NewStart →
← Lesson plans

Private pilot · ACS PA.I.A · Instructor lesson plan

Pilot Qualifications

Student pack: Train: Pilot Qualifications · Full lesson: Prepare guide

Instructors: sign in to edit and approve your own version.

1 · Objective

By the end of this lesson your student can explain pilot qualifications in their own words and apply it to a realistic flight, to the ACS standard for PA.I.A.

Why it matters for safety: The pilot is the first item on every risk assessment. Being legal on paper and being ready are different things: currency is a floor, and a rusty pilot, a pilot new to an airplane, or a pilot flying with an illness or medication is a risk the paperwork won't catch. This task builds the habit of checking yourself honestly before every flight.

2 · Assign before the lesson

Pre-work: the free Train pack, Pilot Qualifications. What you need to carry, stay current, and fly legally as a private pilot.

Anyone can open this link, no account needed. To see who trained it on your roster, use a free instructor account.

Pack: pilotprep.pro/train/ppl/pilot-qualifications · Full lesson: pilotprep.pro/prepare/ppl/pilot-qualifications

3 · Teach sequence

Key points to land

  • To act as pilot in command, carry your pilot certificate, a photo ID, and your medical certificate (or, under BasicMed, a valid U.S. driver's license, with your CMEC and course certificate in your logbook).(14 CFR 61.3)
  • Flight review: within the preceding 24 calendar months.(14 CFR 61.56)
  • To carry passengers: 3 takeoffs and landings in the preceding 90 days, same category and class (full stop in a tailwheel).(14 CFR 61.57(a))
  • To carry passengers at night: 3 takeoffs and full-stop landings between 1 hour after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise, in the preceding 90 days.(14 CFR 61.57(b))
  • No flying for compensation or hire; you may share costs but must pay at least your pro rata share.(14 CFR 61.113)
  • For private privileges a medical is valid 60 calendar months if you were under 40 at the exam, 24 if you were 40 or older.(14 CFR 61.23(d))
  • Don't fly with a medical condition or medication that would keep you from meeting the medical standards; no alcohol within 8 hours or at 0.04 or above.(14 CFR 61.53, 91.17)

Documents you must have with you

  • Your pilot certificate.(14 CFR 61.3(a))
  • A photo ID: a driver's license, passport, military ID or another government-issued photo ID.(14 CFR 61.3(a)(2))
  • Your medical certificate, or, flying under BasicMed, a valid U.S. driver's license (and you meet the BasicMed conditions below).(14 CFR 61.3(c), 61.113(i))
  • A private pilot does not have to carry the logbook, but must show it on reasonable request by the FAA, the NTSB or law enforcement. (A student pilot carries it on solo cross-countries.)(14 CFR 61.51(i))
  • In practice, the logbook is how you prove everything else in this lesson: your flight review, your recent landings and your endorsements all live there. Keep it complete and signed.(14 CFR 61.51)
  • Your pilot certificate does not expire. Your privileges depend on a current medical (or BasicMed), a flight review and recent experience.(14 CFR 61.19)

Before the checkride: proving you are eligible

  • To take the practical test you need: the knowledge test passed within the preceding 24 calendar months, the aeronautical experience for the certificate, at least a third class medical (if the certificate requires one), the minimum age, and a completed application (IACRA).(14 CFR 61.39(a), 61.13)
  • You also need an endorsement from your instructor that you received the required training within the preceding 2 calendar months and are prepared for the test, plus an endorsement that you were trained on the areas your knowledge test report shows as deficient.(14 CFR 61.39(a)(6); AC 61-65)
  • Bring the proof: photo ID, your knowledge test report, your logbook with every required endorsement signed and dated, and the airplane's documents. Missing or unsigned paperwork stops a checkride before it starts.(14 CFR 61.39, 61.51; AC 61-65)
  • The eligibility numbers: at least 17 years old for an airplane rating (16 for glider or balloon), able to read, speak, write and understand English, and the 61.109(a) experience for single-engine land: at least 40 hours total, including 20 hours of flight training and 10 hours solo.(14 CFR 61.103(a), (c); 61.109(a))
  • The 20 hours of training include 3 hours of cross-country, 3 hours at night (with a cross-country over 100 nm and 10 full-stop takeoffs and landings), 3 hours by reference to instruments, and 3 hours of test preparation within the 2 calendar months before the test. The 10 solo hours include 5 hours of solo cross-country, one solo cross-country of at least 150 nm total with full-stop landings at three points, and 3 solo takeoffs and landings at an airport with an operating tower. An approved Part 141 course can require 35 hours.(14 CFR 61.109(a); Part 141, Appendix B)

Staying current

  • Flight review: within the preceding 24 calendar months, at least 1 hour of flight training and 1 hour of ground training with an authorized instructor, logged and endorsed. Passing a practical test for a certificate or rating also counts.(14 CFR 61.56)
  • To carry passengers: 3 takeoffs and 3 landings within the preceding 90 days, as sole manipulator of the controls, in the same category and class (and type, if a type rating is required). In a tailwheel airplane, the landings must be to a full stop.(14 CFR 61.57(a))
  • To carry passengers at night (from 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise): 3 takeoffs and 3 landings to a full stop during that period, within the preceding 90 days.(14 CFR 61.57(b))
  • Change of address: tell the FAA within 30 days of moving, or you may not exercise your privileges after that.(14 CFR 61.60)
  • Currency is the legal minimum. Proficiency is being sharp enough for this flight, these conditions and these passengers. Many pilots set personal minimums above the legal ones.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Other things that satisfy the flight review within the 24 calendar months: passing a practical test or proficiency check for a certificate, rating or operating privilege, or completing a phase of the FAA WINGS program. A CFI who has completed a CFI renewal is excused only the ground hour.(14 CFR 61.56(c)-(f))
  • Two separate gates: a current flight review lets you act as pilot in command (alone); carrying passengers also needs the 90-day takeoffs and landings, in the same category, class and type if a type rating is required, and the night full-stop rule for night passengers. Meeting one doesn't meet the other.(14 CFR 61.56; 61.57(a)-(b))

Privileges and limitations

  • You may not act as pilot in command for compensation or hire, or carry passengers or property for compensation or hire.(14 CFR 61.113(a))
  • You may share operating expenses with passengers (fuel, oil, airport fees, rental), but you must pay at least your pro rata share, and the flight must be one you have your own reason to make.(14 CFR 61.113(c))
  • You may fly for a business if the flight is only incidental to that business and you carry no passengers or property for compensation or hire.(14 CFR 61.113(b))
  • Other narrow exceptions exist: charitable flights (with at least 500 hours), search and location, aircraft sales demonstrations (with at least 200 hours), and towing gliders.(14 CFR 61.113(d)-(g))
  • Some airplanes need an extra one-time endorsement: complex (retractable gear, flaps and a controllable-pitch propeller), high-performance (more than 200 horsepower), tailwheel.(14 CFR 61.31(e), (f), (i))
  • Expense sharing has three legs: you pay at least your pro rata share of fuel, oil, airport fees or rental; you share a real common purpose (you have your own reason to go); and you don't hold out. Advertising seats or offering the flight to the public makes it illegal common carriage even with costs split evenly.(14 CFR 61.113(c); AC 61-142)
  • The exceptions come with conditions. Charitable flights (91.146): at least 500 hours, day VFR, nonstop, within 25 statute miles of the departure airport, the sponsor notifies the FAA, a standard airworthiness certificate, and only pro rata reimbursement. Search and location: only reimbursement of fuel, oil, airport expenses or rental, and only for an operation sanctioned and directed by a government agency or search organization. Aircraft sales demonstration: a salesperson with at least 200 hours. Glider or unpowered ultralight towing: only meeting 61.69. Production flight tests of a light-sport aircraft: at least 100 hours as pilot in command.(14 CFR 61.113(d)-(h); 91.146; 61.69)
  • Each endorsement (complex, high-performance, tailwheel) needs ground and flight training from an authorized instructor, logged, and the instructor's finding that you're proficient, signed in your logbook. A club or insurance checkout is a separate, non-FAA requirement and doesn't replace it.(14 CFR 61.31(e), (f), (i))

Medical certificates

  • There are first, second and third class medicals. A private pilot needs at least a third class (or BasicMed).(14 CFR 61.23(a)(3))
  • For private pilot privileges, any class is valid for 60 calendar months if you were under 40 on the exam date, or 24 calendar months if you were 40 or older.(14 CFR 61.23(d))
  • You may not act as pilot in command while you know, or have reason to know, of a medical condition that would make you unable to meet the medical standards, or while taking medication or treatment for one. Your certificate in your wallet doesn't override how you feel today.(14 CFR 61.53)
  • Alcohol: not within 8 hours of drinking, not while under the influence, and not with a blood alcohol of 0.04 or more. Many pilots use a longer personal limit.(14 CFR 91.17)
  • Higher classes step down: a first or second class medical keeps those privileges only for their shorter durations; after that it is still good for private privileges for the rest of the 60 (or 24) months, as a third class. You don't keep first-class privileges for the full 60 months.(14 CFR 61.23(d); PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors)

BasicMed

  • Eligibility: you must have held a Part 67 medical certificate at any time after July 14, 2006; your most recently issued medical must not have been suspended or revoked; your most recent special-issuance authorization must not have been withdrawn; and your most recent medical application must not have been completed and denied.(14 CFR 61.23(c)(3))
  • If you’ve been diagnosed with one of the mental-health, cardiovascular or neurological conditions listed in Part 68, you must first complete a one-time special-issuance process with the FAA for that condition before flying under BasicMed.(14 CFR 68.9; 61.23(c)(3))
  • You need a valid U.S. driver's license (and you comply with any medical restrictions on it), an exam by a state-licensed physician using the Comprehensive Medical Examination Checklist (CMEC) within the preceding 48 calendar months, and the BasicMed medical education course within the preceding 24 calendar months. Both are calendar-month clocks: a course completed March 10 is good through the end of March two years later.(14 CFR 61.23(c)(3), Part 68, AC 68-1)
  • Keep the proof in your logbook (paper or electronic): the completed CMEC and the course-completion certificate. Your driver’s license alone doesn’t show you qualify.(14 CFR 61.113(i)(3); 68.7)
  • The aircraft test: the aircraft must be authorized under federal law to carry no more than 7 occupants and have a maximum certificated takeoff weight of no more than 12,500 pounds (not a transport-category rotorcraft certificated under Part 29). It’s about how the aircraft is certificated: flying it light or taking seats out doesn’t qualify a bigger one.(14 CFR 61.113(i)(1))
  • The flight test: no more than 6 passengers on board; at or below 18,000 feet MSL; at or below 250 knots indicated; not for compensation or hire; and not outside the United States unless the country you fly in authorizes it (Mexico and the Bahamas do).(14 CFR 61.113(i)(1)-(2))
  • These are the current limits, raised by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 and written into the regulation effective November 18, 2024 (before that: 6 occupants, 5 passengers, 6,000 pounds). The printed CMEC form (FAA Form 8700-2) may still show the old 6-occupant, 6,000-pound figures; the regulation controls. Checked against 61.113(i) on 2026-11-12.(14 CFR 61.113(i); Regulatory Updates to BasicMed, 89 FR 90577)
  • BasicMed covers private-pilot privileges only. A commercial pilot can fly under BasicMed when exercising only private privileges; it’s the privileges you use, not the certificate you hold. A flight instructor acting as PIC under BasicMed may be paid for the instruction they give, within all the BasicMed limits, but the flight itself is still not operated for compensation or hire. BasicMed can also cover a safety pilot or other required crewmember, and an examiner, within the same limits.(14 CFR 61.23(a)-(c); 61.113(i))
  • If you've been diagnosed with any medical condition that may affect your ability to fly, you must be under the care and treatment of a state-licensed physician for it while flying under BasicMed. The online course also has you consent to a National Driver Register check.(14 CFR 61.23(c)(3)(i)(E); 68.3)
  • Outside the United States: Mexico and the Bahamas accept BasicMed; Canada does not. Flying to Canada needs a Part 67 medical certificate.(14 CFR 61.113(i); FAA BasicMed FAQ; AC 68-1)

Unfamiliar airplanes and avionics

  • Being legal in a category and class doesn't make you ready for every airplane in it. Before flying an unfamiliar airplane or a new avionics setup, read the POH and get a checkout with an instructor.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Rental clubs and insurers often require a checkout and a minimum time in type. That is a good floor, not a ceiling.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C))
  • The same applies to unfamiliar flight displays and avionics, not just airplanes: get training on the installed system, read its manual and know its failure modes, and don't learn a new display for the first time in flight with passengers.(FAA-S-ACS-6C, PA.I.A.R2; PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Flight Instruments)

4 · Ask your student

In order: recall, then understanding, then applying it. Move up only when the answer shows it.

  1. Recall · What do you need to have with you to act as pilot in command today?

    A strong answer: My pilot certificate, a photo ID, and my medical certificate (or, under BasicMed, my driver's license, with the CMEC and course certificate in my logbook).

  2. Understand · What does it take to be current to carry passengers?

    A strong answer: Three takeoffs and landings in the last 90 days in the same category and class, full-stop if it's a tailwheel, and three full-stop landings between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise if I'm carrying them at night. Plus a flight review in the last 24 calendar months.

  3. Apply · Your friend offers to pay for all the fuel on a sightseeing flight. What do you tell them?

    A strong answer: Thanks, but I have to pay at least my share. We can split it, but I can't let them pay for the whole flight.

Scenarios to talk through

  • A friend wants to go to the beach for the day and offers to pay for all the fuel if you fly them. Can you accept?

    Sound decision: No. You can share expenses, but you must pay at least your pro rata share: with one passenger, at least half. It must be a trip you have your own reason to make, and you can't hold it out to others: posting the seat to strangers online would make it illegal common carriage even with costs split evenly. Letting them pay for everything is flying for compensation.

  • Your last landing was 95 days ago. Tonight, after sunset, you want to take your sister flying. What do you need to do first?

    Sound decision: You are not current to carry passengers: the 3 takeoffs and landings must be within the preceding 90 days. Since it is at night, they must be 3 full-stop landings between 1 hour after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise. Go fly them solo first. Then ask yourself whether you are proficient, not just current.

  • You are 42. You got a third class medical when you were 38, three years ago. Is it still valid for private pilot privileges?

    Sound decision: Yes. You were under 40 on the exam date, so it is valid for 60 calendar months, through the end of the 60th month after the exam.

  • You took a cold medicine this morning that says it may cause drowsiness. You feel fine. Do you fly this afternoon?

    Sound decision: No. You may not act as pilot in command while taking a medication that could make you unable to meet the medical standards, and many over-the-counter drugs affect you in ways you can't feel. Wait until it is fully out of your system, and ask an AME if you're unsure.

  • You arrive to take a friend flying and realize your flight review was flown, but your instructor never signed the logbook endorsement. Can you take your friend today?

    Sound decision: No. Without the endorsement you have no proof the flight review was completed, so you are not able to act as pilot in command. Call your instructor to get it signed before you fly. It is a phone call, not a judgment call.

  • You trained in a 172. The club offers you a Cessna 182 with a 230-horsepower engine. What do you need before you take it?

    Sound decision: A one-time high-performance endorsement, because it has more than 200 horsepower: ground and flight training from an authorized instructor, logged, and their endorsement that you are proficient. The club checkout is separate and doesn't replace it. It is not a complex airplane: the gear is fixed.

5 · Common student errors

  • Treating "current" as "ready".

    Why it matters: Currency only says you did three landings recently. It says nothing about crosswinds, night, or an airplane you haven't flown in months.

    How to correct it: Set personal minimums above the legal ones, and fly with an instructor when you are rusty on a condition.

  • Counting touch-and-goes toward night passenger currency.

    Why it matters: Night currency needs full-stop landings during the night period; touch-and-goes don't count.

    How to correct it: Log three full-stop landings between 1 hour after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise.

  • Letting passengers cover the whole cost.

    Why it matters: Paying less than your pro rata share is flying for compensation, which a private certificate doesn't allow.

    How to correct it: Split costs evenly with your passengers, and only for a trip you'd make anyway.

  • Assuming a valid medical certificate means you are fit today.

    Why it matters: The certificate shows you met the standards on exam day. Illness and medication today can take you below them.

    How to correct it: Self-assess before every flight, and ground yourself when in doubt.

6 · Completion standard

  • Your student answers each "Ask your student" question in their own words, up to the Apply level, without prompting.
  • They talk through the scenarios and reach a safe, legal decision, explaining why.
  • They complete the pack’s quick check and can say what they flagged.

Area trained? Close out with a practice oral focused on PA.I.A: pilotprep.pro/exam?exam=PPL&focus=PA.I.A

7 · References

  • 14 CFR Part 61, 61.3, 61.19, 61.23, 61.31, 61.39, 61.51, 61.53, 61.56, 61.57, 61.60, 61.113
  • AC 61-65, Certification: pilots and flight and ground instructors (endorsements)
  • 14 CFR Part 68 (BasicMed); AC 68-1
  • 14 CFR 91.17
  • Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A)
  • Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors
  • Airman Certification Standards, task PA.I.A

PilotPrep instructor lesson plan, from the Pilot Qualifications lesson (checked against current FAA sources 2026-11-12). A study and teaching aid, not FAA guidance; teach to your own judgment and the current ACS.