Eligibility And Requirements

Age SPL (Student pilot license) – 16 Years and 10th (earliest you can enrol for the course)
PPL (Private pilot license) – 17 Years
CPL (Commercial pilot license) – 18 Years
Education 10+2 with Physics and Math (Preferably with English) from CBSE or equivalent qualification from the board recognized by CBSE, State Govt. Education Board
In case of technical education like Diploma, it should be recognized either by AICTE or by the respective Directorate of Technical Education of State Govt
If any other qualification, stream or low percentage marks, candidates can apply for either subject from NIOS (National institute of open schooling)
Language Training and Airline Environment language is English; therefore, a good command of spoken and written English is important. Candidates also needs to undertake ICAO English level Proficiency test during their training for issue of CPL.
Documents Indian passport or OCI
Police clearance
Medical There is a huge misconception that pilot training requires perfect medical condition. It is true in case of Air force and other defense aviation but commercial aviation requirements are much relaxed. Read about the medical requirements.
Height 158 cms and above (preferred)
Eyesight 6/6 with corrective spectacles
Skills Teamwork, communication, interpersonal, management, multitasking, adaptability, professionalism, mental and physical fitness

Candidate Registration

Once all the requirements are met, candidates need to register with DGCA. There are 3 different registration required which gives access to specific facilities

1

PMR NUMBER

  • Stands for “previous medical record”
  • Issued by after Class 2 medical report is
  • submitted.
  • It is a unique file number for each candidate that maintains for its documentation.
  • All future communication will be based
    • on this reference.

2

COMPUTER NUMBER

  • It is a permanent unique number issued to each candidate by the Central examination organization (CEO), DGCA.
  • It is required for appearing in the examinations conducted by DGCA.
  • It’s not required for appearing in the examinations of SPL, GPL, FRTOL-R.
  • Min age 16 years.

3

eGCA

  • Applicant must be registered on eGCA portal and should have a unique eGCA ID.
  • This portal maintains all the Licenses, Ratings, and Flying hours records.
  • All the Licensing issuance and Renewal requests are made from here.

Ground Training


Ground training comprises of following subjects

  • Air Regulations
  • Aviation Meteorology
  • Air Navigation
  • Radio aids
  • Technical general (Principles of Flight)
  • Technical specific (specific aircraft type knowledge)
  • Radio telephony
  • Aircraft General Knowledge
  • Aviation charts (Jeppesen layout and interpretation)
  • Flight Performance & Planning
  • Human Performance & Limitations

Most of the candidates prefer to study the ground training subjects prior to starting the flying training. This way you can appear and pass all the DGCA theory exams beforehand and focus 100% of your time towards flying training when at school.

DGCA conducts CPL exams for the following subjects.

  • Air Regulation,
  • Air navigation,
  • Aviation meteorology,
  • Technical general,
  • Technical specific

Exams are conducted quarterly in the following cities:

  • Ahmedabad
  • Bangalore
  • Bhopal
  • Bhubaneshwar
  • Chandigarh
  • Chennai
  • Delhi
  • Guwahati
  • Hyderabad
  • Kochi
  • Kolkata
  • Lucknow
  • Mumbai
  • Patna
  • Pune

Passing marks is 70%

DGCA Exams


RTR Exam

Examination is conducted every 2 months by Wireless Planning Wing (WPC), Ministry of Communications. Exams are conducted in the following cities

  • New Delhi – February
  • Mumbai – April
  • Chennai - June
  • New Delhi - August
  • Hyderabad - October
  • Kolkata – December

Exam consists of 2 sections: Part 1(Transmission) and Part 2 (oral viva).
Both consists of 100 Marks each and the passing is 50%
Candidate needs to pass Part 1 to be eligible for Part 2.
There is no eligibility for the exams. Forms can be found online at www.wpc.dot.gov.in under
COP examinations. Application forms can be sent online or physically. You can apply for both
Part 1 and Part 2 together or Part 1 only. Admit cards can be downloaded from their website
and results are also published online.
Note - DGCA issues FRTOL(A) based on this license.

Flying Training

There are about 50 Government and Privately-run Flight schools in India. Though most of them meet the minimum criteria but in order to have a smooth and efficient training experience, factors mentioned below needs to be considered.

  • School infrastructure
  • Airport facility
  • Number of Aircrafts
  • Type of aircrafts
  • Maintenance facility
  • Number of Instructors
  • Type of instructors
  • Weather conditions

Flight Schools

Check Flight Schools section for a comprehensive and updated database of all flight schools in India.

DGCA Requirements (CPL with IR and ME)

Within 5 years from license application

  • Total flying 200 hours
  • As PIC 100 hours
  • PIC crosscountry 20 hours (50 hours for Instrument Rating)
  • Night 5 hours as PIC
  • Instrument time 40 hours (actual aircraft 20 hours or more + sim 20 hours or less)
  • One 300NM crosscountry with 2 full stop landings
  • Multi engine 10 hours training for which endorsement is requested (including test/ check),

Within 6 months of license application

  • PIC – 15 hours
  • PIC by Night - 5 hour (with atleast 10 take off & 10 landings)
  • Instrument time on actual aircraft – 5 hours
  • General flying test by day with three solo take off and landings each
  • General flying test Night with three solo take off and landings each
  • IR test report with two approaches on aircraft for which endorsement on license is requested.
  • 250 NM cross-country test by day with one full stop landing at other aerodrome
  • 120 NM X-country test by night (returning to point of dep. without landing)
  • signal reception test report ( eight word per minute)

Ratings


Night Rating

  • 5 hours as PIC
  • Certificate of 10 take offs and landings each.

Instrument Rating

  • 40 hours Instrument time total (actual on aircraft 20 or more + simulated 20 or less)
  • 5 hours instrument time on actual aircraft in preceding six months (for IR issue)

Multi Engine Rating

  • Record of ground training and pass result of technical exam
  • Statement indicating at least 10 hrs of training on multi engine aircraft for which endorsement is requested(including test/ check)

Skill Test

After successful completion of flying training and DGCA exams, the authorized examiner will conduct skill test to measure your competency. Once satisfactory, you can proceed with your application to DGCA for license issue.

  • General flying test by day with three solo take off and landings each.
  • General flying test Night with three solo take off and landings each.
  • IR test report with two approaches on aircraft for which endorsement on license is requested.
  • 250NM X-country flight test by Day.
  • 120NM, X-country test by Night.
  • Multi engine test General flying test by day and night.

Licensing

Logbook Requirements

  • A. At least last 5 years of entries.
  • B. The entries of the skill tests/ X- country tests/ IR tests shall be duly certified by the examiner.
  • C. All pages self-attested.
  • GD. Entries
    • Dates
    • Aircraft type(single/Multi) and registration
    • Crew status (PIC, Co-pilot etc.)
    • Total time
    • Sectors
    • Departure-arrival times
    • Day & Nights
    • X-country flights
    • X-country tests with no. of landings
    • Skill tests (Day / night / IR with no. of landings)
    • Instrument time(actual, simulated in aircraft),
    • Simulator flying (separately logged).

Update e-Log book and get it e-validated by flight school for flying hours and skill tests.

General Requirements

  • Pass DGCA exams of Air Regulation, Air navigation, Aviation meteorology, Technical general and Technical specific for all aircrafts within preceding 5 years from the date of application.
  • Class I Medical assessment
  • RTR(A) from Ministry of Communication.
  • At least Level 4 ELP test report.
  • Verification certificates from respective school Boards examination for 10th and 12th with original certificates
  • Flying experience on CA39 form (last 5 years)
  • Flying experience on CA39 form (last 6 months)
  • Signal reception test certificate

Statements

  • Statement of PIC X-country duly certified
  • Statement of Instrument Time on aircraft duly certified
  • Statement of Instrument Time on simulator (Synthetic) duly certified
  • Statement of 300 NM PIC X-country with name of two full stop landings at different aerodromes duly certified
  • Statement of 5 hrs PIC and 10 Take Off- Landings by night (in preceding 6 months) duly certified
  • Statement of at least 15 Hours PIC (in preceding 6 months) duly certified Accident/Incident certificate, if any

Submission Of Documents for CPL Issuance On eGCA Portal

Visit the eGCA portal and login using EGCA ID and password.

Select the issuance of CPL service.

Validate the details populated in the form, flying hours currency tab and fills remaining details.

Submit the form and system will redirect to Bharatkosh portal for fees payment.

The generated payment receipt is visible to the user on the portal post payment and through Track Status option, applicant can track the application status on the Portal.

The application is then sent to director of licensing for processing

  • The whole process takes about 7 days
  • If satisfactory - License issued/ dispatched by speed post & number displayed on DGCA’s website