Earning A Pilots License In Texas Is Actually Pretty Easy

Not that it’s any harder anywhere else, licenses are issued by the federal government so there’s only one set of rules. There is a benefit to doing it in Texas though.

I always wanted to learn to fly, just didn’t have a need to. Once I have the license, what next? I don’t own a plane.

Renting one doesn’t seem much cheaper than booking a flight and, flying commercially, means you can drink and relax. (If you don't mind paying $10 a beer.)

A random search on the good old inter-web found plane rental rates around $200 per hour. Some less, some more depending on the plane.

A quick peek at Southwest.com showed flights as low as $89, one way. About an hours rental, (roundtrip, per person for 2), without the stress, paperwork or sobriety.

If you still want to do it, and have about $10K to spare, it’s pretty easy.

A person applying for a private pilot certificate in airplanes, helicopters, and gyro-planes must log at least 40 hours of flight time, of which at least 20 hours are flight training from an authorized instructor and 10 hours of solo flight training in the appropriate areas of operation; three hours of cross country; three hours at night, three hours of instrument time; and other requirements specific to the category and class rating sought. faa.gov

That applies across the board in the USA for a private pilot's license. If you want a commercial pilot's license, that's different.

Why Is Texas A Little Easier To Get A Pilots License In?

Simply put, we have a ton of airports that can host a number of flight schools.

Some states have only a few airports, (Delaware has none), so their ability to accommodate schools and/or students isn't all that.

Texas has almost 1,500 airports across the state and over 100 flight schools. Many Texas universities offer flight training too.

Yet, we're #3 as far as having the most, behind Florida and California.