A glider pilot rating is an excellent way to enter the world of aviation as a novice, or to further hone your stick and rudder skills and energy management skills if you are already a rated pilot.
The requirements to obtain the license are different for already-licensed pilots versus someone pursuing their first rating. In this article we will discuss the question, how long does it take to get a glider license?
Attaining an initial glider pilot’s license requires a minimum of 10 flight hours and no fewer than 20 total flights. You will also need to pass a written exam and checkride. This can take as little as a few weeks. If you already have a pilot’s license, this can be completed in a matter of days.
Generally, attaining a glider pilot rating can be completed more quickly than a pilot certificate for airplanes.
In this article, we will discuss the requirements for a glider pilot rating, how long these requirements take, and the differences you can expect between an initial glider rating and an add-on rating if you already have a pilot certificate.
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How long does an initial glider rating take?
For someone with no prior pilot’s license, the requirements for a glider license include a flight time requirement, a written exam requirement, and a checkride requirement.
Flight Experience Requirement
To earn your glider pilot rating, you will need a minimum of 10 hours flying in gliders. At least 2 of those hours must be solo hours, and those 10 total hours must be made up of no fewer than 20 total flights. Additionally, the student must pass the FAA Private Pilot – Glider written exam.
Like a powered pilot’s license, there is no minimum hour requirement prior to solo. That judgement call is at the discretion of your instructor, based on how your skills develop through training.
Most students will have more time than the minimum requirements logged before taking their practical exam because it takes more than that for most students to become adequately proficient at flying.
Written Examination Requirement
The knowledge required for the written exam will be taught in part during ground sessions with your instructor, but should be supplemented with study at home.
Home study can be accomplished using study materials such as the FAA’s Glider Flying Handbook, a written exam study guide, or online ground school.
For students that do well with self-study, the written exam can be taken before starting training with an instructor. We discuss self-study in this article. This can shorten the time to getting a glider license if you are only counting time spent in lessons with a flight instructor.
Another difference between the initial glider rating and initial powered rating is the age requirements. A glider pilot can fly solo at age 14 and complete the rating as young as age 16 (compared to age 16 for solo and age 17 for a certificate in powered aircraft).
Training more frequently also decreases time needed as there is less need for review or to “knock the rust off” at the beginning of the next lesson if lessons are closer together or daily versus once or twice weekly. This is good advice for any rating you might be seeking.
I pursued an initial glider rating instead of a powered rating first. At the time I worked 6 days a week, so I could only train one day per week.
It took me 14 calendar weeks of training, including taking one week off, to take the written exam. In my case that meant 11 total days of actual training.
If I had been able to train more frequently, or do all of those days in a row, it would have been possible to complete the training more quickly.
The Glider Checkride
Commonly referred to as the “checkride”, the practical exam for any pilot certificate is a combination of a verbal format exam covering general knowledge associated with the rating and a practical flight exam. This is administered typically by a Designated Pilot Examiner.
The glider license checkride typically takes at least two hours, including the verbal examination and the practical flight test.
The checkride is typically scheduled on its own, on a day without any training sessions with an instructor. As such, you should consider the checkride day as a day on its own when estimating how long it takes to get a glider license.
Depending on where you live, the availability of an examiner for the checkride may slow the process down. Your instructor can help coordinate that.
How long does an add-on glider pilot rating take?
An add-on glider rating is a way for a pilot with an existing pilot certificate to add glider flying privileges.
The requirements for an add-on glider rating are less than an initial glider rating because there exists the expectation that you already have much of the skill set needed due to your existing pilot certificate.
Experience Requirements
For a pilot to add a private pilot glider rating to their existing certificate, they must first have logged a minimum of 40 hours of pilot in command associated with their existing rating (which they will have already logged from completing their powered certificate). From there, 10 solo flights in gliders must be completed.
There is no total flight time requirement in gliders for an add-on rating.
Is there a written exam requirement for an add-on glider certificate?
For pilots adding a glider rating to their existing pilot certificate, no written exam is required.
There is no written exam requirement if you already have a private pilot certificate because the FAA general knowledge written exam is required for all initial certificates. In other words, someone already holding a pilot certificate would have already necessarily passed the general knowledge test.
As a result, an add-on glider pilot rating can be completed fairly quickly.
Sometimes, scheduling a designated pilot examiner (DPE) can be the hold-up depending on availability.
The gliderport I did my training at routinely trains pilots for add-on ratings. They typically will schedule 3 days of training in a row, and for most pilots that is enough time to be prepared for the check-ride.
Glider Checkride for the Add-On Glider Certificate
Although there is no written exam requirement for an add-on glider certificate, the actual FAA checkride is the same regardless of if you are getting your initial glider pilot’s license or the add-on certificate.
Advanced Glider Pilot Ratings
The title and focus of this article is how long it takes to get a glider license when you do not have one already. To that we have discussed the initial or add-on pathway for a private pilot glider rating.
There are additional ratings associated with flying gliders that we will list here.
Commercial Pilot – Glider
The Commercial Pilot – Glider rating is required for someone that is interested in providing rides (but not training) in a glider for hire, for example conducting sightseeing flights in a glider for compensation.
This rating requires you to pass the Commercial Pilot – Glider written exam, have 25 hours of total flight time in gliders, 100 glider flights as pilot in command, and to pass a flight test.
Your Commercial Pilot – Glider rating is also required for the next step in your gliding career, instructing in gliders.
Certificated Flight Instructor – Glider
The Certificated Flight Instructor – Glider rating is needed to provide training to students and pilots seeking glider pilot certificates.
For this rating, the pilot must have completed the Commercial Pilot – Glider rating, have an endorsement from a flight instructor indicating appropriate knowledge and proficiency, and pass both a written exam and a practical flight test.
For both the Commercial Pilot – Glider and CFI – Glider ratings, accumulating the required hours and studying for the written exam are the primary obstacles.
Typically once those requirements are met the amount of time with an instructor to endorse you to take the flight test is minimal (3-4 days).
Bringing It All Together
Attaining a glider license as an initial rating instead of as an add-on to a pilot’s license is the most time-intensive option discussed here. Flying a glider isn’t especially difficult but it does take training and practice.
So how long does it take to get an initial glider license? With daily training, the requirements can be met and the license earned in as little as 2 weeks. Add-on ratings can be completed in a matter of days to a week.
Learning to fly in a glider before learning to fly in a powered aircraft can have advantages for some people. With lower total time requirements compared to powered flight and much lower hourly cost for glider flying it can be a less expensive entry into the world of aviation.
For more reading about attaining your glider pilot’s license, see our article on how much gliding costs.
