How to get a license for an airplane in Russia. What is needed for this and how much it costs

I think many people wanted to fly on a plane in the cockpit, and not just sit next to it while the pilot was in place at the controls.

The good news is that it is possible. Almost anyone can get a pilot’s license.

There are many subtleties in this matter, we will talk about them now.

Briefly

• What kind of license can I get?
  Where to go to study
  How does the training proceed?
  How much does it cost
  What planes can you fly on?
  Airplane licenses are issued for life.

What kind of license can I get?

define several categories of pilots:

▪️ Private Pilot License (PPL). It can be assumed that non-commercial flights on light aircraft. Training lasts 2-3 months.

▪️ Commercial Pilot (Commercial Pilot License, CPL) may be due to paid flights, cargo transportation. Training lasts 2-3 years.

▪️ Airline Transport Pilot (ATPL). A civil aviation license that allows pilots to fly Boeing, Airbus and other large passenger aircraft. Training takes 5 years.

This article will focus on the private light aircraft license because it is the easiest license to obtain. It also allows you to carry passengers without charging a fee.

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Where to go to study

You can get a private pilot’s license in Russia by completing training at one of the summer schools. There are about 10 of them in Russia, most of them are located in the Moscow region.

There was no definitive list. The official list has not been updated since 2018, and unofficial data is rarely kept up to date.

The easiest way to find a school is to search in Google or Yandex. The second way is to ask for advice at the flying club in your city, if there is one, of course.

Regardless of which school you go to, you will need a diploma of higher or secondary vocational education (specialty/qualification does not matter). Pilot training in Russia is an additional education, so if you have only completed 11 grades, then the path to aviation is closed for you for now.

VLEK

To complete training and obtain a pilot’s certificate, you must pass the medical-summer expert commission (MSEC) in the 2nd class, 3rd column.

List of VLEK on the Rosaviatsia website

For VLEK testing you will need:

▪️ Passport

▪️ An extract from the outpatient card in the presence or absence of chronic diseases for 3-5 years (issued by a therapist from the clinic at the temporary place of residence)

▪️ Conclusion of the psychiatric examination of the temporary residence commission.

▪️ Conclusion of drug examination at the place of residence.

▪️ SNILS

▪️Meet the requirements

▪️ Military ID or certificate of a citizen subject to conscription for military service (not required in all VLEKs)

Regarding the military ID. If you do not have category A, the VLEK will request an extract from the military registration and enlistment office indicating the article and diagnosis due to which a different category was assigned.

The problem was that there is a disease that can make a person unfit for both service and flying. And there are those that prohibit service, but not flying.

Therefore, in order to save time, it is recommended to choose a VLEK that does not require a military ID.

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How does the training proceed?

Getting a pilot’s license is like learning to drive. You’ll have to take a theory course and practice.

Theoretical training takes from 140 to 224 academic hours, and summer training takes 35-40 hours.

Summer schools cover air flow, aviation law, general aircraft knowledge, flight characteristics, aircraft planning and loading, human capabilities and limitations, aviation meteorology, navigation, flight rules, flight fundamentals, radiotelephony and emergency rescue training.

If you additionally pass aviation English and get your ICAO pilot mark level 4, you can fly your own plane abroad. As a result of the epidemic, you will land at international airports and go through customs there.

To obtain a certificate you must have flown at least 35 hours. During the training, takeoff and landing skills are practiced, including at emergency airports. But in the first hours, you will fly around the school.

Certificate of a loving pilot

As with a car, there is no minimum number of hours that can be enough. Many people pay for extra hours to prepare for the test.

The exam itself lasts 5 hours, of which 2 hours are spent on testing, 1 hour on pre-flight preparation and 2 hours on the flight.

The impact can only be studied precisely. As a rule, training takes place in a group. Some schools provide individual training, which is more expensive. Distance learning is not available anywhere.

There are also no standards for training conditions. Therefore, the school often has different learning conditions.

After passing the exams, the student receives a diploma of professional retraining and a full set of documents that he needs to obtain a private pilot’s license.

These documents must then be submitted to the Federal Air Transport Agency to obtain a private pilot certificate.

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How much does it cost

Learning to fly a plane is expensive. On average, it will cost 1.1-1.3 million rubles. It all depends on the specific school.

Cost of individual training ~1.7 million rubles.

If additional flight hours are required, they are paid for separately. On average 20 thousand rubles for one hour of flight.

It is also worth postponing the procedure for passing the VLEK 10 thousand rubles.

In addition, it is worth considering living in another city for the entire duration of your studies, if you need to move. Here, too, everything is individual, so I will not provide specific prices.

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What planes can you fly on?

Cessna 172

Most often, training in Russian schools takes place on American Cessna 172 aircraft and its various modifications. This is the most widely produced aircraft in the history of aviation. To date, more than 44 thousand of them have been produced.

The pilot’s license will contain the qualification mark “single-engine aircraft, land-based”. You will only be able to fly single-engine aircraft. It is prohibited to fly twin-engine aircraft, seaplanes and helicopters.

In addition to Cessna, you can pay attention to the Italian Tecnam, Canadian Zodiac and American Piper and Cirrus. There are planes for one and two people, but there are also single-engine models for 6-8 seats.

Zodiac CH640

Prices for planes, like cars, depend on many factors. For example, a four-seat Cessna 172N from 1977 is sold on Avito for 9.9 million rubles.

Airplanes don’t age as quickly as cars, so year of manufacture is far from the most critical factor.

Some people buy planes from a warehouse. In this case, you can save a lot. For example, if you split the purchase between 2-3 people, one share will cost 2-3 million rubles. The prices are very approximate.

You can also rent a plane. But here everything is much more complicated. Few people provide such services, look for pandemics or negotiate through friends.

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Airplane licenses are issued for life.

In general, learning to fly an airplane is not the most difficult task. Of course, the consequences have learned a lot of new terms. But everything is done in such a way that anyone can get them.

The main problem is that any amateur aviation sphere in Russia is still at a very weak level. There are few flight schools, and those that exist do not always post information about their work online. The same problem is with the aircraft fleet.

But the license has no expiration date. However, you will have to renew the VLEK every 2-5 years (depending on age) and apply various skills (it is valid for 2 years). Without these documents, the pilot license is considered invalid.

But all this is small stuff compared to the possibilities that your own private jet opens up. Your journey will definitely not be the same, the road to your destination will probably be more interesting than the place itself.