Continuing Your Training: Why and When Do You Need a Type Rating?
By the time you've worked through your Private Pilot certificate, Instrument Rating, Commercial certificate, and maybe your CFI and CFII, you've put in a serious amount of work. It's tempting to think the hard part is behind you. In a lot of ways it is, but there's still one more milestone waiting if you plan to fly professionally in bigger, more complex aircraft: the type rating.
A lot of student pilots hear the term "type rating" long before they understand what it actually means or when they'll need one. It gets mentioned in passing during ground school, or a CFI brings it up when talking about career timelines, and then it kind of fades into the background until it suddenly becomes very relevant. So let's break down what a type rating is, why it exists, and when it actually shows up in your path to the airlines or corporate flying.
What a Type Rating Actually Is
Your Private, Instrument, and Commercial certificates all qualify you to fly certain categories and classes of aircraft. Category and class are broad groupings, think airplane versus helicopter, or single-engine land versus multi-engine land. Once you have a Commercial certificate with a multi-engine rating, for example, you're technically qualified to act as pilot in command of a wide range of multi-engine airplanes.
That works fine for smaller aircraft like a Piper Aztec or similar light twins. But once you get into larger, more complex airplanes, usually anything over 12,500 pounds gross weight or any turbojet, the FAA requires something more specific than a category and class rating. That's where the type rating comes in.
A type rating is aircraft-specific certification. It's not "multi-engine airplane" anymore, it's "Boeing 737" or "Embraer 175" or "Cessna Citation 560." Each type rating certifies that you've been trained on the systems, procedures, and handling characteristics of that exact aircraft, not just the general category it falls into.
This makes sense when you think about how different a 737 is from a Cessna 172, even though both are technically airplanes. The systems are more complex, the automation is deeper, the speeds are higher, and the procedures are far more standardized and specific. A type rating exists to make sure you actually know that airplane before you're flying it with passengers or cargo on board.
When You'll Actually Need One
This is where a lot of the confusion clears up once you look at how flight operations are categorized under FAA regulations. You'll often hear pilots refer to Part 91, Part 135, and Part 121 operations, and each one plays a role in when a type rating becomes necessary.
Part 91 covers general aviation operations, private flying, and a lot of corporate flight departments. If you're flying a smaller jet or turboprop under Part 91, you may or may not need a type rating depending on the aircraft's weight and whether it's turbojet powered. Some Part 91 corporate flying puts pilots into aircraft that require type ratings well before they'd ever see one in the airline world.
Part 135 covers charter and on-demand operations. This is often where pilots get their first exposure to type-rated aircraft, especially in air charter, cargo, or fractional ownership flying. If the aircraft you're flying under Part 135 falls into that turbojet or 12,500-pound-plus category, you'll need the type rating for that specific airplane before you can act as pilot in command, and often before you can serve as second in command as well.
Part 121 is scheduled airline operations, and this is where most pilots eventually end up needing a type rating if they're pursuing the airlines. Regional and major airlines fly aircraft that all require specific type ratings, and getting hired usually means the airline sponsors your training in whatever aircraft you'll be flying for them, whether that's an Embraer regional jet or a Boeing or Airbus at the majors.
The short version is that your path through Part 91, into Part 135, and eventually Part 121 will very likely include one or more type ratings along the way, and each new aircraft you move into typically requires its own.
How Type Rating Training Is Structured
If you're picturing type rating training as similar to your Private or Instrument training, it helps to reset that expectation. It's a different style of training entirely, and it's a lot more intense in a short period of time.
Type rating courses are typically taught at Part 142 training centers, which are FAA-approved facilities that specialize in this kind of aircraft-specific instruction. These centers use full-motion simulators that replicate the exact aircraft you're training in, right down to the switch layout and system behavior. A lot of the training happens entirely in the simulator, since it's far more cost effective and just as valuable for learning procedures and emergency handling as time in the actual aircraft.
The curriculum usually covers deep systems knowledge first. You'll learn how the aircraft's hydraulics, electrical systems, pressurization, avionics, and automation all work together, often in far more detail than anything you covered in your Private or Instrument training. From there it moves into normal procedures, abnormal procedures, and emergency procedures, all trained to a standardized flow that's specific to that aircraft type.
Because these aircraft are flown by two-pilot crews, type rating training also introduces crew resource management in a much more structured way. You'll practice checklists, callouts, and task sharing between the pilot flying and the pilot monitoring, which is a different mindset than flying solo or with a single instructor.
The whole course is compressed. Where your Private Pilot training was stretched out over months, type rating courses are often completed in a matter of weeks, sometimes even less, with long training days and a lot of information to absorb quickly. It's intense, but it's also incredibly rewarding once you're sitting in a simulator that flies and reacts exactly like the real airplane.
Where GoFly Students Go for Their First Type Rating
For a lot of our students, the first type rating conversation comes up when they're getting close to finishing their CFI or CFII and starting to think seriously about the airline path. This is also usually when the ATP Certification Training Program, or ATP-CTP, becomes part of the conversation, since it's required before you can sit for your ATP written exam.
For students at GoFly who are ready for this step, we work closely with Air Vegas Services, GoFly Academy's sister company, which offers both the ATP-CTP and Boeing 737 type rating training. Having that connection already in place makes the transition from building hours as a CFI to preparing for the airlines a lot smoother, since it's a training relationship that already understands where our students are coming from and what they've already learned.
Getting your 737 type rating alongside your ATP-CTP puts you in a strong position heading into airline interviews, especially if you're targeting airlines that fly the 737 or want to show hiring boards that you've already handled training in a large transport category aircraft.
Looking Ahead
The type rating is one of those milestones that can feel far off when you're still working through your Private Pilot checkride, but it comes up faster than most students expect. Understanding what it is, why it's tied to Part 91, 135, and 121 operations, and how the training actually works can make the whole process feel a lot less intimidating when it's your turn.
If you're a current GoFly student thinking ahead to your career path, or you're just getting started and want to understand the full picture from Private Pilot to the airlines, we're always happy to talk through what that timeline looks like.