Schedule II and DGCA figures checked on 16 September 2026. Sources below.
Quick Answer
What does CPL flight training actually consist of?
200 hours as pilot of an aeroplane, flown within the 5 years before you apply. The important part, and the part most pages get wrong: the named components sit INSIDE that total rather than adding to it. 100 hours Pilot-in-command, 20 hours Cross-country as PIC, 10 hours Instrument time, 5 hours Night flying. Add them up and you get far less than 200; the balance is general flying. You do not fly 200 hours and then a further hundred.
The flying phase, in one view
- •200 hours as pilot of an aeroplane — a TOTAL, not a base
- •Inside that total: 100 hours Pilot-in-command (1(e)(i))
- •Inside that total: 20 hours Cross-country as PIC (1(e)(ii))
- •Inside that total: 10 hours Instrument time (1(e)(iii))
- •Inside that total: 5 hours Night flying (1(e)(iv))
- •Flown within the 5 years before you apply
- •Not more than 5 of the instrument hours on an approved simulator
- •Happens at one of DGCA's 41 approved organisations — none of them based in Delhi or the NCR
The clause most pages misread
Schedule II, Section J, Section J, para 1(e) sets 200 hours as the requirement for a Commercial Pilot Licence, and then names what must be included within it. Within is the operative word. The rows below are carved out of the 200; they are not added to it.
| Inside the 200 hours | Hours | Clause | The condition attached |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot-in-command | 100 | 1(e)(i) | of which not less than 15 hours in the six months before applying |
| Cross-country as PIC | 20 | 1(e)(ii) | including one flight of at least 300 nautical miles with full-stop landings at two different aerodromes |
| Instrument time | 10 | 1(e)(iii) | of which not more than 5 hours may be on an approved simulator |
| Night flying | 5 | 1(e)(iv) | including at least 10 take-offs and 10 landings as pilot-in-command |
Add the hours column up and it comes to well under 200. The balance is general flying. If a page or a counsellor presents these as additions, they are describing a much larger and much more expensive course than the rule requires — and the difference is real money, because this phase is billed by the hour.
How little of it can be a simulator
Of the 10 hours of instrument time inside the total, not more than 5 may be flown on an approved simulator. Everything else is an actual aeroplane. This surprises people who have read about airline training, where simulators dominate — but that is what happens after the licence, on type. The full treatment is in our page on the simulator cap.
What actually decides how long this phase takes
Not the regulation, which sets a floor and nothing more. It is aircraft availability, the number of students sharing each aircraft, and how many days a year the weather permits flying.
DGCA says as much itself: in its ranking of approved flying schools, Operational Aspects carries 40%, the heaviest of five parameters, covering aircraft utilisation, student-to-aircraft ratio and how long students actually take to complete their hours. Before you choose a school, read how to check one, and for the whole timeline question see how long it takes.
Each requirement in detail
- –The simulator cap: how much of the instrument time can be flown on the ground
- –The 300 nautical mile cross-country flight, condition by condition
- –The five hours of night flying, and the ten take-offs and landings inside them
- –Instrument Rating: what it is and why CPL holders need one
- –Multi-engine rating: a class rating, not a type rating
- –Flying Instructor Rating: the route that keeps you flying and earning in India
Before any of this: the eligibility gates are on the CPL eligibility page, the written papers on the Pariksha page at ₹2,500 each, and the medical on the medical page. If you are weighing training overseas for this phase, read this first.
People also ask
What does CPL flight training actually consist of?
200 hours as pilot of an aeroplane, flown within the 5 years before you apply. The important part, and the part most pages get wrong: the named components sit INSIDE that total rather than adding to it. 100 hours Pilot-in-command, 20 hours Cross-country as PIC, 10 hours Instrument time, 5 hours Night flying. Add them up and you get far less than 200; the balance is general flying. You do not fly 200 hours and then a further hundred.
How much of the 200 hours can be done in a simulator?
Very little, and this is where quotes mislead. Of the 10 hours of instrument time required inside the total, not more than 5 may be flown on an approved simulator. Everything else must be flown in an actual aeroplane. Simulator-heavy training is a feature of what comes after the licence, not of the licence itself.
What is the 300 nautical mile flight?
A single cross-country flight required inside the 20 hours of cross-country pilot-in-command time, covering at least 300 nautical miles with full-stop landings at two different aerodromes. It is the flight most students remember, and the conditions attached to it are specific enough to be worth reading before you plan it.
What decides how long the flying phase takes?
Not the regulation. Aircraft availability and the student-to-aircraft ratio at your school, and how many days a year the weather allows flying. DGCA weights Operational Aspects at 40% of its own ranking of approved flying schools — the heaviest of its five parameters — which is the regulator saying in public that this is what separates one school from another.
Do I need to finish the DGCA exams before flight training?
No, and the two run in parallel at most schools. What you should not do is leave the papers until the end: they can be started before you join anywhere, they need no medical certificate, and clearing papers years before you finish your flying hours is not free. Count backwards from the licence application, not forwards from the first paper.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 200 hours a total or a starting point?
A total, and the components are contained within it. Section J, para 1(e) of Schedule II sets it out. A page that lists the components as additions to 200 has misread the clause, and the difference is tens of hours of flying you would be budgeting for unnecessarily.
What is the recency requirement?
The hours must fall within the 5 years before you apply, and of which not less than 15 hours in the six months before applying. A long break does not merely slow you down; it can delete hours you have already paid for.
What medical do I need for the flying phase?
A Class 2 medical to begin flight training, and a Class 1 for the Commercial Pilot Licence itself. Book the medical before committing money to a flying school. A student pilot licence needs a Class 2, but the licence you are training towards needs a Class 1 — and finding a disqualifying condition after paying a deposit is an expensive way to learn it.
Where does flight training happen in India?
At one of DGCA's 41 approved Flying Training Organisations, across 15 states as on 30 March 2026. None of the approved flying bases is in Delhi or the NCR, so a Delhi student travels for this phase.
What does the flying phase cost?
It is the single largest line in any pilot training budget and no Indian school publishes a rate we could trace. The one publicly comparable figure in this market is Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA)'s published course fee of ₹55,00,000, which includes the 200 hours. Compare written quotes line by line and ask specifically how hours beyond the syllabus minimum are billed.
Does We One Aviation provide the flying?
We teach the DGCA ground subjects and arrange flight training with partner flying schools. We do not own aircraft or simulators, we do not employ pilots, and we do not place students into airline jobs — hiring decisions rest with the operator.