Pilots

Learn how to become a sport pilot, where you can enjoy recreational flying for you and a friend and with no medical certificate required.

Learn about being a pilot. What does a pilot do, how much does one earn, what is the job outlook for this field and what are the educational requirements?

Discover aeronautical knowledge used by pilots.

Decide what you want to fly. FAA's rules for getting a pilot's license (certificate) differ depending on the type of aircraft you fly. You can choose among airplanes, gyroplanes, helicopters, gliders, balloons, or airships. If you are interested in flying ultralight vehicles, you don't need a pilot's license.

Experienced pilots and flight instructors respond to more than 200,000 member questions and thousands of e-mails and letters each year.

A community of airline professionals, with forums, pilots, air traffic controllers and mechanics here to help you.

The decision to become a pilot is an easy one for most. But the process can be confusing. What will you need to do before you can begin flying?

See statistics on the number of FAA-certificated pilots, broken down by year and type of pilot certificate. Data goes back to 1929.

Pilot topics and services, including training, certification, testing, forms, and regulations.

An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who actively and directly operates the directional flight controls of an aircraft while it is in flight. While other members of a flight crew such as flight engineer, navigator, or any other person involved in the direct flight operations of an aircraft (whether it be a fixed wing airplane, rotary-wing, powered, or unpowered), are also considered "aviators", they are not pilots and do not command a flight or aircraft.