Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

3 Answers

Is a multi-rated private pilot required to do complex part of commercial checkride?

Asked by: 3900 views , , , ,
Commercial Pilot

All,

I am a 600-hour private pilot (IFR, multi, and glider) looking to get a commercial when I get home from a one-year Army Reserve tour in Germany (I've made more than 100 glider flights since I got here; aerobatics have been a blast!).

I recall reading that multi-engine rating replaces the complex part of the commercial check ride. Makes sense. True?

I have ~200 hours in Arrows, so flying one is no problem. I won't be working for several months after I get home, so managing cash flow will be important.

Terry

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

3 Answers



  1. Bill Trussell on Apr 12, 2012

    Not true, unfortunately.
    According to the “aircraft to be provided” section of the PTS for the commercial Pilot certificate :
    ”
    4. be a complex airplane furnished by the applicant, unless

    the applicant currently holds a commercial pilot certificate
    with a single-engine or multiengine class rating as
    appropriate, for the performance of takeoffs, landings, and
    appropriate emergency procedures. A complex landplane is
    one having retractable landing gear, flaps, and controllable
     

    propeller or turbine-powered. A complex seaplane is one
    having flaps and controllable propeller.”
    Please note that I am quoting the new version of the PTS for the Commercial Pilot Certificate slated to go into effect June 1, 2012.
    It can be found at http://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/airmen/test_standards/pilot/media/FAA-S-8081-12C.pdf page 9.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Curtis Ide on Apr 12, 2012

    Add-on to Bill’s – If you get your commercial multi-engine first and then your single engine then your assumption would be correct and this is probably what you had seen referenced in the past.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  3. Kris Kortokrax on Apr 13, 2012

    As you can see from the text in Bill’s post, the complex airplane need only be used for the takeoffs, landings and emergency procedures.  Since cash flow is going to be a problem, you can practice all the other maneuvers in a cheaper airplane and use it on the checkride to perform those maneuvers.  Get a complex to train takeoffs, landings and emergencies and use that plane for those portions of the practical test.  The process may be a bit more “complex”, but you’ll save some cash.

    +4 Votes Thumb up 5 Votes Thumb down 1 Votes


Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.