How to Make the Transition from Private Pilot to Commercial Pilot

You’ve earned your Private Pilot Licence (PPL), built confidence in the cockpit, and logged some great hours. Now you’re asking: what’s next?

If you want to turn flying into a career, the next step is to get your Commercial Pilot Licence – Aeroplane (CPL-A).

At Pacific Flying Club, we help pilots make that leap every day. Here’s what you need to know to move from recreational pilot to paid professional.

What a Commercial Pilot Licence Allows You to Do

The CPL-A lets you get paid to fly. That includes:

• Charter and air taxi flights
• Flight instruction (with an instructor rating)
• Corporate and medevac flying
• Aerial survey, pipeline patrol, and sightseeing tours
• Building experience in airline jobs

You’ll fly with more responsibility, higher standards, and complex aircraft.

Step 1: Hold a Valid PPL

Before you can start CPL training, you must already have your Private Pilot Licence. If you earned it at Pacific Flying Club, you already know our training environment, instructors, and fleet.

Step 2: Hold Category 1 Medical Certificate

Commercial pilots need a Category 1 Medical Certificate issued by a Civil Aviation Medical Examiner (CAME). This is more comprehensive than the Category 3 required for the PPL. Pacific Flying Club ask that students intending to pursue a Commercial Pilot License complete the CAT 1 medical at the start of there PPL. This ensures there are no delays or issues transitioning to CPL training.

Step 3: Build Flight Time

Transport Canada requires the following minimum hours to be eligible to apply for the Commercial Pilots License.

Total time (including hours from your PPL)

• 200 hours total flight time
• 100 hours as Pilot-in-Command (PIC)
• 20 hours of cross-country as PIC

CPL flight training hours (post PPL hours)

• 35 hours dual instruction (5 hours night, 5 hours cross-country (2 hours must be night CX), 20 hours instrument)
• 30 hours solo (with at least 25 in-flight training exercises and 5 hours night). This includes a 300 nautical mile cross-country flight

Most PPL holders graduate within 50–60 hours, so you must fly consistently to meet the requirements.

At Pacific Flying Club, our flight instructors work with you to plan efficient hour-building strategies. We also have one of the largest Cessna fleets in the Lower Mainland, which keeps aircraft available when you need them.

Step 4: Complete CPL Ground School

You’ll need 80 hours of CPL ground school, which covers:

• Canadian aviation regulations
• Air law and flight operations
• Meteorology
• Navigation
• Aircraft systems and performance
• Human factors

Our in-house CPL ground school at Pacific Flying Club runs multiple times per year, and online options are also available for flexible scheduling.

Step 5: Pass the Transport Canada Written Exam (CPAER)

The CPAER exam is Transport Canada’s written test for the CPL-A. It has 100 multiple-choice questions, and you need to score at least 60% to pass.

Topics include weather analysis, flight planning, navigation, and aircraft systems. Pacific Flying Club provides practice tests, review sessions, and instructor support to help you prepare.

Step 6: Pass the CPL Flight Test

When your hours are complete, and your skills are solid, it’s time for the CPL flight test.

This includes:

• Pre-flight and flight planning
• Advanced maneuvers (steep turns, spirals, forced approaches)
• Instrument flying
• Navigation and diversions
• Emergency procedures
• Radio work and situational awareness

The test is more demanding than the PPL checkride. Precision, professionalism, and decision-making are key.

We train you to perform to commercial standards—and exceed them.

Step 7: Consider Your Career Options

Once you have your CPL-A, you can start applying for flying jobs.

Common first steps:

• Flight instructor rating – Teach others while building hours
• Charter flying – Great for experience in real-world conditions
• Aerial survey or patrol – Steady hours and exposure to commercial ops
• Bush flying – Gain experience in remote environments

At Pacific Flying Club, we hire many of our graduates as instructors and recommend others to our network of industry partners across Canada.

Step 8: Keep Flying and Stay Current

CPL is just the beginning. Most commercial aviation employers want 500–1000 hours total time or more.

Ways to stay active:

• Instructing
• Ferry flights
• Volunteering with aviation groups
• Flying cross-country with friends to new airports

The more time you spend in the air, the more opportunities open up.

Why Train at Pacific Flying Club?

We’re more than a flight school. We’re a professional pilot development centre, with:

• Experienced instructors (many are former airline and military pilots)
• A large, modern fleet of Cessna aircraft
• Approved CPL ground school programs
• Structured flight training built around Transport Canada standards
• On-site examiners for convenient flight testing
• Support from first flight to first job

We also offer career support, help with instructor ratings, and flexible scheduling for working students.

Whether you’re training full-time or part-time, we help you stay on track.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

Turning your love of flying into a career is a bold move—but with the right training, it’s within reach. Here is the link to the Training Commercial Pilot Licence.

Contact us if you’re ready to start your Commercial Pilot Licence – Aeroplane journey. We’ll walk you through everything, from medicals to hour-building to job prep.

Your next level of flying starts here.