Hour building that counts: flying with a purpose
Hour building is the longest stretch of the modular route, and the least supervised. Done well, it turns a new private pilot into a capable one. Done badly, it produces a logbook full of the same short flight.
What the hours are for
To be issued a Commercial Pilot Licence on the modular route you need:
- 200 hours of flight time in total.
- 100 hours as pilot in command.
- 20 hours of cross-country flight as pilot in command, including one VFR flight of at least 540 km (300 NM) with full-stop landings at two aerodromes other than the one you left from.
- 5 hours of night flying.
- 10 hours of instrument instruction.
You need 150 hours, including 50 as pilot in command with 10 of those cross-country, before you can start the flight training of the modular CPL course. Hour building is how you get there.
The night rating
The night rating is added during this stage. It requires theory instruction and at least 5 hours of flying at night, including at least 3 hours with an instructor, at least 1 hour of cross-country navigation, and 5 solo take-offs and 5 solo full-stop landings.
Making the hours worth something
- Plan every flight as a commercial flight. Fuel, weight and balance, performance, weather, alternates, a written plan. This is what the CPL skill test examines.
- Go somewhere. Different aerodromes, controlled airspace, longer legs, other countries. Variety is what builds judgement.
- Fly in the weather you are allowed to. Within your limits and the rules, not only on perfect days. Decision-making is learned on marginal ones.
- Set a standard and debrief yourself. Height, heading and speed tolerances; what went well, what did not. Nobody else will do this for you during this stage.
- Do the long cross-country early. It is a licence requirement, and weather has a way of filling the last weeks.
Where coaching helps
This is the stage where students drift: weeks without flying, money spent without progress. A plan with dates, a budget per month and someone who asks how it is going makes more difference here than anywhere else on the route. That is what FlyInPoland's coaching is for.
FlyInPoland.com plans and coaches your route. The training itself is delivered by the approved training organisation named in your written offer, and the figures here are the legal minimums, not a quotation.
