Transport Canada Private Pilot Licence: hours, fuel and CO₂

Minimum requirements

Source: CARs Standard 421.26(4)

What else the rule says

• Dual: 17 hours with an instructor, including at least 3 hours of cross-country and 5 hours of instrument time. Up to 3 of the 5 instrument hours may be instrument ground time.
• Solo: 12 hours, including 5 hours of cross-country with one flight of at least 150 nautical miles and two full-stop landings at points other than the departure point.
• Simulators: up to 5 of the 45 hours may be flown on an approved aeroplane simulator or flight training device. That leaves 40 hours in the aircraft.
• Before the flight test: Standard 421.14 requires at least 35 of the 45 hours to be done before you attempt it. The test itself must fall within 12 months before you apply.
• Ground school: Standard 421.26(3) also requires at least 40 hours of ground instruction. It burns no fuel.

The CO₂ of 45 hours of training

These figures put every one of the 45 minimum hours in the aircraft. Fuel is hours times the trainer's fuel flow at about 75% power. CO₂ is the trainer's kilograms an hour, from 8.31 kg per US gallon of avgas, for burning the fuel only.

In a Cessna 172, each hour moved from the aircraft to a simulator takes 88 kg of CO₂ off the total. All 5 allowed hours would take off 440 kg.

The rule counts up to 5 of these hours without flying the aircraft, for example in a simulator, in a training device or on the ground. That time burns no aircraft fuel, so a course that uses it emits less than the table shows.

The trainers are examples from our aircraft data, not a list of what any school flies.

How to offset it

Training is usually spread over a year, so we price it on the yearly plan, from $0.035 per kg. Offsetting the 45-hour minimum costs $76.31 to $124.74, depending on the trainer.

• Who it's forOffset as an individual pilotHow a pilot offsets their own flying.
• PricingPlans and ratesThe per-kg rates of the monthly and yearly plans.
• Who it's forFor flight schools and clubsHow a school or club offsets the hours its aircraft fly.
• ContactContact us about a fleet or schoolAsk for a quote on a fleet, a school or a total over the cap.

How to cut it

Over 45 hours, the Cessna 150/152 emits 2,295 kg of CO₂ and the Cessna 172 Skyhawk emits 3,960 kg, a gap of 1,665 kg. The trainer you pick and the hours you need are the two parts you control.

• GuideWhat learning to fly costs the climate: 3 to 6 tonnes of CO₂, and how to halve itIn the US, a private pilot license typically takes 50 to 70 hours (AOPA; the FAA says about 75), or about 3 to 6 tonnes of CO₂ in a common trainer. Here is the math by trainer, how to cut it by about half, and where electric training stands.
• GuideHow to cut your aircraft's fuel burn and CO₂Every US gallon of avgas you don't burn is 8.31 kg of CO₂ you don't emit. Leaning, power settings, altitude, ground time and maintenance, plus what unleaded fuel and electric trainers will and won't change.

Related licenses

• LicenseCommercial Pilot LicenceMinimum 200 hours, about 17,600 kg of CO₂ in a Cessna 172.
• LicenseNight ratingMinimum 20 hours, about 1,760 kg of CO₂ in a Cessna 172.
• LicenseFloat ratingMinimum 7 hours, about 616 kg of CO₂ in a Cessna 172.
• LicenseRecreational Pilot PermitMinimum 25 hours, about 2,200 kg of CO₂ in a Cessna 172.
• LicenseFAA private pilot licenseMinimum 40 hours, about 3,520 kg of CO₂ in a Cessna 172.
• LicenseEASA Private Pilot LicenceMinimum 45 hours, about 3,960 kg of CO₂ in a Cessna 172.

This summarizes the rule as of October 9, 2026; the regulation is the reference.