The pilot profession is increasing its relevance. The world has become wider, globalization requires contacts with people from all over the planet. And issues cannot always be resolved via video conference. People who help dreamers travel and careerists solve business problems are pilots. How to become to an ordinary person pilot civil aviation Where to learn it and where to go to work will be discussed further.

Selection criteria

For ordinary people, the profession of a pilot seems incredibly difficult and requires lengthy training. This is partly true, but it is also possible for a graduate to become a pilot after 9th grade, because flying an airplane is nothing more than “operating a technical device,” which means higher education It is not necessary to master this profession. For those who want to dedicate their life to flying, there are two training options - a flight school or a private pilot school.

The future pilot must have not only high-quality theoretical training, but also excellent physical health. Considering the high competition for flight schools and universities, the VLK (medical flight commission) is among many applicants with equally high scores admission gives preference to those applicants whose health and physical fitness indicators are higher than those of other competitors.

The future pilot must have ideal indicators of the following body systems:

  • cardiovascular;
  • nervous (in particular, the vestibular apparatus);
  • respiratory (breathing);
  • auditory;
  • visual.

In addition to the above, the applicant undergoes specialized psychological tests to identify potentially mentally unstable applicants for the position of pilot. This is important because the pilot experiences overload on every flight. Only a strong body is able to withstand them regularly and have a quick enough reaction to successfully get out of difficult situations.

All applicants pass physical fitness standards (running, jumping, pull-ups, push-ups, etc.). The standards vary depending on the age and gender of the candidate for the position. If admitted, the future pilot will go through similar tests more than once - the state of health is tested regularly, and if it worsens, the student may even be expelled.

Such high health requirements are due to changes in the body that occur to a person during flight - a person with a weak heart or lungs simply cannot withstand such frequent changes in altitude.

Can a woman become a pilot and what is needed for this?

The profession of a pilot not only sounds romantic, but also extremely prestigious. The opportunity to study at the expense of budget funds and subsequently receive a high salary for your favorite and interesting work seduces not only boys, but also girls. There is a stereotype that girls cannot become pilots. Not at all! Nowadays this is quite feasible.

How can a girl become a pilot? Girls on general principles Together with young people, they enter secondary educational institutions, where they train civil aviation pilots. A woman can pass entrance exams and undergo a medical examination. If she fits the physical parameters and has enough theoretical knowledge, then she will be enrolled in the study.

Of course, everything is so simple only in words. The world still struggles with the prejudice that “the pilot is male profession" Now only 5% of all pilots are women. They have to prove every day that they have the right to this profession on an equal basis with men and often do even better.

On the way to obtaining this profession, you will have to face injustice and conservatism more than once: in the admissions committee, from teachers, from employers, etc. But if the dream of becoming a pilot is strong, and the girl has all the abilities for this, it is worth trying and mastering this profession.

Which educational institutions train professional pilots?

Pilots are divided into several types. There are civil aviation pilots, military pilots, and helicopter pilots. You can study to become a pilot at a university (after 11th grade or a secondary school) and a secondary educational institution (after 9th or 11th grade).

You can become a passenger aircraft pilot at the following educational institutions:

  • University of Civil Aviation in St. Petersburg;
  • Higher Aviation School of Civil Aviation in Ulyanovsk;

You can become a helicopter pilot at the following educational institution:

  • Syzran Military Flight School (SVAAUL or SVAI).

You can learn to fly a fighter jet and other military aircraft in one place:

  • Kachin Higher Military Aviation School (KVVAUL).

Thus, in Russia there are quite wide opportunities for teaching flying in different regions.

How is the training going?

The training of future pilots takes place both theoretically and practically. Before making his first flight, the future pilot must master the following areas of training:

  • Study of aircraft operation methods;
  • Aircraft control theory;
  • Mapping and routing;
  • Aerodynamics;
  • Meteorology;
  • Engine design;
  • First aid skills;
  • Studying foreign languages ​​and other disciplines.

Practice in modern educational institutions takes place mainly with the help of virtual simulators. However, at the end of the training, the graduate will have to both jump with a parachute and pilot a real air transport.

What awaits graduates in Russia?

Becoming a pilot on paper after receiving a diploma is only half the battle in obtaining your dream profession. In practice, in Russia there are some difficulties with the employment of pilots. Despite the fact that there is a constant shortage of pilots, it is possible to become an active civil pilot only if the graduate has excellent training results, recommendations from a university and already has flying experience. Hour requirements vary for each airline depending on their policies.

Of course, not everyone has a personal airfield with planes to practice on to achieve cherished dream. The surest way for a graduate is to make the most of the practical base of his educational institution in order to be more competitive in the market after receiving a diploma.

Fortunately, regional air carriers, experiencing a shortage of personnel, often visit students from educational institutions to invite them to work after receiving their diploma. Working in such small companies can be the first step towards a graduate's flying career.

How to get a job as a pilot at a major airline?

Becoming a pilot for a major airline takes a lot of effort. Large airlines, like Aeroflot, are primarily interested in the practical skills of a potential employee. In order to fly the required number of hours, you will first have to work for small airlines based in the regions.

In addition, to become an active Aeroflot pilot, you must have excellent recommendations and high degree possessions foreign languages. This will open up the prospect of working on international flights for the young pilot.

What does it take to become a private pilot?

Speaking about amateur pilots, we mean the ability to fly an aircraft without subsequent employment in an air transportation company. You can become an amateur pilot on special practical courses- they are organized on the basis of flight training institutions. You can get information about similar courses in the region through DOSAAF or the flying club.

Courses include several hours theoretical training, and then - training flights with an instructor. If the courses are held on the basis of a school, then the organization provides the student with a plane and a landing pad. If this is a private school, then you will have to rent a plane or fly your own. Upon completion of training, a certificate and flight license are issued.

Of course, it is not possible to become a military aviation pilot through short-term courses. This is not taught in schools either - a military pilot requires training at a higher educational institution.

Pros and cons of the profession

Many people dream of becoming a pilot. This is not surprising: being a pilot is prestigious, romantic, interesting and profitable - large Russian air carriers promise the captain a salary of 400,000 rubles per month. The sky beckons young men and women, and the prospects for earning money only strengthen young people’s desire to choose this profession.

However, being a pilot also has its drawbacks. First of all, it is high risk. The point is not even that the plane may crash due to pilot error or a technical problem. The pilot’s body itself may not be able to withstand it, since flight is always associated with overloads.

The profession of a pilot requires high stress resistance. Unforeseen situations, difficult weather conditions, drunk and violent passengers. This requires considerable endurance from the pilot, because at the same time he needs to maintain high concentration on the process of flying the aircraft.

In addition, pilots rarely see their family. When the profession involves frequent flights, family life fades into the background. On the other hand, airlines pay pilots and their family members for accommodation and flights if they need to change their place of residence. And pilots have 70 days of vacation a year. True, you can’t go completely wild on vacation - you need to take care of your health and stay in physical shape.

The professional life of pilots is short-lived. People retire from this profession early, and pilots are hired exclusively under 30 years of age. So those who are beckoned by the sky need to hurry up to fulfill their dream.

At the beginning of the flight school course there were two stages. At the first stage, training took place at the Ulyanovsk Higher Aviation School in the specialty “Flight Operation of Aircraft.” We studied there for 1.5 years. In the second stage, training took place at the Aeroflot school itself on a contract basis for 6 months. If studying at the school was supposed to be free, then at school you had to pay for training, for this the company issued a targeted loan in the amount of the cost of studying. The contract with the student stipulated that after graduating from flight school he would work at Aeroflot for 5 years, and money would be deducted from his salary to repay the loan. But this program is not possible, since the airline failed to resolve the issue of budget funding from the state to pay for training at the first stage.

The average salary of a co-pilot at Aeroflot is 250,000 rubles. Therefore, paying off a targeted loan allocated for studying at a flight school will not be difficult.
In 2013, flight training at Aeroflot consisted of two parts. Initial training took place at an accredited flight center in Florida, USA and took approximately 4.5 months. The course cost $55 thousand, and this does not include the cost of flights, visas and meals. After training, students passed two exams - in flight training and in the theoretical program. Student after successful completion exams received an American standard pilot's license. Training in the second part took place directly on the basis of the Aeroflot flight school. Here they taught the basics of piloting a specific A320 aircraft. The training took 6-7 months and cost about $30 thousand.

Admission to Aeroflot flight school

Even if you are a person who has completed training in your specialty a long time ago, but really wants to become a pilot, nothing is lost. The main thing is to decide: you just want to learn how to manage aircraft or become a full-fledged pilot of a passenger or cargo aircraft. Let's look at the stages of both options and choose the best path for pilot development.

How to become a pilot - private pilot schools

Ideal for those people who do not want to work in their specialty, but only want to learn how to fly an airplane. Such programs are designed for people of all ages, they last from a month to a year, at your discretion. Of course, the cost of such a school will not be small and the price of a practical flight course can fluctuate around twelve thousand rubles per hour of training.

After graduating from such a school, you will be a full-fledged amateur pilot, but you will not be able to get a job as a commercial pilot, since you will not receive a flight certificate. However, if you set such a goal and find a place where you can fly the required hours, then anything is possible. There may be people who will take you on as their private pilot, then you will definitely be able to meet the established hours.

How to become a pilot - flight academies

With academies, everything is much more complicated; people who want to become qualified commercial pilots and fly cargo and passenger airliners go there.

Before admission you will have to pass many exams, not only physics and others school items. The exam course also includes a very tough test. physical culture. The exam includes several standards, such as running, jumping, and endurance. After this, medical parameters are checked. You will also have to monitor your health during training, since medical commissions are a frequent test for a pilot. Even before getting a job, each time you will go through a very wide range of doctors. After passing, another specialist awaits you - a psychologist. This is an important stage of the exam, since the pilot is responsible for the lives of many people, sometimes several hundred. The mental health of such a person should be at its best. In a critical situation in the sky, the pilot must react quickly and coolly.

If you are admitted to a flight academy, you will have five years of study ahead of you. Upon completion of training, you will receive an appropriate certificate, but no one will let you fly right away. The fact is that to obtain a pilot's passport you need to fly a certain number of hours, and most students have too few of them. In the first stages, try to get a job as a co-pilot in a small company that will allow you to fly the missing time.


Working as a pilot

Get ready for the fact that for each type of piloting you will have to obtain more and more new certificates for this moment there are these types:

  • private pilot certificate (until 2009 in regulatory documents– amateur pilot certificate);
  • commercial pilot certificate;
  • multi-crew pilot certificate;
  • line pilot certificate;
  • glider pilot certificate;
  • free balloon pilot certificate;
  • ultralight pilot certificate.

Each of them involves passing certain exams and requirements for your experience and qualifications.


In addition to the burden of responsibility and exams, it is worth remembering that pilots have a good salary and a large benefits package. A pilot can retire once he has accumulated about 6,000 hours of flight time and can serve as a captain until he is 60 years old.

Every year the volume of air traffic in the world increases. Accordingly, the industry's need for young qualified personnel is growing. The profession of “aircraft commander” is traditionally the highest paid in our country after captain long voyage. A journalist from the Yuga.ru portal figured out what needs to be done to conquer the sky and the airline management.

Pilot and pilot— It is the same?

At first glance, the concepts are similar: representatives of both professions fly aircraft. Only the pilot sits at the controls of a military aircraft, and the pilot sits at the controls of a civilian aircraft. Their training methods are also different: for pilots everything is much more complicated. We are interested in the fate of the pilots.

Before you go to study to become a pilot, it is important to soberly assess your physical training and state of health - it should be like that of astronauts. Throughout their career, pilots regularly undergo a medical examination, and if abnormalities are detected, they are immediately suspended from flying. No less important are personal qualities, without which there is nothing to do in aviation - responsibility, perseverance, confidence in oneself and in one’s actions, leadership skills, ability to make quick decisions. Before admission, the medical flight expert commission (VLEK) conducts a series of psychological tests and decides whether the applicant is suitable or not.



If these points are in order, you can move on to choosing an educational institution.

Where to go to study to become a pilot?

Today, the profession of “flight operation of aircraft” in Russia is taught in two universities and three flight schools. Upon completion of your studies, you will receive a state diploma and a commercial pilot certificate.

1. Ulyanovsk Institute of Civil Aviation named after Chief Marshal of Aviation B.P. Bugaeva (UI GA), uvauga.ru
City: Ulyanovsk

Duration of study: 5 years The largest aviation university in Russia with the most long history

Its branches - Sasovo and Krasnokutsk civil aviation flight schools - also train pilots.

2. Sasovo Flight School of Civil Aviation (SLU GA), sasovoavia.3dn.ru

City: Sasovo, Ryazan region

The school opened in 1943; in total, more than 20 thousand pilots of domestic civil aviation and more than 1 thousand pilots of foreign airlines graduated from its walls. Training flights are carried out on 39 aircraft such as An-2, Yak-18T 36th series, Cessna-172S, L-410 UVP E-20, L-410 UVP E.

3. Krasnokutsk Flight School of Civil Aviation (KKLU GA), kkluga.ru

City: Krasny Kut, Saratov region
Duration of training: 2 years 10 months

The school dates back to 1940 and has trained more than 27 thousand pilots during this time. The fleet of training aircraft includes 5 Yak-18T aircraft (36th series), 61 An-2 aircraft, 14 Cessna-172 light aircraft, 12 Diamond DA 40 NG aircraft and 2 twin-engine LET L410UVP-E.

4. St. Petersburg University of Civil Aviation (SPbSU GA), spbguga.ru

City: St. Petersburg
City: Ulyanovsk

Since 1955, the university has graduated over 50 thousand specialists. Flights on simulators and on aircraft are carried out in full compliance with ICAO requirements, which provide for the study and flights on a single-engine aircraft (Cessna-172S/R or Diamond DA 40 NG) and on a twin-engine aircraft (Diamond DA 42 NG). The total fleet of training aircraft numbers more than 100 units.

And its branch:

5. Branch of St. Petersburg State University of Civil Aviation - Buguruslan Civil Aviation Flight School (BLU GA), bluga.ru

City: Buguruslan, Orenburg region
Duration of training: 2 years 10 months

Established in 1940, the school has now been given the status of a college. You can practice at seven airfields and 52 Diamond DA 42 NG and Diamond DA 40 NG aircraft.

Theoretically, if you have a higher or secondary technical education you can go professional retraining in non-state aviation training centers(ATC) and become a commercial pilot in about a year. However, with such a certificate it will be extremely difficult to get a job with an airline.

Do they hire girls as pilots?

Just recently, it was out of the question that a woman in Russia would be accepted into the Civil Aviation Academy as a pilot. However, in 2007, a resident of Yekaterinburg, law student Ksenia Borisova, filed a lawsuit against educational institution for discrimination and won the case. So today, girls can also safely enroll as pilots, and not only in civil aviation: this year, for the first time, not only boys were accepted into the Krasnodar Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots.

What is needed for admission?

First: receive a conclusion from the medical flight expert commission (VLEK GA) on suitability for training and a completion card psychological examination. To do this, you must have one hundred percent vision and hearing, no color blindness, normal blood pressure and blood sugar/cholesterol levels, no serious physical or neurological diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, psychosis or drug addiction.

To pass the VLEK you need to prepare:
— results of tests (for HIV infection, hepatitis B and C, RW, group and Rh factor) and certificates from psychoneurological, drug addiction and dermatovenerological dispensaries with a stamp or entry “Not registered”;
- radiography of the paranasal cavities (they will not take a deviated septum);
- an electroencephalogram of the brain with a description (this is how a tendency to epilepsy is revealed).

You will also need to pass physical standards (running: 1 km - no more than 3 minutes 30 seconds, 100 meters - 13.4 seconds, pull-ups - 9 times or more) and pass many psychological tests.

Second: provide in admissions committee package of documents.

Third: fill out an application for admission, an applicant questionnaire and an autobiography.

Fourth: pass exams in mathematics, Russian language, physics. Sometimes English and computer science are also added.

How much will the training cost?

For those who have entered the budget, the state provides full content: uniform, food, dormitory, stipend, required flight hours.

Cadets of paid groups supply themselves. The educational institution determines the cost of training independently. According to the Kommersant newspaper, at a flight school this figure will be approximately 2-3 million rubles, including a 150-hour flight module. And for training a commercial pilot for a foreign aircraft at a university you will have to pay about 8 million rubles,

Path to civil aviation usually goes through special universities, because the profession of a pilot requires no person only the ability to fly an aircraft, but And teaches you to have responsibility for life and the health of other people. Therefore, only a person can become the manager of a passenger aircraft whose appropriate education.

How to become a pilot if you have no money? IN There are several universities in Russia where pilot training is taught free of charge, for example, State University civil aviation in St. Petersburg. You must graduate 11 to enroll. classes and have high results in independent exams. The future conqueror of the sky needs to pass several exams: mathematics, physics, and the state language.

Applicants usually choose their own direction. You can become a regular pilot or a pilot engineer. Often potential pilots choose "Aircraft Operation and air traffic organization." For applicants, no admitted to budget, you are given the opportunity to learn the basics of your specialty on a paid basis.

Even a person can become a commercial pilot, not admitted to university, or students with incomplete secondary education. Like after 9 class to become a pilot? Go to school. Less than 3 professions are taught there years. For admission you need to pass mathematics, physics and languages.

Behind Over a long period of time, each student of the school fully masters the basics of the flying specialty, undergoes an internship, and receives a commercial pilot diploma. IN flight organizations provide students with everything they need. You can learn to become a pilot here for free.

There is another way to become a commercial pilot. This method - private school. IN There is no competition for admission to such schools. To obtain a diploma, only a high school diploma is required general education And money because the cost of training in private schools is quite high. By After graduating from school, a person becomes an amateur pilot with corresponding certificate. WITH With this document you can easily find your place in small aviation.


Many don't just want to fly a helicopter in within the specialty, but And sometimes they are the owners of such a device. To sit down helicopter helm, you also need to get the appropriate education, because law govern it Only persons with a diploma can. Therefore, many people want to know where to go to become a helicopter pilot. This can be done by enrolling in flight school or private aviation school.

This profession - Not just a certificate and specialized education. A person who dreams of mastering this specialty must have nerves of steel and impeccable physical fitness - the sky is not tolerates weak people.

Maybe can a woman become a pilot?

Of course it can. This is proven by world practice. Behind women aviators abroad - Absolutely not rarity. IN in our country now few girls dream of rising to the top heaven and connect your life with aviation.
How can a girl become a pilot? Civil Aviation Flight Academy - here is the answer to this question. Enroll in This institution is now difficult even for men, but even a fragile girl can become a student at the academy. On in extreme cases, a persistent young lady can always turn to certificate in private flight school.

Before what age can you become a pilot

Often people are for 30 years decide to change of profession. Some people remember their childhood dream, others find out that pilots get paid well. Can whether in 30 years or after 40 become a pilot? Now in flight schools have no restrictions on age, anyone can become such a student. The main thing is that he Not had health problems.

The most common reason for refusal is obtaining a flight certificate becomes difficult eyes. Can whether with become a pilot with poor eyesight? Yes, and V Russian aviation V including. True, for this not you there must be chronic eye diseases or vision changes greater than 4 diopter. Wearers of contact lenses and points can obtain an aviator's license in any private institution.

It is possible to become a pilot V 35 And V 40 years. However, older flight school students need to remember that they are less likely to be found Good work By completion of the training course, because large airlines and small private owners with look at with doubt such graduates. They prefer to take job of younger applicants. On Such organizations will pay attention to a mature applicant only if there is a shortage of personnel.

Become a pilot after 30 almost impossible for free. To obtain a pilot's diploma, older students are required to pay money for education. Education and aviator skills for adult men can be obtained at state flight schools contract, and also in many private schools.

Learn on a pilot can behind border. However, far from all officials of our state recognize diplomas foreign schools - keep this in mind when making a decision.