Commercial certificate at 190 or 250 hours?

Question

I have my private pilot certificate and I am planning to attend a college/141 flight school this summer. I plan to get my instrument through CFII. My questions is...I have already 155 hour of TT. When I am done with my instrument, I will be at about 190 hours. Will I be able to get my commercial with the 190 requirement or will I have to build time to get the 250 to satisfy the part 61 requirement? I ask this because I heard that you need 120 hours of 141 training in order to be eligible for the 190 hour commercial certificate. I will only have about 35 hours. Thanks.

Answer 1

You answered your own question. The 141 program is beneficial if you are just starting out, because it is more closely monitored than part 61 (lesson plans followed to the letter, check rides between stages, various tests and whatnot) Going in with very little time, this works out, and when you get up to 190-200 hours, the feds believe that you are ready to go. At this point, you don't really have any choice but to go part 61.