• The FAA requires that students meet requirements prior to earning their private pilot certificate.Cessna airplane image by patrimonio designs from Fotolia.com
  
  Flying an aircraft in the United States without oversight requires a private pilot certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). To earn this certificate, student pilots must meet FAA criteria to ensure all aviators receive adequate training. Only after meeting these requirements can a student officially become a private pilot and enjoy the privileges of being in sole command of an aircraft.
  
  

General Requirements

• According to Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 61, students must be at least 16 years old to earn a private pilot certificate in a glider or balloon and at least 17 to earn a license in any other type of aircraft, including single-engine airplanes and helicopters. However, student pilots can begin training in gliders or balloons when they turn 14 and in other aircraft when they turn 16. Prospective pilots must be able to read, speak and write in English to earn their private pilot certificate without restriction.
  
  

Medical Requirements

• Aviators must pass an FAA third-class medical evaluation. Although the list of requirements to pass this physical is lengthy, passing simply requires that pilots be in good health and free of any conditions or ailments that could interfere with flying an airplane. One notable requirement is the FAA's third-class vision standard, which requires that pilots have distant and near vision that is correctable to at least 20/40.
  
  

Knowledge Requirements

• While student pilots get plenty of practice in the air, the FAA requires that applicants for a private pilot certificate complete coursework on the ground as well. Students must complete an FAA-approved ground school course or home-study program and must pass a 60-question standardized exam with a score of at least 70 percent. Topics of study range from basic aerodynamics and the principles of flight to weather and navigation.
  
  

Flight Requirements

• The primary aspect of earning a private pilot certificate involves flying an aircraft. Students must demonstrate proficiency in certain skills while flying with a certified flight instructor (CFI), including takeoffs and landings, proper navigation techniques and emergency procedures. Applicants also fly in some circumstances without an instructor. To be eligible for a private pilot certificate, applicants must log at least 40 hours of flight time, at least 10 of which must come without the accompaniment of a CFI. Students also must log at least three hours of flying time at night, complete at least one trip of 150 nautical miles with landings at three separate points and perform 10 takeoffs and landings.