User Guide

Getting Certified
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is to add an Instrument Rating. Instrument
training gives a private pilot the skills to fly in the
clouds and in reduced visibility, using only the
instruments in the cockpit. A pilot with an
Instrument Rating operates under different rules
than a pilot flying visually. In the clouds, the
responsibility for keeping aircraft apart from one
another rests with air traffic controllers, who use
radar to keep track of each airplane’s position.
Just as in private pilot training, the Instrument
Rating requires ground school and a knowledge
test. The focus is on learning to fly and navigate
using only the instruments, and on learning to
communicate effectively with air traffic control-
lers. During the required 40 hours of instrument
flight training, the student usually wears a view-
limiting device (a special visor or goggles) that
prevents him or her from looking out the window.
Getting the Instrument Rating is both challenging
and rewarding. It makes flying a more reliable
mode of transportation, refines basic flying skills,
and enables a private pilot to fly in the same air
traffic control system that airline pilots use. For
pilots attracted to aviation gadgetry, there’s
nothing better than flying “on the gauges.”
Commercial Pilot Certificate
For pilots looking to make a career out of flying,
or to hone their skills, the next step after adding
an Instrument Rating is the Commercial Pilot
Certificate. (While a pilot doesn’t have to have an
Instrument Rating to get a Commercial Certificate,
most commercial flying jobs require it.) The only
real difference between a Private Pilot Certificate
and a Commercial Pilot Certificate is that the
latter allows a pilot to legally carry passengers
and cargo for hire. With a Commercial Pilot
Certificate in hand, a pilot can finally get paid to
fly!
FlightSafety International
FlightSafety International’s mission
is clear: providing the highest standard
of training for the safe and effective
operation of complex, high-risk
equipment. FlightSafety trains over
50,000 pilots and aircraft maintenance
technicians each year, in facilities
located across the United States and
Canada and in Paris, France.
FlightSafety’s instructors and
facilities are equipped to train pilots
and technicians in practically every
make and model of corporate and
commercial aviation aircraft.
FlightSafety is known around the
world for the training of pilots in all
categories: private, commercial, airline,
and military. The training of aircraft
maintenance technicians, dispatchers,
and additional aircraft support teams
has added to FlightSafety’s reputation
as an all-encompassing aviation
training company.