine specific papers, which are valid for 2.5 years).

Cheat Code! – If you decide to do your flying abroad, you can choose to study and clear the first 3 subjects (Met, Regs and Nav – as they say it😊) – as once you get your foreign CPL, you apply for conversion and you need these 3 exams to be cleared in India – Refer to the latest DGCA foreign Pilot’s License Conversion Chart on DGCA website.

Another important exam, and probably the hardest - Radio Telephony Restricted license – RTR (A)

RTR examination is conducted by Wireless Planning Commission (WPC) of India. It is a license for pilots to enable them to use radio telecommunication devices in aircraft. Currently, exams are conducted every two months in 5 centresacross India - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad. The exam consists of two parts – a practical test of communication capabilities, and an interview with a DGCA and a WPC official. Once you pass, a license with a lifetime validity will be issued.

Cheat-code! – If you earn foreign CPL and get your RT licence from a commonwealth country, you can submit the prescribed application with WPC and get a RTR (P) license, which offers the same privileges but is valid for a period of maximum of 20 years or validity of foreign license (per current regulations) – Refer to the current RTR(P) conversion and renewal guidelines on WPC / DOT website.

Also, before CPL is issued, you need to clear mandatory English Language Proficiency (ELP) Test and depending on the level you achieve, Level – 6 being the expert level, you would be issued the ELP certificate with a validity (ELP – 6 has lifetime validity). You can search online to get a list of authorised test examiners.

Go get your wings now!

Select your flying school ! This is the most important step and you need to do a thorough Due Diligence before you apply and select a flying school. Various parameters and elements need to be considered and we recommend using the following checklist:

1.    Define your budget.

2.    Do your research and consider seeking guidance from a Mentor. An Aveatr MentorTM could be your best friend and guide here. Make a list of best flying schools around the globe.

3.    Research the flying schools and consider – its facilities and fleet(India recognized Single and Multi-engine aircraft, simulator, instrument rating etc.), instructors, place, country and weather.

4.    Look for feedback from former students, discuss with your Aveatr MentorTM and shortlist the schools.

5.    Reach out to the flying schools and review their course brochures, duration, fees schedule, terms and conditions and their commitment to your un-interrupted flying training.

6.    Apply to schools and make the final selection based on above parameters.

 If you are looking to do your flying abroad, you would need to get a standardised English Test result (mainly IELTS), and apply for the visa with requisite offer letter from flying school and other supporting documents – your flying school will share guidance on visa application.

Take-off!

When you join flying school, India or Abroad, you will be issued Student Pilot License (SPL) and Flight Radio Telephony Operating License (FRTOL), per specific procedure for each country. You will also need your Class-1 medical here.You can get your medical certificate in India (for most countries) before leaving, or you can get your medical done at the country – it is not really difficult😊

Flying curriculum – be sure the curriculum complies with latest DGCA requirements. I am just including the overall (current) flying requirements below:

You need to clock 200 hours of flying in total for CPL, with 100 hours minimum as Pilot-in-Command (PIC), 20 hours ofmulti-engine flying, and 20 hours of multi-engine simulator flying. Ask your mentor or instructors to suggest you the best combination of multi-engine and single engine aircraft flying – keep an eye on your budget, flying courses don’t have fixed fees and based on your flying hours (you may need to repeat a sortie) and type of aircraft flown, your total fees could vary quite considerably! – Also,Refer to the latest DGCA foreign Pilot’s License Conversion Chart on DGCA website – YOU may need to do some flying checks here in India and do a lot of precise CPL application paperwork!

Congratulations, Captain! You have your wings now!

Cheat-code! – I recommend playing some computer games😊 - You may like to do some virtual flying on - Microsoft FSX / Xplane / Flight1 / Prepar3d, which are some of the best game based simulators and offer realistic flying experience on your personal computer. You won’t believe how much this helps – thank me later 😊

So now you are a Commercial Pilot, what next?

Now, you have two main options – get an Airline Job OR continue your flying school journey as an Instructor.

Getting an Airline Job – Study well and prepare for Airline Assessments! You can either self-study or join a credible Airline preparation course, which would cover the various aspects of Airline assessments – which mainly entail following elements - theoretical knowledge, simulator / psychomotor examination, aptitude test, group task, interview.

OR be a Flight Instructor - To become an instructor, depending on the country, you need specified hours of Pilot-In-Command (200 hours in India), and pass the flight instructors flight test / exam. Be sure to discuss with your Aveatr MentorTM  and your Flying school to understand Flight Instructing program and opportunities before selecting the flight school – you never know this might be the best first job in your flying career, never count out the economic conditions in your Aviation career 😊

There you go – wish you Happy Flying and Happy Landings!

Reach to me for any questions you may have. At Aveatr, I along with our team of aviation’s most qualified AveatrMentorsTM are there to help you, guide you and mentor you to navigate through this beautiful journey called – Flying!

-       Capt. Nakul Saluja, CA, CFE, PGP (IIT-Delhi), Founder & Chief Flying Officer – Aveatr

 Aveatr is one of a kind integrated Mentorship Program crafted with a mission to bring highest Quality Education Advisory, Career Counselling and Training to the ever exciting field of Aviation. Aveatr was founded to address the gap between the guidance needs of aspiring aviators and professional mentorship available in the Aviation sector. The program brings together a team of commercial pilots, top global professionals & academicians, and ex-military officers to pioneer the concept of Mentorship in Aviation.

 Our combined 100 years of experience in professional management, corporate strategy, training & development, aviation and military services has enabled us to identify the Core Advisory Areas that aviation aspirants need guidance on and we are here to mentor you and partner with you to navigate through these.

For more Info : https://www.aveatr.com/