Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

1 Answers

Single Engine Land requirements

Asked by: 3665 views
FAA Regulations

I have 2500 hours in USAF twin engine fighter (F-4C/D/E) and an ATP Multi Engine Land and Boeing 737 Type rating.  I have been non-current for a while, but I want to begin flying again.  What do I need to do to get single engine Land added to my certifications?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

1 Answers



  1. Russ Roslewski on Aug 18, 2016

    You will need to pass a checkride in a Single Engine Land aircraft to the standards of the certificate level you desire. In other words, if you want Private Pilot privileges for SEL you’d have to pass a Private Pilot checkride. Same for Commercial or ATP-SEL. Naturally, of course, you might as well go for at least Commercial privileges given your existing ATP-AMEL. (The ATP-ASEL being a strange beast.)

    This checkride will be somewhat abbreviated compared to if you had no existing certificates. See the applicable PTS for details of what it will include.

    There will be no specific training time requirements for this, you will just need to train to proficiency in the various maneuvers (such as Chandelles and Lazy 8’s) and take the checkride. You will not need to take a written exam. And in fact, you will not even need a retractable airplane for the Commercial checkride (as you normally would), due to your existing certifications. This will make it easier to find a flight school.

    None of this should be any problem for your local flight school. They probably don’t see a lot of people adding on a Commercial SEL who don’t have any SEL time at all, but a good CFI should be able to sort through the requirements quickly and lay out a path for you.

    My one big tip? Don’t flare that 172 at 737 height! 🙂

    And welcome back to aviation!

    +5 Votes Thumb up 5 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.