Licensing and Medical Fitness for Student Pilots
Licensing and medical fitness covers the permits, certificates and conditions that make a flight legal, plus the medical requirements that make it safe. The PSTAR tests specific numbers here: minimum ages, medical categories, validity periods, the PSTAR pass mark, and the exact set of items a student needs before the first solo.
Permits, licences and ages
- Student Pilot Permit: minimum 14 years old, holds a Category 3 medical certificate, and applies to Transport Canada.
- Recreational Pilot Permit: minimum 16 years, and a Category 4 medical is acceptable.
- Private Pilot Licence: minimum 17 years with a Category 3 medical.
Medical validity
- Category 3: 12 months if you are under 40, 6 months at age 40 and over.
- Category 4: 60 months under 40, 24 months at 40 and over.
- Validity runs from the date of the medical examination, not the date the certificate was printed or mailed.
Everything required before you solo
A Student Pilot Permit, a valid medical certificate, a PSTAR pass of 90%, a Radiotelephone Operator Certificate (ROC-A), and an endorsement in your Pilot Training Record signed by your instructor. Solo flights may not carry passengers.
Worked example
A 41-year-old student scored 94% on the PSTAR, holds an ROC-A, and his instructor has signed the solo endorsement in his training record. His Category 3 medical is dated 7 months ago. Can he solo? No. At 40 and over a Category 3 certificate is valid for six months, so it lapsed a month ago. Everything else is in order, but he must renew the medical before any solo flight.
Traps that cost marks
- The PSTAR pass mark is 90%, not 70%.
- A valid medical certificate does not mean you are fit today; you must also be free of illness, fatigue, alcohol and drugs.
- A student permit is not a licence. Solo privileges carry no passengers and are limited to the conditions your instructor endorsed.
- Do not confuse the age for a Student Pilot Permit (14) with the age for a Private Pilot Licence (17).