page_title: Private pilot licence
section_title: Categories and classes
hierarchical_section_title: Private pilot licence / Categories and classes
context_page_description: A private pilot licence or, in the United States, a private pilot certificate, is a type of pilot licence that allows the holder to act as pilot in command of an aircraft privately. The licence requirements are determined by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, but implementation varies widely from country to country. According to the ICAO, it is obtained by successfully completing a course with at least 40 hours of flight time, passing seven written exams, completing a solo cross-country flight, and successfully demonstrating flying skills to an examiner during a flight test. In the United States, pilots can be trained under Part 141 of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which allows them to apply for their certificate after as few as 35 hours. However, most pilots require 60–70 hours of flight time to complete their training. The minimum age for a student pilot certificate is 14 for balloons and gliders, and 16 for powered flight. The minimum age for a private pilot certificate is 16 for balloons and gliders, and 17 for powered flight. Pilots can begin training at any age and can solo balloons and gliders from age 14, and powered aircraft from age 16.
context_section_description: Different types of private licences are issued for the major categories of aircraft. It is possible to obtain a category rating to pilot a glider, rotorcraft, or lighter-than-air machine without ever flying a fixed-wing aircraft.  Some category/class ratings may include limitations placed on the certificate. For example, a lighter-than-air pilot with a balloon class-rating will have the limitation "limited to hot air balloons with airborne heater" or "limited to gas balloons" unless he has logged the appropriate flight training in the other type of balloon and received a log book endorsement which can then be inspected by the national aviation authority when required.   Similarly, a pilot trained in multi-engine aircraft with tandem engines, such as the Cessna Skymaster, will receive a multi-engine land class rating with a "Centerline thrust only" endorsement.  This limitation will be removed upon meeting the standards for piloting an aircraft with engines on each wing. Other limitations may occasionally be issued, however these are not commonly encountered. 
  The structure of aircraft categories and further subdivision into classes are as follows:
  Airplane
  Single-engine land
  Single-engine sea
  Multi-engine land
  Multi-engine sea
  Rotorcraft
  Helicopter
  Gyroplane
  Glider
  Lighter-than-air
  Airship
  Balloon
  Powered-lift
  Powered parachute
  Powered parachute land
  Powered parachute sea
  Weight-shift-control
  Weight-shift-control land
  Weight-shift-control sea
caption: The Cessna 172RG is an example of an aircraft that would require the pilot-in-command to have private pilot licence or greater, with an airplane single-engine land (ASEL) class rating and a complex endorsement in the United States
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