Recreational Pilot Certificate

BECOMING A PILOT!

The RA-Aus Recreational Pilot Certificate is an awesome way to gain the privilege to pilot a light aircraft.

Today’s recreational aircraft are fast, well equipped and inexpensive to fly. At Inspire Aviation, our goal is to provide you with the highest quality of training and the best value for money training. Your ab-initio training is the most important phase of your training, as this will form the basis of skills and ability hence providing you with a sound knowledge should you wish to continue down the road towards an aviation career.

While you will find your flight training both exciting and exhilarating, you will be trained to the highest standards by professionally qualified CASA accredited / RA-Aus Flying Instructors.

We aim to ensure that your investment spent on flight training provides you with the necessary level of skills to safely and proficiently pilot an aircraft within Australia.

*Any student who is under 18 years of age will have to produce written permission from their parent or guardian that they are allowed to undertake the flying lessons to obtain the pilot certificate.

Time to Learn To Fly

A Recreational Pilot Certificate (RPC) is a flight crew qualification issued by RAAus – the governing body of recreational aviation in Australia. It allows the holder to fly an RAAus registered aeroplane (2 seats) up to 600kg gross weight.

An RPC is a competency based qualification. There are statutory minimum hours of 15 hours dual training (with an instructor) and 5 hours solo, however ultimately the student’s completion time depends on their readiness for a flight test with the RAAus Chief Flight Instructor (CFI).

Based on training averages, we recommend new students budget for 30 hours of flight training as a minimum, to ensure they can finish the RPC once they start. 

In the course of completing your RPC training, you will sit 5 in-house theory exams (for free) covering different subject areas.

  • Pre-solo Air Legislation
  • Flight Radio
  • Air Legislation
  • Human Factors
  • Basic Aeronautical Knowledge (BAK)

 

Typically students complete a mix of tutorials and self-study methods with guidance from their instructors and recommended textbooks. 

Inspire Aviation frequently holds optional in house theory courses which last approximately 1 week for BAK, and longer for anything else. The in-house course can assist those who are not suited to self-study.

15 years old is the minimum requirement to pilot an RA-Aus aeroplane solo. If you are really keen, the earliest we recommend starting is 14 and 9 months, to ensure you don’t end up ready to go solo and have to wait too long for your 15th birthday. 

You can add a variety of endorsements to the RPC. A brief list of common endorsements and their descriptions are below:

  • Passenger Carrying
    • Allows the holder to carry a passenger in the other seat.
  • Cross Country
    • Removes the limitation on the RPC to remain within 25nm of the departure aerodrome. Explore the country outside controlled airspace with this endorsement!
  • In-Flight Adjustable Propellor
    • Allows you to fly our two high-wing aircraft with their advanced propellor systems. 

You can read about converting an RPC to an RPL on the RPL page.