What are the different type of Pilot licenses?

Question

Please give a small explanation to each

Answer 1

Louis: Only students, sport pilots, and recreational pilots must have visual contact with the ground. Private pilots can fly above, but not through, a cloud layer. That doesn't mean it's a good idea, but it's legal. (I'm not the one that gave you the thumbs down though. You answer was great.)

Answer 2

Student Pilot License:  

If you can pass a medical, you can get this license.  It allows you to fly alone, for purposes of flight training, after you receive an endorsement from a flight instructor.

Recreational Pilot License:

A license which has fewer requirement in order to get (therefore it is cheaper) but has fewer privileges than a Private Pilot License.  Some of the limitations are:  You may only carry one passenger with you, you may not fly at night, and you can only fly very small airplanes.

Private Pilot License:

This license gives you unrestricted (well, you still have to follow the FAR's!) flying privileges, with the exception that you can not make money for flying.

Commercial Pilot License:

Same as a Private, but now you can make money for flying.  Note that there are only a few things that you can do on your own however, and most of the time you have to be working for an FAA approved operator in order to charge money for flying.

Airline Transport Pilot (ATP)

A higher level of license than the Commercial, which is required to be the captain of a commercial aircraft which is carrying passengers.

Each of the licenses are category specific, meaning that you can be an ATP for multi-engine airplanes, but only have Private pilot privileges for single engine airplanes (like me!).

There are a lot of ratings in addition to the licenses.  There is your instrument rating which allows you to fly when you can't see the ground, your multi-engine rating which allows you to fly airplanes with more than one engine, and lots of type ratings which allow you to fly specific types of airplanes which require specific training.

Answer 3

There is only ONE pilot certificate in the US. Not counting student, recreational, or sport pilot, you start with the private pilot certificate and all the other things mentioned are ratings added to the same certificate.

The student pilot certificate is your medical card.

See FAR Part 61 for the details and limitations of each rating.

Answer 4

Until I saw the brilliant answers given below, all I had to say was:

* PPL = Private Pilot License

* CPL = Commercial Pilot License

* ATPL = Airline Transport Pilot License

I'll leave you to evaluate all our answers/pick the best. I hope we all helped out in some way. Cheers.

Answer 5

Pilot licensing goes by category, class, and type.  You can have single or multi-engine, land, or sea in the case of powered aircraft, and also have complex aircraft or specific type ratings.  You can have free balloon ratings for hot air or helium.  You can have rotorcraft ratings for helicopter or autogyro.  You can have ground or flight instructor ratings.  You start with a Private rating, add Instrument to it, then go for Commercial, and finally Air Transport Pilot.  For all the gory details, go to a fixed base operator and get yourself a copy of