A student cannot fly as pilot-in-command of an ultralight (i.e. solo) until she/he has attained the age of 15 and until an RA-Aus student pilot certificate is issued, usually by the Chief Flying Instructor on behalf of the Operations Manager. A student pilot must be medically fit to a standard equivalent to that required to hold a driver's licence in Australia.

A student pilot must possess an RA-Aus Operations manual and a log book, and it is recommended that a study manual is also purchased. There are a number of titles available, have a look at our recommendations. You may also wish to purchase maps and other reference materials. When you start training the FTF should issue you with a training package that contains a RA-Aus Operations Manual, log book, flight notes produced by the FTF and a study manual.

RA-Aus regulations require a minimum 20 hours general flying training, including a minimum of 5 hours flying as pilot in command i.e. solo, before the Pilot Certificate flight test and if this minimum was achieved then the total flying costs would be around A$2500 to A$3000 including the Australian Goods & Services Tax. (The FTFs charge from $100 to $150 per flight hour depending on the type of aircraft employed.) But the typical student time is 15 – 18 hours flying with an instructor and 8 – 10 hours flying alone and, like learning to drive, a few students will take a lot longer to achieve a satisfactory performance level in all the required training sequences. The costs you will incur chiefly depend on flight hours and the aircraft type flown.

If you wish to undertake flights that will take you more than 25 nautical miles from the airfield you must get a cross country endorsement. This entails both a flight test and a written Flight Rules & Procedures examination, the latter also covers flight planning, meteorology and navigation. Also you must have 3 hours dual and 2 hours solo cross country experience.

You can qualify for a passenger carrying endorsement to your Pilot Certificate after you have a total of 10 hours solo which must include 2 hours in a two seat aircraft. The CFI has to be convinced of your personal maturity and you also have to do a flight test to check that you know how to look after your passenger. The pre-flight planning of fuel requirements, passenger and baggage arrangement, assessment of runway and air density conditions, calculation of aircraft weight and balance and the physical pre-flight airworthiness checking of the aircraft is emphasised, to ensure the flight will be operated safely. All RA-Aus approved flight training facilities offer the navigation, passenger and radio endorsements.