Earning a pilot’s license can be one of the most rewarding moment’s of a person’s life. Months, sometimes years, go into getting up in the air and learning the in’s and out’s of piloting an aircraft. Pilots who earn their private pilot license are well aware of what planes they are allowed to fly—it’s one of the first questions asked to them during their final exam.

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But there are some misconceptions from aspiring pilots as to what aircraft they will be capable of flying once they earn a private pilot license. 

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Does private pilot training encompass flying an aircraft with multiple engines? Advanced avionics? Retractable gear or skids? Flying in the clouds or bad weather? Can someone do flight training in both a helicopter and a fixed wing airplane? 

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The aircraft a pilot can legally fly depends on the category and class of their private pilot license.

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What does this mean?

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Both airplanes and rotorcraft are two separate categories—a single engine airplane falling into the former while a helicopter belonging into the latter. A private pilot license allows a person to fly an aircraft—most likely, either a fixed wing airplane or a helicopter—but not immediately both. What’s more, pilots earn ratings to further distinguish the class and type of aircraft that they can fly. For instance, an aspiring pilot pursuing their private pilot in the category of an airplane, needs to be able to identify what class of airplane they can fly. After all, becoming a private pilot doesn’t allow you to fly any airplane—a rating designates what class of aircraft you are able to fly. From single-engine airplanes to multi-engine seaplanes, there are different classes of aircraft that require separate ratings as dictated by the FAA. Finally, certain limitations restrict a pilot from flying a type of aircraft within a certain class. For instance, a private pilot may be able to fly airplanes that are single-engine, but need additional training to fly an airplane that is over 12,500 pounds —such as an airplane with a turboprop. This additional training will earn them a type rating. 

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So as a quick recap and for additional context:

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• An airplane is a category of aircraft

• A single engine airplane is a class of aircraft. 
• A Cessna 172 is a type of aircraft
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A Cessna 172 is a single engine airplane that does not require a type rating so any private pilot airplane, single-engine can legally fly it.
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In respects to helicopters:
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• A helicopter is actually a class of aircraft, designated under the rotorcraft category
• A private pilot rotorcraft learning to fly in a helicopter, will receive a private pilot rotorcraft helicopter rating 

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Additionally, the FAA creates ratings for the conditions a pilot is able to fly in, not only the aircraft they can legally command. While private pilot training simulates flying with low visibility, usually on 2 or 3 flights, it does not allow a pilot to fly in conditions that can generally be deemed cloudy and with low visibility. The actual designation for these specific conditions are called Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) and require an instrument flight rating (IFR) and an aircraft that is capable of flying in these situations. 
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There’s nothing that stops someone from earning their private pilot license in a multi-engine aircraft, other than money, but by-and-large, private pilot training involves a pilot learning to fly in an airplane, on land, and becoming rated in the class of a single-engine airplane. This makes them a private pilot airplane with a single-engine land rating.
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For aspiring pilots interested in flying helicopters, they too must earn their private pilot license to do so. Unlike aspiring pilots interested in earning their private pilot airplane, there are fewer ratings associated with the private pilot helicopter. A private helicopter pilot can fly any helicopter after earning their license, assuming the helicopter weighs less than 12,500 pounds. 

Ok. Another recap.
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To become a pilot you must first identify whether you are interested in flying a helicopter (rotorcraft) or a fixed wing airplane. For the latter, pilots must first decide if they want to fly a single engine airplane on land or sea to commence their training. 
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Becoming a pilot requires an understanding of airspace, regulations, flight planning, and radio communications. This information is largely aircraft agnostic, meaning it applies to any and all aircraft, whether in the helicopter or airplane category. Earning a pilot’s license validates an individual’s capabilities to travel through regulated airspace and properly plan for the flight. These skills must be learned by the pilot. 

But pilots will also be tested on how well they can maneuver an aircraft and handle an emergency. For decades, pilots have been responsible for maintaining and developing these skills, all while handling other tasks in the cockpit. But with SkyOS, the breadth of aircraft—helicopter or airplane—that any pilot can fly is considerably wider. With SkyOS, pilots are provided a level of protection to seamlessly and safely fly any aircraft.

How? SkyOS utilizes fly-by-wire to: 
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• Start an engine with a single swipe
• Offer bottom out protection (preventing hard landings)
• Provide dynamic envelope protection, preventing the pilots from any control manipulation that jeopardizes the safety of the flight (overbanking, reducing or exceeding airspeed, etc.)
• Give the pilot a single control stick to make flying simpler

The Skyryse One is the first aircraft powered by SkyOS that embodies the above features. It represents the first aircraft of many that will be simpler and safer to fly, allowing anyone with a pilot’s license the ability to fly any aircraft safely and comfortably. Case in point, with Skyryse One, a private airplane pilot with no helicopter experience can safely take off, fly, land, and even automate a helicopter autorotation. SkyOS protects and guides the flight, while the private pilot works the radios, executes the flight planning, and when comfortable decides to take the controls for themselves. 
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While aspiring pilots initially choose a single aircraft to learn to fly in—dictating whether they are an airplane or a helicopter pilot—SkyOS is a universal flight system that will dramatically open up the category and types of aircraft pilots are capable of flying through its state of the art features.