1. The Pilot should fly at least 12 hours in the preceding 12 months prior to revalidation of which 6 hours must be PIC (Pilot in Command) within 12 months prior to revalidation.
2. The Pilot must have flown at least 1 hour with an FI (Flying Instructor) within 12 months.
3. The Pilot must have carried out 12 take-off and landings within 12 months.
4. The Pilot can choose to take a Skills Test with an Examiner instead of points 1, 2 and 3.

Furthermore, in order to carry passengers the Pilot must have completed at least 3 take-off and landings in the previous 90 days while flying solo.

Flying, like sailing and a whole host of other sports and activities, has its own language and although things may seem a little daunting at first pretty soon the aspiring pilot will be chatting with ease using many new words and phrases.

In fact, part of the enjoyment of learning to fly is becoming familiar with the language of aviation.  Being able to understand the written and spoken word of flight will increase your confidence and spur you on to greater achievements.

PPL - Private Pilot's Licence

When people speak of a Private Pilot's Licence they are usually referring to a PPL; that is to say the JAR-FCL PPL. The JAR stands for 'Joint Aviation Requirements' and the FCL stands for 'Flight Crew Licensing'. These licences are issued by CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) in cooperation with the JAA (Joint Aviation Authorities) and the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency).

A few years ago the CAA introduced the NPPL (National Pilots Licence). The syllabus requirements for this are less stringent than the JAR-FCL PPL, but then so are the privileges granted to anyone holding this type of licence.  The NPPL enables those might not be able to pass the medical requirements for the full PPL to learn to fly and keep flying when previously they might have been grounded or denied the opportunity for flight in the first place.

You may see the PPL defined variously as:

• Private Pilots Licence
• Private Pilot's Licence
• Private Pilots License

I'll leave it to the reader to decide which is grammatically correct suffice to say that the apostrophe is needed and it says 'Private Pilot's Licence' on the cover of mine!

So, right from the outset if you decide you want to learn to fly up the point where you're licensed to do so then you have to choose between the NPPL and the PPL. Elsewhere in this site we'll be listing the differences between the two and the pros and cons of each, but the full JAR-FCL PPL extends the privileges of the pilot and it's the one to aim for if you want to fly abroad for business or pleasure because it's recognised in all EU member states.

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