Getting my commercial

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dennyleeb

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I am thinking of getting my commercial rather than doing my biannual this year and I have a question. If I am just doing it for the rating and not to use it. Do I need anything other than my 3rd class medical?
 
I'm pretty sure you need the appropriate medical cert regardless...but why you get a commercial if you aren't going to use it?
 
To take the Checkride, you only need a 3rd class.
To actually "use" your new rating you need a 2nd.
 
Mark is right except that the commercial is a new "certificate" not a rating.
 
cleared4theoption said:
I'm pretty sure you need the appropriate medical cert regardless...but why you get a commercial if you aren't going to use it?
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There are lots of reasons:

-You never know when you might want to use it (fly skydivers on sundays or something)
-Lower insurance
-just to say you have it
-The maneuvers/landings do a great job of making you a smoother pilot and improving stick and rudder skills.
 
from the info i can find i only need it if I use the certificate, I am just doing it to continue to learn and push myself a bit
 
GCA319 said:
There are lots of reasons:

-You never know when you might want to use it (fly skydivers on sundays or something)
-Lower insurance
-just to say you have it
-The maneuvers/landings do a great job of making you a smoother pilot and improving stick and rudder skills.
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Not true on that point. The negative is you are held to a higher standard and get in more trouble if you do something wrong.

10hrs aerobatics will do a lot more towards improving pilot skills than CP.
 
Henning said:
Not true on that point. The negative is you are held to a higher standard and get in more trouble if you do something wrong.

10hrs aerobatics will do a lot more towards improving pilot skills than CP.
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already done aerobatics but plan on doing some more
 
How about you are planning on the CFI. You need the commercial even if you never "exercise its privileges" to get the CFI certificate.
 
Henning said:
Not true on that point. The negative is you are held to a higher standard and get in more trouble if you do something wrong.

10hrs aerobatics will do a lot more towards improving pilot skills than CP.
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He's held to a higher standard on the check ride, but if he chooses to exercise private pilot privelages, how so?

I don't disagree with you that aerobatics improves skills immensely.
 
The reason that I got my Commercial license was because I was looking for another challenge. I had no plans to use it. It did not require any greater skill then what I already had. The fun part was the retractable gear (even though it didn't work all the time) we had to get help from the mechanics on the ground twice because the gear would only partially retract and would not extend. Then the alternator failed on another flight. After the check ride I had to defer to OMA for 2 hours while they removed a Beech that had landed gear up at the training airport. All this in about 12 hours of flight time.
 
Sac Arrow said:
He's held to a higher standard on the check ride, but if he chooses to exercise private pilot privelages, how so?

I don't disagree with you that aerobatics improves skills immensely.
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The higher your cert, the more trouble you get in when you do something wrong; PP you get a talking to, CP you get a 709, ATP you get 90 days rip and a 709, that type of thing.
 
So he shouldn't get extra training in advanced maneuvers and learning regulations better just in case he might later bust those regulations that he might never had learned. While I agree that aerobatic time is a valuable experience, it pales in comparison to preparing for and taking a checkride.
 
Henning said:
The higher your cert, the more trouble you get in when you do something wrong; PP you get a talking to, CP you get a 709, ATP you get 90 days rip and a 709, that type of thing.
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I want my PPL back!
 
Can a pilot downgrade certifications?

I know there's a provision in the regs for surrender, but can it be used in this fashion?
 
83Golf said:
So he shouldn't get extra training in advanced maneuvers and learning regulations better just in case he might later bust those regulations that he might never had learned. While I agree that aerobatic time is a valuable experience, it pales in comparison to preparing for and taking a checkride.
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:confused: Commercial checkride is nothing, there is nothing to learn from doing a CPL that you can't learn without wasting the money. The DE fee alone is worth 4 hours of flying and you can hire them as an instructor for a lot cheaper than as a DE.
 
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Captain said:
I want my PPL back!
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Easy enough, just fly past Minneapolis.

Of course you may have to wait a year and pass a test followed by a checkride...:stirpot:
 
I get a reduction of my life insurance rates as I add ratings/ certs. Why would the same not apply to aviation (hull or liability) insurance?
 
Jaybird180 said:
I get a reduction of my life insurance rates as I add ratings/ certs. Why would the same not apply to aviation (hull or liability) insurance?
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It used to, but doesn't appear to any more. If anything, if you want to use those privileges even to give Pt 91 scenic rides you can multiply your rates by 12.
 
I used to own a 150 with 7 other people and our insurance went down a little bit once I earned my IR, Commercial, and CFI certificates.
 
And yes, I agree that aerobatics is the way to go if you really want to improve your stick and rudder skills, but that doesn't mean the commercial maneuvers are useless in doing so.
 
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