Modular training breaks your journey into stages. It can offer flexibility around work or other commitments, while still allowing intensive study when that suits you. Plan the sequence with your training providers.
Video hosted on YouTube. Open on YouTube ↗
Read the transcript
What is the modular route from zero experience to airline pilot?
Modular means you do things in chunks. It doesn't mean you can't complete those chunks back to back and make it intensive; it means the training is divided into stages.
Generally, you'll start with a Private Pilot Licence, learning the basic skills of flying. That includes exams, and we have courses for those. Once you've done that, you'll do some hour building. While you're building hours, you can work on your ATPL examinations—the theoretical knowledge needed for the later stages. We offer courses for those too.
During that period, you'll generally get your night rating, which allows you to fly at night. You'll likely do a multi-engine rating, for aircraft with more than one engine, and an instrument rating, allowing you to fly in poor weather conditions. The route also includes the Commercial Pilot Licence, allowing you to earn money from flying.
The order of those later stages can change. It depends on your flight school and the order in which it delivers the training.
People choose modular training because it's more flexible. Flexible doesn't have to mean longer. You can spread it out around a part-time or full-time job. Other people choose to complete it intensively but still go modular because they want to do one part at one school and another part elsewhere. There are regulations around that, but it can give you flexibility.
Sometimes you want to stop for a few weeks or months and then come back to it. There are lots of reasons why people choose a particular approach.
In broad terms: PPL, night rating, multi-engine rating, instrument rating and CPL. The order of the CPL and IR can vary. Hopefully that explains the idea.
