Addendum – EASA Part-FCL & Part-MED — Page 548, Lesson 733

Right, let's get into the PPL(A) — the Private Pilot Licence for Aeroplanes. This is a big one, so we'll take it step by step. First, the minimum age. You have to be at least 17 years old to hold this licence. That's a hard limit. Now, the privileges — what you're actually allowed to do with it. The core privilege is that you can act without remuneration — that means without payment — as either PIC, which is Pilot in Command, or as co-pilot on aeroplanes or TMGs. TMG stands for Touring Motor Glider. And this is all for non-commercial operations — so you're not being paid to fly, and you're not flying for hire or reward. But there's a very specific exception to that "no remuneration" rule. If you hold a PPL(A) and you also hold an instructor or examiner rating, then you can receive payment. And the payment is strictly limited to three things: flight instruction for the LAPL(A) — that's the Light Aircraft Pilot Licence — or for the PPL(A) itself; the conduct of skill and proficiency checks for those licences; and the ratings and certificates attached to those licences. So the only way a PPL(A) holder gets paid is by teaching or examining — never by carrying passengers or cargo for money. Next, the theoretical knowledge requirement. You have to pass a set of examination papers. Let me list them for you: Air Law, Human performance, Meteorology, Communications, Principles of flight, Operational procedures, Flight performance and planning, Aircraft general knowledge, and Navigation. That's nine papers you need to pass. Now the flying experience — this is where the numbers matter. You need at least 45 hours of flight instruction in aeroplanes. Of those 45 hours, up to 5 hours may have been completed in an FSTD — that's a Flight Simulation Training Device, so a simulator. And within those 45 hours, there are two mandatory components. First, at least 25 hours of dual flight instruction — that's flying with an instructor on board. Second, at least 10 hours of supervised solo flight time — flying alone, but under supervision. And within that solo time, at least 5 hours must be solo cross-country flight time. Cross-country means navigating from one place to another, not just local flying. And within that cross-country time, you need at least 1 cross-country flight of at least 270 km, which is 150 NM — nautical miles. During that one long flight, you must make full stop landings — meaning you actually bring the aircraft to a complete stop — at 2 aerodromes different from the aerodrome of departure. So you take off from your home field, and you must land fully at two other airfields before you're done. Finally, there's the up-grade path. If you already hold an LAPL(A) — the Light Aircraft Pilot Licence — you can up-grade to a full PPL(A). But you need at least 15 hours of flight time on aeroplanes after the issue of the LAPL(A). Of those 15 hours, at least 10 hours must be completed in a training course at an ATO — an Approved Training Organisation. And that training course itself must include at least 4 hours of supervised solo time, including at least 2 hours of solo cross-country flight time. And again, within that, at least 1 cross-country flight of at least 270 km (150 NM), with full stop landings at 2 aerodromes different from the aerodrome of departure. So the pattern repeats — the cross-country requirement is the same standard whether you're doing the full 45-hour course or the up-grade. That's the PPL(A) in a nutshell: age, privileges, the nine theory papers, the 45-hour experience build, and the up-grade route from the LAPL(A).