Training is a key element in becoming a pilot. Type Ratings and Class Ratings are essential training to make the flight license effective. Without them it is not possible to act as a pilot, either private or professional.
Airplanes are classified according to their purpose and are divided into three main groups:
– Passengers aircrafts: built to carry groups of people. Are those used by airlines and are divided into two categories: wide-body and narrow-body aircrafts.
– Cargo airplanes: used to transport goods and large objects.
– Military aircrafts: thought for military purposes. Although passengers or cargo aircrafts may also be used for military activities, this label is used for attack or defence aircrafts.
Usually, airline pilots operate passengers aircrafts. However, there are companies whose business is only cargo transport. In any case, the type rating will be determined by the first contract and will depend on the fleet the company for which you intend to work operates with.
Some airlines conduct the courses for obtaining the Type Rating themselves, usually in their own training centers or, sometimes, in external centers chosen by the airline itself. But, if you already hold a type rating, you will have more chances to get a contract if you apply to a company that operates with such fleet.
Class ratings (CR) are those habilitations that enable to operate under certain flight conditions (visual flight, instrumental flight), or generic aircraft groups (single-engine, multi-engine) of different types (terrestrial, amphibious, hydro-aircraft). These capacities are what define the type of aircraft you can fly and under what conditions.
Besides having the necessary class ratings, to fly a particular aircraft you must be trained as a pilot on the aircraft model, brand and type. This is known as Aircraft Type Rating. The simplest aircrafts do not need a Type Rating. However, complex aircrafts as the jets used by airlines, do require it.
For all this, once the training as a professional pilot is completed, with all necessary class ratings, if the aim is to work for an airline, next step will be the Type Rating (Type Rating).
Each airline operates with different types of aircrafts. These can be of different brand and model; nevertheless, some prefer to work with an only brand, as it happens with Iberia Lineas Aéreas de España that only operates Airbus.
The most popular Airbus models to specialize in after obtaining the Airline Transport Pilot license are:
Airbus A320 – is the best-selling short-range, narrow-body jet commercial aircraft manufactured by Airbus. It is estimated that every 1.7 seconds an Airbus A320 lands or takes off somewhere in the world. Its Type Rating covers all four models within A320 family (A318, A319, A320, A321), making it the most demanded after obtaining the airline transport pilot licence.
Airbus A330 – is one of the most demanded long-haul aircrafts in the history of aviation by all airlines worldwide as it is, with no doubt, the most competitive model and with more professional options in our industry. The A330 was developed in parallel with the A340 four-engine with which it shares many structural components and parts. Both incorporated the electronic flight control system (fly-by-wire), first introduced on the market with the A320, and the computerized “glass cockpit”, with 6 displays. The A330 was launched in 1987 after receiving many purchase orders.
Airbus A340 – this Airbus model is the first four-engine aircraft built by the European manufacturer. After entering service in 1993, the Airbus A340 broke four world records:
Airbus A350 – The Airbus A350 is the most modern model launched by the European manufacturer Airbus. It is a commercial twin-engine aircraft intended for very long-range routes. This plane was designed to replace the Airbus A340, and competes in the market with the American models Boeing 777 and Boeing 787. It presents a breakthrough in terms of structures, as it is the first Airbus version whose fuselage and wing structure is made of carbon fiber and reinforced polymer.
The type rating for each model requires a number of simulator hours and real flight practices, in addition to a theoretical training phase:
A320 – the flight simulator training for this rating consists of 36 hours divided into 8 sessions of 4 hours each, plus 1 session of the same duration for the skill test. In all of them, normal, abnormal and emergency maneuvers are performed, as well as the necessary procedures for the flight development (planning, weight and balance, performances, and mandatory briefing and debriefing).
Once the simulator phase is overcome, for all the models mentioned above, 1 real flight session must be conducted. During this session, 6 take-offs and landings shall be carried out, performing at least one with a complete stop and one “go-around” manoeuvre.
With all this, for the new pilot, training continues during the first flights in which he/she will be under supervision. This phase lasts between 100 and 120 flight hours. After that, the new pilot will be ready to fly as co-pilot without any restrictions.
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