From zero flight experience to job-ready commercial pilot

The Professional Commercial Pilot Program is designed to take students with no previous flight experience all the way through the three qualifications a pilot needs for a first job in commercial aviation:

1. Private Pilot License (PPL)
2. Commercial Pilot License (CPL) – including the Night Rating and VFR-Over-The-Top (OTT)
3. Multi-Engine IFR Rating (Group 1 Instrument) – which includes the Multi-Engine Rating

No previous flight experience is required. Almost all of our students started with zero flight experience.

The biggest advantage of the Professional Commercial Pilot Program is that the hours you fly for your Multi-IFR Rating count towards the 200 hours of total flight time required for the CPL.

When the licences are earned separately, most students first fly extra “time building” hours to reach 200 hours for the CPL, and only then start the Multi-IFR Rating – flying another 25+ hours that no longer count toward anything. In the Professional Pilot Program, your Multi-IFR training is completed as part of the path to 200 hours, so you save both time and money by not having to fly extra hours for the Multi-IFR Rating after completing your CPL.

✅ Zero to job-ready: PPL, CPL, Night, VFR-OTT, Multi-Engine and Group 1 IFR in one program
✅ Multi-IFR hours count toward the 200-hour CPL requirement
✅ Pay-as-you-go – no upfront payment needed
✅ In-house Flight Test Examiners (DFTE) for PPL, CPL and Multi-IFR Rating
✅ Large fleet of 24 training aircraft plus ALSIM 250 and Redbird FMX simulators
✅ Standardized Digital Flight Training Syllabus to keep you on track
✅ Eligible for Canada Student Grants and Loans

• Basic aircraft handling, airwork, circuits, advanced procedures and cross-country flights
• A minimum of 40 hours of ground school (Air Law, Meteorology, Navigation and General Knowledge)
• Transport Canada PPL Written Exam and Flight Test
• Trained on Cessna 152 or Cessna 172 aircraft at the student’s choice

• 35 hours of dual instruction, including cross-country, instrument and night flying
• 30 hours of solo flight, including night solo and a 300 nm straight-line cross-country with landings at 3 other airports
• Night Rating and VFR-Over-The-Top included
• A minimum of 80 hours of ground school
• Transport Canada CPL Written Exam and Flight Test

• Simulator training to flight-test standard in our ALSIM 250 twin-engine simulator
• Aircraft training on our Diamond DA-42 Twin Star or Piper PA-44 Seminole
• Multi-Engine Rating included
• Training follows Pro’s IFR Course Manual – the “Pro IFR System” that has produced over 6,000 Instrument Ratings since 1986
• Transport Canada IFR Written Exam and Flight Test

The CPL requires a minimum of 200 hours total flight time and 100 hours Pilot-in-Command time. Because your Multi-IFR aircraft hours count toward this total, the remaining time building required is significantly reduced.

Taking the CPL and Multi-IFR Rating separately would require up to 70 hours of time building after the CPL course. In the Professional Pilot Program, your Multi-IFR hours replace about 25 of those hours – a saving of approximately $5,625 (C152) or $5,825 (C172), plus the weeks it would take to fly them.

• No previous flight experience required
• Secondary (high) school graduation certificate or equivalent diploma
• 17 years of age to obtain the PPL; 18 years of age to obtain the CPL
• Category 1 Medical, obtained from a Civil Aviation Medical Examiner
• English Language Requirements for international students whose first language is not English:
  • Transport Canada Aviation-Language Proficiency Test: Level 4 Operational, or
  • IELTS: Band score of at least 6.0 in both Listening and Speaking, or
  • ICAO English: Level 4, or
  • CLB: 7, or
  • TOEFL: iBT score of 80 or higher
  • Academic transcript from an institution where the language of instruction is English

Training is at the student’s pace and convenience:

• Full time: 12 to 15 months
• Part time: 18 to 24 months

Flight training isn’t like a traditional school program with a fixed timeline. How quickly you progress depends on how often you fly, weather conditions, aircraft availability and, most importantly, your ability to learn and apply new skills. The goal isn’t to rush but to build safe, confident proficiency.

No, there is no need to prepay full program cost up front. Instead, you will pay as you go and be charged by “flight time”. This is the time from engine start to engine stop. The hobbs meter in the aircraft keeps track of this time in .1 hour intervals (6-minute intervals). “Do I Need To Pay Full Program Cost Up Front” article explains why paying full program cost up front may not be a good idea.

The table below shows cost estimates for completing the Professional Commercial Pilot Program with Professional Flight Centre. Each phase is based on the cost estimate published on its own program page.

NOTE:

• The above estimate is based on Transport Canada minimums, any additional training required to meet standards will be billed at the applicable rate.
• These prices do not include applicable taxes & fuel surcharges. Fuel surcharges are an extra fee charged by fuel companies to cover the fluctuating cost of fuel. Please contact us for latest fuel surcharges.
• No taxes are collected for dual training on Commercial License, Instructor Rating and IFR rating.
• All prices are in Canadian Dollars ($CAD). For conversion rates to your local currency click here.
• Prices subject to change.

Ready to begin? Submit our Online Application and our admission office will guide you through the rest of the admission process. Have more questions? Feel free to contact us or call +1 604 952 4635.