Pilot licence minimum hours, age and prerequisites by civil aviation authority
The minimum flight hours, minimum age, solo and cross-country requirements and prerequisite licences for each pilot licence and rating, compared across the FAA (United States), EASA (European Union), the UK CAA (retained Part-FCL) and Transport Canada. One record is one stated requirement for one licence under one authority, with the provision citation. Answers 'how many hours do I need for a private pilot licence UK vs US', 'FAA PPL minimum flight hours 61.109', 'EASA PPL 45 hours', 'minimum age for a commercial pilot licence Canada', 'can simulator time count towards a PPL', and 'how many hours to convert an FAA PPL to a UK licence'. The UK kept the EU article numbering after Brexit and then changed the number inside it: FCL.210.A(a) reads 45 hours in EU law and 40 hours in UK retained law, amended with effect from 1 October 2025 by S.I. 2025/878. Same provision identifier, two different values, one of them recent.
1 record where two or more sources state different values. Both sides are reproduced on the record page, each with its own source and quote.
The data
| Authority | Provision | Requirement | Value | Amendment | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK CAA (retained Part-FCL) | FCL.210.A(a)(1) | dual instruction | dual flight instruction as required to pass the licence skill test | Words in Annex 1 point FCL.210.A(a)(1) substituted (1.10.2025) by The Aviation Safety (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/878), regs. 1(4), 6(4)(b)(ii) | |
| UK CAA (retained Part-FCL) | FCL.210.A(c)(2) | dual instruction | at least 15 hours of flight instruction in aeroplanes | Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/359 of 4 March 2020 amending Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 | in a training course at a DTO or at an ATO, including at least the requirements of point (a)(2) |
| UK CAA (retained Part-FCL) | FCL.210.A(a) | simulator credit | 5 of which may have been completed in an FSTD | Substituted by Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/445 of 17 March 2015 amending Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 as regards technical requirements and administrative procedures related to civil aviation aircrew | |
| UK CAA (retained Part-FCL) | FCL.210.A(a)(2) | solo cross-country | at least 5 hours of solo cross-country flight time | Substituted by Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/445 of 17 March 2015 amending Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 as regards technical requirements and administrative procedures related to civil aviation aircrew | with at least 1 cross-country flight of at least 270 km (150 NM), during which full stop landings at 2 aerodromes different from the aerodrome of departure shall be made |
| UK CAA (retained Part-FCL) | FCL.210.A(a)(2) | solo flight time | 10 hours of supervised solo flight time | Substituted by Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/445 of 17 March 2015 amending Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 as regards technical requirements and administrative procedures related to civil aviation aircrew | |
| UK CAA (retained Part-FCL)sources differ | FCL.210.A(a) | total flight time | at least [ F2 40 ] hours | Word in Annex 1 point FCL.210.A(a) substituted (1.10.2025) by The Aviation Safety (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/878), regs. 1(4), 6(4)(b)(i)(aa) | 5 of which may have been completed in an FSTD |
| UK CAA (retained Part-FCL) | FCL.210.A(b) | total flight time | reduced to 35 hours | Annex 1 point FCL.210.A(b) substituted (1.10.2025) by The Aviation Safety (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/878), regs. 1(4), 6(4)(b)(iii) | if completed whilst undertaking a course at an ATO approved for that purpose |
| UK CAA (retained Part-FCL) | FCL.210.A(c)(1) | total flight time | at least 24 hours of flight time on TMGs | Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/359 of 4 March 2020 amending Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 | Applicants for a PPL(A) who hold an SPL with the privileges to fly TMGs; after endorsement of the TMG privileges |
Where this came from
Every record above links the page it was taken from and quotes the sentence that states it. These are the 2 sources this dataset was assembled from.
- legislation.gov.ukhttps://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2011/1178/annex/I/division/SUBPART+C/section/2/division/FCL.210.A
- legislation.gov.ukhttps://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2011/1178/contents
Machine-readable
- data.jsonThe whole dataset — every record with its source URL and source quote.
- Open Knowledge Format bundleOne JSON object per line — every record's frontmatter and quoted span exactly as it is held here, in one fetch.
- How this is made and checkedWhat "verified against source" does and does not mean.