Flight training & CPL
Choosing a school that actually finishes on time, the 200-hour build, licence paperwork and conversion if you trained abroad.
Lessons in this stage
- 1
How to choose a DGCA flying school that finishes on time
Your flight school decides whether you finish in two years or five. How to use DGCA's official FTO list and ranking, the criteria that actually predict delays, and the red flags.
- 2
PPL to CPL: the 200-hour DGCA flying requirement, broken down
What the 200 hours for a DGCA CPL actually consist of: 100 hours pilot-in-command, 20 cross-country including a 300 nm flight, 10 instrument, 5 night, plus the recency rules.
- 3
The delays that stretch pilot training, and how to dodge them
Why a two-year CPL becomes four: weather, grounded aircraft, instructor bottlenecks, exam windows, recency lapses and funding gaps. The practical moves that keep you moving.
- 4
Training abroad: countries, visas and the DGCA hours catch
Training overseas in the US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Philippines or Canada: regulators, student visas, security vetting, and the hour rules that decide your DGCA conversion.
- 5
Getting your DGCA CPL issued: requirements, skill test and eGCA
You have flown the hours and cleared the exams. The full CPL issue checklist under Schedule II, the four-part skill test, English proficiency, and applying through eGCA.
- 6
Converting a foreign CPL to a DGCA licence
Trained abroad? The conversion on return: the DGCA Composite and Air Regulation exams, the Indian Class 1 medical, RTR, the skill test, and verifying your foreign licence.
- 7
Hour building without wasting money
Reaching 200 quality hours is your biggest variable cost. How to build the hours DGCA actually requires, keep your cost per hour honest, and log them so they truly count.