The moment you register for flying school, you are a student pilot. This classification allows you to attend ground school and fly an airplane accompanied by an instructor. The type of license you are training for determines the curriculum you study and the number of hours you fly prior to licensing.
Recreational Pilot License
Recreational pilots require a minimum of 30 hours' training and must stay within 50 nautical miles of their home base. You won't be communicating with air traffic control or flying at night or by instruments, which is flying when you cannot see ahead and must depend on reading your instrument panel to determine where you are going. You can only carry one passenger, and the plane must be 180 horsepower or less and have a maximum of four seats. You cannot charge for transporting anyone. You must stay below 10,000 feet, unless you are flying over a mountain, and then you must stay within 2,000 feet of the top of the mountain.
Private Pilot License
Once you have passed all the FAA requirements and a minimum of 40 hours of training, you can earn a private pilot's certificate or license. With this, you can fly within the United States, into a foreign country with the permission of that country, carry passengers, share the expenses of the flight and fly day or night. You must stay under 18,000 feet.
Sport Pilot License
The sport pilot license is the easiest and least costly pilot's license to get. Course time is set at a minimum of 20 hours, and once in possession of a sport pilot's license, you can carry a passenger and share the expenses of the flight. You can only fly during the day and must have a minimum of three miles of visibility. You can fly anywhere in the United States but must stay under 10,000 feet. Your airspace classifications are limited, and you must pass a medical; however, sport pilots have fewer medical restrictions than private pilots.
Understanding aeronautics is the basis of ground school. What you learn sitting in a classroom is put into practice and use when you are up in the air. All class work is based on the FAA Principles of Flight. You are taught about the airplane, its flight principles and aerodynamics--what keeps the airplane in the air. Airplane safety, understanding the weather and its effects on flight, and navigation are all covered in ground school. In addition, you will learn airplane rules and regulations. You must pass an FAA exam at the end of the ground school course.
You will be flying with an FAA-certified instructor. While at the controls of the aircraft, you are taught takeoffs and landings, communications, navigation, visual flight rules (VFR), cross-country flying, weather, reading airport signs, surviving stalls and spins, emergencies and avionics. After a minimum of 40 hours training and three to 10 hours of solo flying, you can fly with an FAA examiner who will qualify you for a pilot's license.
As a student pilot, you will be carrying a medical certificate/student pilot certificate. At the point of flying solo, your instructor must sign the certificate. It must be carried with you at all times when flying. Prior to being issued a pilot's license, you must undertake a medical exam given by an FAA-approved physician, known as an aviation medical examiner. The type of license you are training for indicates the class of medical exam you need. There are three classes of medicals. A professional airline pilot needs a first-class medical certificate, which is valid for only six months. A private pilot needs a third-class medical certificate. It is valid for 36 months if you are under 40 and for 24 months if you are 40 or older. A sport pilot only needs a driver's license to testify that he is medically fit to fly an airplane.