Six steps, roughly in this order. Do them out of order and you can spend a lot of money before you find out something that a $300 medical would have told you in week one.
01. Trial flight!
Trial flight · one hour · before you commit to anything
Almost every aero club and flight school in the country sells a trial flight where you get the controls for most of the hour. Do this first. Some people find out in twenty minutes that they love it. A few find out that they get airsick in light turbulence, which is far better to learn on someone else’s aeroplane for $250 than four lessons deep.
02. Get your medical certificate
Class 2 · CAA-approved medical examiner · do it early
The rule: to hold a private pilot licence you must hold at least a current class 2 medical certificate issued under the Act. You need it before you fly solo, not just before the licence is issued.
You book this with a Medical Examiner approved by the CAA, not with your usual GP unless they happen to be one. Do not leave it until you have twenty hours in your logbook. It is the most common expensive mistake in the whole list.
03. Choose the school, then the instructor
You are about to spend fifty-odd hours in a small cabin with one person. Personality fit matters more than the paint on the aeroplane. Ask to fly with the instructor you would actually be assigned.
Questions worth asking before you sign anything:
- What is the all-up cost to licence, including exams, landing fees, membership, textbooks, the medical and the flight test? Not the hourly rate.
- How many aircraft, and what happens to my booking when one goes unserviceable?
- How do you run the six theory subjects: ground course, self-study, or an online provider?
- What is the realistic wait for a flight test at this field?
04. Pass the six written exams
Aspeq · multiple choice · 70% to pass each one
The six subjects: Air Law, Meteorology, Navigation, Human Factors, Aircraft Technical Knowledge, and Flight Radio Telephony. They are sat separately, in any order you like, and the pass mark is 70% in each.
| Subject | Roughly what is in it |
|---|---|
| Air Law | The Civil Aviation Rules that apply to you, airspace classes, documents, rules of the air, and who has right of way |
| Meteorology | New Zealand weather, fronts, cloud, wind, icing, and reading the forecasts you will brief from |
| Navigation | Map work, the flight computer, headings, times, fuel, and planning a cross-country that works |
| Human Factors | What your body and brain do to you: hypoxia, disorientation, fatigue, pressure, and how accidents actually happen |
| Aircraft Technical Knowledge | Engines, systems, instruments, airframe, weight and balance, and performance |
| Flight Radio Telephony | Phraseology and procedures, including distress and urgency calls |
05. Fly the hours
Minimum 50 hours · dual, solo, cross-country and instrument time
The rule (Part 61.153): you must be at least 17, hold at least a current class 2 medical certificate, and have a minimum of 50 hours of flight time as a pilot in the appropriate category, made up of solo, dual, instrument and cross-country time acceptable to the Director. If you do not intend to exercise your privileges on cross-country flights, the minimum drops to 40 hours.
Fifty is a minimum, not a target. Most people licence somewhere north of it, and there is nothing wrong with that. Weather in this country does not care about your budget.
06. Flight test, then apply
A flight examiner takes you up and asks you to demonstrate the syllabus: a planned cross-country, general handling, circuits, forced landings, and a ground quiz on the aeroplane and the rules.
Then the application goes to the CAA with your exam results, your logbook, your medical and a fit and proper person assessment, and the licence comes back with your name on it.
Check it against the source
Everything above is a plain-English summary written to help you plan, and rules change. The Civil Aviation Rules Part 61 and the AIP New Zealand are the authority, and your instructor is the person who knows how they apply to you and your field.