The Civil Aviation Minister while addressing the monsoon session of the Parliament stated that India needs 9,488 pilots in the next 5 years and as of SEP 2020 the country is producing only 700-800 licenses every year. See this link.

Also CAE, the world’s largest aviation training establishment has predicted that the world will require a total of 2,65,000 pilots in the next 10 years. See this link. 

Also see the projected growth of the Indian aviation sector. See this link.

It costs an average of 30 lakh rupees to get a CPL from India..

A type rating is a specialized course that a pilot goes through to get a specific endorsement of an aircraft on his or her CPL (for e.g. B737 or A320 etc.). This is a mandatory course that any ab-initio pilot has to go through before he can start flying for an airline.

Class 10+2 standard examination with Physics & Mathematics as subjects from a recognized Board/ University or its equivalent examination.

These exams can be given again from a recognized board or university even after clearing the 10+2 exams with a different subject.

The National Institute of Open Learning provides education in the required subjects through open and distance learning modes. See this link.

Airlines don’t want superman to fly their aircraft. Any individual with a fundamental understanding of physics and mathematics and basic hand eye coordination skill can succeed as a pilot.

The minimum age to get a license is 17 years and a pilot can fly till the age of 65 years, considering his medical is valid.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is the regulatory body in the field of Civil Aviation, primarily dealing with safety issues. It is responsible for regulation of air transport services to/from/within India and for enforcement of civil air regulations, air safety and airworthiness standards. It also co-ordinates all regulatory functions with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) . The headquarters are located in New Delhi with regional offices in various parts of India.

The average salary for a trainee First Officer is in the range of 24-30 lakhs per annum.

Most companies have their own requirements that a First Officer has to fulfill before he can be upgraded to the rank of a Captain. Usually it’s around 2500 hours of flying time and a minimum of 25 years of age with a valid ATPL.

A typical airline captain makes around 60-80 lakhs per annum.

There are various opportunities provided to pilots to up skill and climb the organizational ladder. In sequence, one can apply to become a
Line Training Captain (LTC) , Type Rating Instructor (TRI) , Designated Examiner (DE). The average salaries for any trainer are upwards of 1crore per annum. Simultaneously one can take the management route and become a management pilot with the airline and work for various departments in the airline, i.e. flight operations, training and standards, flight safety, technical etc.

Gladly no. The advantage is you can skip the daily commute traffic!

Every airline may have a different training schedule and requirement and on average as a pilot you will be trained and checked in the simulator for a minimum of 2 times in a year. Ground training and theoretical exams once every year and an annual route check in the aircraft once every year. 

Any kind of failure is looked into and further appropriate training is imparted to the pilot to bring him to the required standards.
Depending upon the category in which the failure occurred, career growth may or may not be impacted. 

A candidate can apply for a Computer Number on the Registration and Examination portal of DGCA https://pariksha.dgca.gov.in/ . Candidates are advised to refer to Chapter 4 of User Manual provided on the portal which has all the step by step instructions for the aspects of registration with visual screens for easy and better understanding.

Two basic principles are essential when assessing an applicant's medical fitness for aviation duties, namely:
(a) The applicant should be physically and mentally capable of performing the duties of the license or rating applied for or held.
(b) There should be no medical reasons, which make the applicant liable to incapacitation while performing duties; to a degree that flight safety might be jeopardized.

Class 1 Initial medical examination are conducted at 7 centres amongst which 5 are Indian Air Force boarding centres and 2 are civil hospitals.
Class 1 Renewal medical examination is conducted at 22 centres of the Indian Air Force and 27 DGCA empanelled Class 1 medical examiners.
Class 2 medical examination are conducted by 136 DGCA empanelled Class 2 Medical Examiners.

These medical examination centres and empanelled doctors are located all over India and the detailed list of all these centres and doctors can be found on https://dgca.gov.in/digigov-portal/
All other relevant details can be found in the HANDBOOK ON MEDICAL ASSESSMENT OF CIVIL FLIGHT CREW IN INDIA 

Yes. One needs to do Class I renewal medical every year to be able to continue exercising the privileges of the license being held. Class 1 Medical Assessments are valid for one year for persons less than 60 years of age in Multi crew commercial Air Transport Operations or six months for persons above 40 years of age in Single crew commercial air transport operations. The renewal medical may be done anytime from one month before date of expiry of validity of Medical Assessment to the date of expiry of validity. If done earlier or later than that, an NOC is required. Class 1 renewal medical may be done after expiry of validity of previous (but not beyond two years since date of last medical) along with NOC. The NOC form available in Procedure & training Manual, available on DGCA website (dgca.gov.in). Renewal medical exam is conducted in IAF / AF centers and by DGCA empaneled Class 1 examiners.

In the event of an aircrew being declared temporarily medically unfit for more than three months at a stretch or in aggregate, or permanently unfit for issue or renewal of the license, the applicant may appeal to the DGCA for a review of the medical assessment within a period of 90 days from the date the applicant was declared unfit. 

The appeal must be accompanied by the following documents:

(a) All documents in original obtained by the applicant from reputed medical institutions/specialists clearly certifying that the applicant is fit for flying an aircraft, as a pilot or co-pilot with specific reference to the cause of unfitness stated in the medical assessment issued by the Office of the DGCA. The medical practitioner/specialist certifying the fitness in such a case should give sound reasons justifying his opinion.

(b) Reports of the medical examination and results of investigations, in original, conducted by the medical practitioner/ specialist giving the aforesaid certificate.

The appeal shall be considered by DGCA, and if found justified, it will be referred to The Director General Medical Services (DGMS) of the Air Force. If adequate medical evidence is provided for medical review, DGMS (Air) may recommend to DGCA an appeal/review medical examination at an annotated place and may also ask for any such investigation/report or opinion of any specialist to determine the fitness of the applicant. In case the appeal for medical review is not found justified, DGMS (Air) will inform DGCA about the same giving the reasons and the aircrew shall be informed accordingly. If the medical review is accepted, it shall be carried out at the centre specified for the purpose. The fresh medical examination reports will be considered to assess the medical fitness of the candidate. The result thereof shall be intimated by the Medical Board to the office of the DGCA and the final assessment shall be issued accordingly by DGCA.

A total of 240 hours of instruction spanning over a period of 3 months. A typical day would involve 4 classes of 1 hour each in the morning followed by homework on subjects that were studied in class and preparation for the next day’s class. Extensive examinations and quizs will also be conducted during the period to assess the students progress. An additional 36 hours would be devoted to this task. 

90% percent attendance is mandatory in the opinion of the academy to ensure sufficient depth of knowledge. All efforts will be made by the instructors to make sure everything is taught using the concept of first principles for maximizing understanding and retention.

Close interaction is necessary to ensure proper learning, therefore, as of now the classes with be in contact form unless otherwise mandated by the government.

The course is extremely intensive and reinforcement by self-study during and post course is crucial for understanding and knowledge retention.
Our instructors will provide guidance to all students who need help in coping up. We are here to help support your dreams and career.

Our instructors will conduct a dedicated 15 minute doubt clearing session before and after the class everyday to make sure that no student is left behind. Separate individual guidance will also be given as required to assist students in clearing all doubts. We are here to ensure all students understand and not cram/learn by rote. We wish to ensure long term retention of imparted knowledge.

If, due to any reason your result is unsatisfactory in the DGCA exam, you do not need to pay again, you can attend the classes of your choosing for further studies till such time you clear the exams. Online testing during this period will be restricted to quizes conducted at the academy only.

Minimum self-study of 2-3 hours per day will be required to insure adequate retention.

Yes, multiple parking options are available at the location with payments on daily and monthly basis.

An E6b or a CX-3 flight computer will be needed for the navigation paper.
A good place to buy is the English Book Store .

It’s not mandatory but we will recommend a set of books along with our notes that will help in the betterment of your understanding of the subject. If you are attentive in the class and revise your class notes, you should be well placed to score well in the exams.

There are 6 exams that one needs to pass to be able to attain a CPL, given he/she will be doing the flying training in India. The subjects are as follows:
Air Navigation (including Radio Aids and Instruments)
Air Meteorology
Air Regulations
Technical General
Technical Specific
Radio Telephony (RTR-A) 

The syllabus for these exams can be found here .

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducts the examinations for issuance/extension of Flight Crew License, (Issued under Sub Rule (1) of Rule 50A of Aircraft Rules 1937). The Central Examination Organization (CEO) of DGCA, located at R.K. Puram, New Delhi is responsible for conducting these examinations. 

Radio Telephone Restricted to Aeromobile (RTR-A) examination is conducted by Wireless Planning Wing (WPC), Ministry of Communications, New Delhi. All information in this regard may be directly obtained from the Ministry of Communications or their website http://www.wpc.gov.in/ for application forms and schedule of examinations etc.  

These examinations are conducted on a quarterly basis. After publication of Examination Portal opening intimation through “Public Notice” on the DGCA website, applicants can login to their account using the computer number as their login id, for filling the examination form. Examination form will only be available for the period as per the Public Notice. Before applying for examination, all candidates are advised to read carefully the Chapter 7 of the latest available User Manual (including applicable Annexure), respective instructions and notices. 

RTR-A examination is conducted once every 2 months at one of the 5 centres located all over India. The exam centres are located at New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad. 

A minimum score of 70% is required to clear the theoretical knowledge examinations of Air Navigation, Air Meteorology, Air Regulations and Technical.
A minimum score of 50% is required to clear the Radio Telephony examination.

At present, there is no limit on number of attempts for DGCA CPL papers, so in case you fail in any subject, you can always reappear in the next attempt. But bear in mind that the validity of a cleared examination is 5 years as per DGCA regulations. This means that you need to pass the rest of the examinations and also complete your flying training within 5 years of passing your first exam, and get your CPL, otherwise the examination which you cleared 5 years ago will lapse and will have to be reattempted. 

If you have any other query, please email us. You may use the " Contact Us" link to send us a email of email us separately at requestinfo@polarisaviation.in

We shall answer your query and if we feel it is relevent to other student, we shall include an asnwer on this page.