Boeing My Way!

chillibreeze writer — Samarth Singh

'Cleared for takeoff'..... a fantasy phrase that transforms itself into a career wanton sooner or later. A Commercial Pilot's License a.k.a. CPL is not a bad option at all nowadays! Not only for the thrill of flying or the chic magnet uniform, but privatization of the commercial airlines that started off a couple of years ago, is still going strong. Job openings continue to pour in just as the Indian private airlines expand their fleet of aircraft.

An airline requires the applicant to have a Commercial Pilot's License with an Instrument rating. We'll get to that in a bit!

There are various entry points to getting your CPL, given the fact that there's no age bar on application though airlines prefer a fresh applicant to be within the thirty margin. The Commercial Pilot's license can be obtained upon application to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) with 200 hours of trainee flying on a single engine aircraft also referred to as a trainer aircraft. Along with that, the applicant requires to have cleared five of the mandatory DGCA papers administered once every quarter, these comprise three general and two technical papers that may be cleared in any order or number. A word of advice, don't take these lightly! There are classes and tutorial centers all over the country that help you get in form.

Let’s get to the flying now. As a trainee pilot, you are required to approach one of many flying clubs in the country. One may also opt for pushing off abroad to fly, in which case the two technical papers we talked about earlier are not required for your license conversion! Many prefer this as the costing isn't very different. On an average, in today's market, it should cost anywhere between 4000-6000 Indian Rupees per hour to fly. The experience, once you commence flying, will get you through the various elementary and advanced concepts pertaining to the ground subjects. The most common trainer crafts in India are the Cessna 152 and the Cessna 172, both being single engine propeller aircrafts. You might want to run a Google search for the tech specs.

All in all, the course should take around a year and half along with a few other formalities like a medical checkup and a radiotelephony license. This is as long as a dedicated attempt(s) has been given to the ground subjects. If not, given the fact that there is no age bar, it can take forever!

Flying has always been a very lucrative job, vis-a-vis satisfaction, remuneration and the smartness factor. The quest doesn't end at a CPL. After getting through the airlines, there's another training program that gets you familiarized with the big birds. That, of course, is beyond the scope of this article. Happy Landings!

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Samarth writes for chillibreeze.

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