How to Become a Commercial Pilot After 12th in India?

Updated October 9, 2022

It’s a dream for many of you to become an airline pilot in childhood. If you are still taking your dream forward, you must be interested to know “How to Become a Commercial Pilot after 12th?” I will be explaining here the steps to becoming a commercial pilot.  

Moreover, you are well aware that a commercial pilot is a well-focused and disciplined individual responsible for navigating and flying the passenger & cargo planes. The role is not limited to flying the passenger & cargo planes; they can be indulged in rescue operations, firefighting, crop dusting, etc.

Key Highlights of Commercial Pilots

Who are Commercial Pilots?

Airline pilot is a broad spectrum covering numerous considerable job positions for suitable candidates. Among many airline pilot job openings, a commercial pilot is one of the most rewarding and challenging positions across the world. Being a commercial pilot, the individuals are needed to be vigilant and precise in every work related to a concerning area. 

Essentially, commercial pilots are well-versed individuals who can indulge in several flight activities, including charter flights, aerial applications, and aerial tours. Nevertheless, rescue operations, firefighting, crop dusting, and additional non-flight duties are also essential operations for commercial pilots.

The working schedule of commercial pilots is generally unplanned or irregular. Precisely saying, they will have to work according to the type of operation taking place. However, a minimum of 60 hours of work per week is the limitation before which they cannot be on the land or “Ground.”

List of Commercial Pilot Courses

Do you know? Wilbur and Orville Wright are the ones who built, invented, and flew the world’s first successful motorized plane, and they were known as flight pioneers. To be called a great commercial pilot, consider the following commercial pilot courses:

(a) Integrated CPL
(b) Commercial Pilot License
(c) B.S. in Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems
(d) CAE Woman in Flight Scholarship Program
(e) Aviation Engineering with Pilot Studies MEng  
(f) Diploma in Pilot Training in Commercial Pilot Licence

How to Become a Commercial Pilot After 12^th ?

Becoming a commercial pilot is an excellent achievement for any individual, but it is not a night dream. This responsible job position requires complex training, well-versed in theoretical aspects, experiences, and others. Any individual who wishes to become a commercial pilot will have to go through specific steps. The following are the essential steps through which you can grab an opportunity to become a airline pilot:

(a) The students must have completed their intermediate education from a recognized board. Having a 12th certificate in physics, chemistry, mathematics, and English is the most preferable option to become a commercial pilot.

(b) The next logical step is to earn a Private Pilot License, which spans over 3 months. Getting a PPL license is the stepping stone to exploring the adventure aviation industry.

(c) The next step which essentially needs to explore by the aspirants is setting foot on acquiring Instrument Ratings (IR). In this certificate course, the individuals earn a set qualification to fly the aircraft in low visibility weather. The instrument rating certificate extends over 2 months.

(d) After acquiring an Instrument rating certificate, you will have to obtain the Commercial Pilot License (CPL). The CPL course requires you to attain 18 years of age and have successfully passed DGCA Class 2 Medical Certificate. Under CPL training, you will have to complete 200 or more flight hours, which includes the following:

(I) 100 hours as a Pilot in Command
(II) 10 hours of Night Flying
(III) 50 hours of Mountain Flying
(IV) 30 hours of Cross-Country Flying
(V) 10 hours of Instrument Flying

(e) Flight Instructor Certificate: In some cases, having an instructor certificate is a must for commercial pilots. It allows the pilots to qualify for specific positions and even offers additional employment opportunities. 

(f) You will also need to have a minimum of 1500 hours of flying experience for an airline transport license. It is one of the essential requirements to become a commercial pilot.

A lot of recruiters also take aptitude and psychological tests before handing over this responsible position. The airline companies ensure to completely mold the individual for this post. After acquiring a license, certificate and completing tests and training, the aspirants gets fit for the commercial pilot job role.     

Skills Needed to Become Commercial Pilots

Being a Commercial Pilot is not a joke; you will fly the aircraft or commercial plane with hundreds of lives, which requires you to be precise, highly focused, mentally strong, and many more. The following is the list of skills and personal qualities which are required to become a commercial pilot:

(a) Time Management Skills: The most crucial parts of a flight are takeoffs and landing, during which you need to be precise with time to the last of landing.

(b) Excellent Eyesight: Having excellent eyesight is the most vital requirement to become a airline transport pilot. During the operation of a flight, you will have to control and manage the numerous mechanisms of a plane or aircraft at the same time. Gauging the distance of objects from the plane to avoid any misfortune is one of the roles of a commercial pilot.

(c) Strong Technical skills: You, as a Commercial pilot, will fly above the earth with hundreds of lives, and making a single mistake can lead to severe issues. Therefore, having strong technical skills is a must for the commercial pilot. 

(d) Critical thinking and Decision-making: Good judgment and quicker response time during an emergency situation make pilots highly professional and admired.

(e) Situational and Environmental Awareness: It is really important for the commercial pilot to be well aware of the situation and environment. During the flight, you can encounter turbulence, bad weather conditions, any change in the altitude or route from air traffic.

(f) Good communication skills: Since commercial pilots are in constant communication with the personnel operating the control towers, they should be able to communicate with others effectively and speak in clear and unambiguous terms according to aircraft protocol.

(g) Mentally Strong and Physical Fit: You, as a commercial pilot, will fly above the earth and encounter unusual troubles during the flight, which you will have to handle with calmness and patience. In such cases, being mentally strong & physically fit is quite important for the individuals.

(h) Good Sense of Teamwork: During the taking off and landing of the plane, perfect coordination between co-pilot and Captain is a must. Therefore, having a good sense of teamwork is essential to becoming a pilot.

(i) Inherent or Learned Leadership Quality: In larger aircraft or planes, there are generally two pilots responsible for navigating, controlling, and operating the plane. The highly experienced pilot takes the most responsible position, i.e., Captain. The second pilot or first officer is responsible for assisting the Captain in operating and controlling the plane. If necessary, the first officer can also take over the control of the plane. From the ongoing description, it’s become evident that having leadership qualities is vital to becoming commercial pilots.

(j) Striving Continually for Excellence:
(k) High-Level Flexibility:
(l) The Highly Focused and Disciplined Personality:

Where to Pursue Commercial Pilot Courses?

There are a lot of training institutes and recognized universities to pursue airline transport pilot courses all over the world. You will get the hang of theoretical knowledge, experiences, and training, making you perfectly fit for the commercial pilot openings. The mentioned below is the list of recognized universities and training institutes for aspiring candidates.

Universities

(a) Liberty University
(b) Flight Safety Academy
(c) New Zealand Aviation
(d) Ardmore Flying School
(e) Bruce Hartwig Flying School
(f) CAE Oxford Aviation Academy
(g) University of Central Missouri

Training institutes

(a) RG Aviation, Hyderabad
(b) Nagpur Flying Club, Nagpur
(c) Ahmedabad Aviation and Aeronautics
(d) Carver Aviation, Baramati, Maharashtra
(e) Ludhiana Aviation Club, Ludhiana, Punjab
(f) Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy, Rae Bareilly
(g) CAE Oxford, Gondia, Madhya Pradesh

What is the Commercial Pilot Salary?

Before getting into the commercial pilots, a general question that haunted the candidates is “what is the salary of a commercial pilot.” If you also are still wondering to know the answer, I will explain it here.

No doubt, the commercial pilot position is the most rewarding and challenging career opportunity in the world. So, having a prominent commercial pilot job, you can earn a sizable income. Precisely, the average airline transport pilot salary in India for the fresher is 10lacs to 15lacs, whereas in the USA, it is about $20k to $40k.

Having experience in the field has more admiration and value. The Senior Commercial Pilots earns a way higher than fresher. The average salary of this post ranges around INR 65 lakhs – 1 crore in India, and in the USA, it ranges from around 88,300 – 1.35 lakhs USD) per annum.

FAQs on How to Become a Commercial Pilot after 12th

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