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There is no minimum age to take flying lessons in the United States. You must be 16 to fly an airplane solo, 17 to earn a private or sport pilot certificate, 18 for a commercial pilot certificate, and 23 for an unrestricted airline transport pilot certificate. There is no maximum age for private flying, while airline pilots in scheduled Part 121 service must retire at 65.
The FAA sets no minimum age for flight instruction, and dual time logged before you are old enough to solo still counts.
14 CFR 61.83 sets 16 as the minimum age for a student pilot certificate in airplanes, or 14 in gliders and balloons.
14 CFR 61.103 requires you to be 17 to earn a private pilot certificate for airplanes.
You must be 18 to be a commercial pilot under 61.123 or a flight instructor under 61.183.
An unrestricted ATP requires age 23 under 61.153. A restricted ATP is available at 21.
As long as you hold the required medical qualification, you can fly privately at any age.
Every certificate in 14 CFR Part 61 has its own eligibility section, and each one starts with an age requirement. These are the minimums for airplanes:
Note that the instrument rating has no separate age requirement; you add it to a private or commercial certificate. The same is true of a multi-engine rating.
Because there is no minimum age for instruction, a young student can sit in the left seat with a flight instructor, handle the controls and log the time. The practical limits are physical and personal: can the student reach the rudder pedals with a cushion, see over the panel, and focus for a full lesson? A good instructor will tell you honestly when a child is ready.
What matters for planning is that dual instruction logged before the 16th birthday counts toward the aeronautical experience for a private pilot certificate. A teenager who starts early can be ready to solo close to 16 and take the private pilot checkride at 17. That is the logic behind our teen flight training program, which introduces younger students to the airplane, the radio and the Redbird MCX simulator long before they are old enough to solo.
Many teens use flight training as the first step toward a career. If that is the goal, it helps to know the sequence: private pilot at 17, instrument rating, then commercial pilot at 18, often followed by the flight instructor certificate to build hours.
To serve as a pilot for a U.S. airline flying under Part 121, both the captain and the first officer must hold an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate under 14 CFR 121.436. The standard ATP requires age 23 and 1,500 hours of flight time under 14 CFR 61.159. A restricted ATP under 14 CFR 61.160 lets qualifying pilots start as a first officer at 21, with reduced hour minimums for military pilots and graduates of approved aviation degree programs.
In practice, the path usually looks like this: a private certificate at 17 or later, commercial at 18 or later, then hour-building, most often as a flight instructor, until the ATP minimums are met. Our Airline Pilot Program takes students from zero experience to airline-ready qualifications for $84,000 (regularly $89,000, with a $5,000 promotion), with financing available.
On the other end, U.S. law requires airline pilots in Part 121 operations to stop flying for the airline at 65. Proposals in Congress to raise that limit to 67 have been debated but, as of this writing, the limit remains 65. That cap applies only to Part 121 airline flying; it does not stop a pilot from flying privately, instructing or flying many other commercial jobs.
No. The FAA sets no upper age limit for a student, sport, private or commercial pilot certificate. What changes with age is the medical side. A third class medical certificate is valid for 60 calendar months if you are under 40 at your exam, and 24 calendar months if you are 40 or older, under 14 CFR 61.23(d). First class medicals, which airline captains need, also renew more often after 40.
Pilots who learn later in life have options too. The sport pilot certificate lets you use a U.S. driver's license as your medical qualification, provided your most recent FAA medical application, if any, was not denied. Private pilots who have held an FAA medical after July 14, 2006 may be able to use BasicMed. See our guide to BasicMed vs third class medical.
Many of our students start in their 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond, whether for a personal goal or a second career. Plenty of retirees earn a private pilot license to fly themselves to weekend destinations around California. Age brings patience and discipline, which are real advantages in the cockpit.
Not everyone follows this pace, and nobody should rush training to hit a birthday. The point is that age minimums are rarely what holds a motivated student back.
Whether you are 12 or 62, our instructors at Van Nuys Airport will build a plan that fits. We are open 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week.
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