Type rating explained: what it is, who pays, how long it takes

You have the license in your pocket, but the Airbus is still off limits? Exactly: Between finished pilot training and the first scheduled flight stands the type rating, known in German as Musterberechtigung. It is the key to one very specific aircraft type. This article explains what a type rating is exactly, which requirements Part-FCL sets, how the course works, how long it takes, how long the rating stays valid – and who pays for it in the end.

Type rating: the short answer

A type rating is an entry in the pilot license that allows flying a specific aircraft type. The license – CPL, MPL or ATPL – regulates in which role you may fly. The type rating regulates on which aircraft. It is earned at an approved training organization (ATO) in a course of theory, simulator training and a practical exam. After that, it must be renewed every year.

The legal basis in the EU and associated states is Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, more precisely its annex Part-FCL. There, FCL.700 states the principle: Anyone who holds a pilot license may only work as a pilot if they hold a valid, suitable class or type rating. Exceptions exist only for training flights, tests and a few special cases.

Class rating or type rating?

Part-FCL knows two kinds of ratings. Simple aircraft are grouped into classes: Single-engine piston aircraft like the club training aircraft fall under the SEP class rating, multi-engine piston aircraft under MEP. With the SEP rating, you may fly many different types, often after a short briefing.

More complex aircraft get their own type rating. These include all multi-pilot aircraft – practically every airliner, from the turboprop ATR 72-600 via the Embraer E190 to the Boeing 777-300ER – as well as jets and some high-performance single-pilot types. Which aircraft belongs where is set by EASA in its list of class and type ratings. If you want to fly privately, you have little to do with type ratings at first – more on this in the article on the private pilot license PPL(A).

Feature	Class rating	Type rating
Applies to	group of similar aircraft (e.g. SEP)	one specific type or type family
Typical aircraft	training and touring aircraft	airliners, jets, multi-pilot types
Validity (as a rule)	SEP: 2 years, MEP: 1 year	1 year
Training	often in the aircraft	mostly in the full flight simulator
Where earned	ATO, partly DTO or flight instructor	approved training organization (ATO)

Families and shared type ratings

Interesting for spotters: The logic of type ratings doesn’t always follow the type designations on the fuselage. The entire A320 family – A318, A319, A320 and A321, plus the neo variants such as the A320neo – shares one type rating. You switch between the variants with a differences course (differences training), as FCL.710 prescribes for variants within a rating.

At Boeing it is similar: The 737 generations from the NG such as the 737-800 to the 737 MAX 8 are linked through a common rating with differences training. There are also arrangements between the 757 and 767, between the 777 and 787 and between the A330 and A350 with which experienced pilots switch considerably faster than with a completely new course. The manufacturers plan this deliberately: A short changeover between related types saves airlines time and money. So when an airline operates a mixed fleet of A330s and A350s, this consideration is often behind it too.

The requirements for the first type rating

Before you may begin the first type rating on a multi-pilot aircraft, FCL.720.A requires a number of building blocks. MPL students are exempt because their training already includes the type rating. For everyone else:

On top of that, of course, comes a valid class 1 medical certificate. What is checked there is explained in the article on aeromedical fitness. You can find the whole path from the first flying lesson to the airline cockpit in Becoming a pilot: the routes into the cockpit.

How the course works

A type rating course is not a loose bundle of simulator hours but an approved program with a fixed structure. The content is based on the operational suitability data (OSD) that the manufacturer submits to EASA for the type. Roughly, the training is divided into four phases.

Phase 1: theory

It starts with systems knowledge: hydraulics, electrics, engines, flight controls, avionics, performance data, normal and emergency procedures. A large part of it is now computer-based (CBT), supplemented by classroom teaching and procedure trainers. At the end comes a theory exam organized by the ATO. For multi-pilot aircraft, FCL.725 prescribes a written exam with at least 100 multiple-choice questions.

Phase 2: simulator

Next comes the full flight simulator (FFS) – a moving cockpit replica that reproduces the real aircraft down to the detail. Here, as a crew of two pilots, you train normal procedures, instrument approaches and above all malfunctions: engine failure on takeoff, loss of pressure, system failures, go-arounds, approaches in bad weather. The critical maneuvers in particular can only be practiced safely in the simulator. If you want to understand what happens on approach, the article on the ILS approach helps.

Phase 3: skill test

The finale is the practical exam (skill test) with an examiner, usually also in the simulator. Part-FCL sets a time frame for it: The exam must be passed within six months of the start of the course.

Phase 4: base training

Pilots without experience on comparable types then fly a few circuits in the real aircraft – so-called base training. Without passengers, with an instructor, often at an airport with little traffic. For spotters, such training flights with repeated go-arounds and touch-and-gos are a special sight.

Experienced pilots can skip base training: In zero flight time training (ZFTT) under FCL.730.A, everything takes place in the simulator. The prerequisite is prior experience in a multi-crew cockpit on turboprop or jet types, depending on the qualification level of the simulator for example 500 hours or 100 route sectors – significantly more for simpler simulator levels.

After the type rating: conversion and line training

With the type rating entered, you may fly the type in principle – but not yet right away in airline operations. Every airline additionally trains new pilots on its own procedures, manuals and routes. This conversion at the operator (operator conversion course) is regulated in the flight operations part (Part-ORO). Often it is combined directly with the type rating.

Then follows line training (often called LIFUS): You fly real scheduled flights with passengers, with a training captain next to you. At the end comes a line check. Only after that are you in regular service as a first officer. How many sectors line training comprises is set by the airline in its approved program.

How long does a type rating take?

Part-FCL does not prescribe a fixed duration. The length depends on the type, the approved course program and your prior experience. A course of several weeks is typical, with theory and simulator sessions taking up most of it. If you add conversion at the operator and line training, usually a few months pass from the first day of the course to regular service in scheduled operations. For those switching between related types, the path is considerably shorter because a differences course or an abbreviated course is often enough.

Binding is only the framework of the exam: No more than six months may lie between the start of the course and the passed skill test, and the skill test must not be more than six months old at the time of application. The training organizations will tell you specific course durations.

Validity and renewal

Under FCL.740, a type rating is valid for one year in principle, unless the manufacturer’s operational data provide otherwise. For comparison: The SEP class rating for single-engine piston aircraft is valid for two years.

For revalidation on multi-engine types, FCL.740.A requires:

• a proficiency check on the type or in the simulator within the three months before expiry,
• at least ten route sectors as a pilot during the validity period, or one sector with an examiner.

At airlines, these checks are embedded in the regular simulator checks; increasingly also within evidence-based training (EBT). If a rating expires, a renewal is needed: A training organization assesses whether refresher training is necessary, then a proficiency check follows again. So if you don’t fly for a longer time, you don’t lose the rating forever, but you must prove that you still master the type.

Who pays for the type rating?

This is the most delicate question – and the answer is: It depends. You should always get specific prices directly from the training organization or employer. Basically there are three models.

Especially controversial is so-called pay to fly: Entry-level pilots pay not only for the type rating itself but also for line training, and then fly scheduled flights without being regularly employed. The European Cockpit Association and national pilot unions have criticized such models as exploitative for years. In Germany, labor law also sets limits on repayment clauses for training costs – in case of doubt, have a contract checked by a union such as Vereinigung Cockpit (Germany’s pilots’ union) or a specialist lawyer.

Which type rating is the right one?

At the start of a career, you rarely choose your first type yourself: The airline that hires you decides which aircraft you start on. At the Lufthansa Group, for example, many entry-level pilots start on short-haul; low-cost airlines like Ryanair rely on a Boeing 737 fleet, Eurowings and Condor on Airbus narrowbody jets. A self-paid type rating therefore only pays off – if at all – for types that have many operators in your target market.

If you later change employer or fleet, you do another type rating, usually paid by the new employer. Seniority lists and fleet planning decide when a move to long-haul comes up, for example to the Boeing 787-9 or the Airbus A350-900. How airlines make such decisions is covered in How airlines plan their fleets.

What the type rating has to do with technicians

The concept of the type rating exists not only in the cockpit. Maintenance technicians who release work on airliners also need an authorization for the respective type in their license. If you are interested in this path, you find introductory knowledge in Training as an aircraft mechanic and on aircraft maintenance.

What spotters take away from this

Type ratings explain some of what you observe at the fence. Why an airline prefers to operate variants of the same family rather than many different types: because the pilots may switch between them. Why a jet without passengers lands and goes around several times in a row: base training. And why some airports regularly see training flights while others hardly ever get any.

Also interesting is a look at the differences within a family. If you can tell the generations of the Boeing 737 apart, you understand why an NG pilot can switch to the MAX with a differences course – and why the two are still separate entries in your hangar as a spotter.

Conclusion

The type rating is the last big building block between license and airline cockpit. It requires flight experience, instrument flying, ATPL theory and multi-crew training, takes place mostly in the simulator and must be confirmed every year. The duration depends on type and prior experience, the question of cost on the employer. If you are offered a type rating, read the contract above all – and if you want to pay for one yourself, think very carefully about whether there will be a job on the type afterward.