No Dumb Questions

Q. I have heard that you can use the recreational pilot certificate as a building block to the private pilot certificate. Is this true? And after getting the recreational certificate and then working with an instructor over a period of time, would one have to take the complete private pilot FAA exam, or is there a shorter version for folks who already have the recreational certificate?
Doug Kelley
Pace, Florida

A. The recreational pilot certificate is a good way to get out and get flying on your own, or with a passenger, in less time than it typically takes to earn a private pilot certificate.

As you may already know, recreational pilots face some limitations that do not apply to private pilots. Among them, recreational pilots must stay within 50 nautical miles of the departure airport, may carry only one passenger at a time, may not fly between sunset and sunrise, and may not fly in airspace that requires communication with air traffic control. Many of these restrictions, however, can be lifted with appropriate training and endorsements. For instance, you do not need to earn your private pilot certificate to fly more than 50 nm from the departure airport if you get the necessary training and endorsement from an instructor. In addition, many of these restrictions do not apply if you are in the process of training to earn a more advanced certificate or rating, such as the private pilot certificate.

The real advantage to pursuing a recreational certificate is that the experience and training requirements for earning it are lower than those for the private pilot certificate. What's more, the experience that you gain as a recreational pilot counts toward the experience requirements for the private pilot certificate, so you won't have to start from scratch when you are ready to advance to a private pilot certificate.

The thing that many student pilots most look forward to is taking a friend or family member for a ride. Once you have earned your recreational certificate, you can enjoy the thrill of sharing flight with friends and family, even though you have not yet fulfilled the cross-country and other requirements for the private pilot certificate. Depending on where you live, there are likely to be several nontowered airports within 50 miles of your home base, so you can fly to another town for lunch, or just do a little sightseeing in your own neighborhood.

When you are ready to upgrade your certificate, you will still need to take all of the appropriate exams, including the written, oral, and practical portions. These are the same exams that any other candidate for the private pilot certificate would be required to take. Although having earned your recreational certificate will not save you time when it comes to the exams for the private pilot certificate, it may save you a great deal of stress. Since you will already have taken and passed an FAA knowledge test, a practical exam, and an oral exam, you will know what to expect when it is time to take these tests for the private pilot certificate.