Transport Canada Recreational Pilot Permit: hours, fuel and CO₂

Minimum requirements

Source: CARs Standard 421.22(4)

What else the rule says

• Dual: 15 hours, including at least 2 hours of cross-country. The rule sets no solo cross-country distance for the permit.
• Age and medical: the minimum age is 16, against 17 for the Private Pilot Licence. A Category 4 medical certificate applies, and a signed Civil Aviation Medical Declaration can meet it.
• Ultra-light credit: a holder of a valid Pilot Permit, Ultra-light Aeroplane can credit all dual and solo time flown in ultra-light aeroplanes toward the experience.
• Before the flight test: you must have met all of the experience requirements first. For the Private Pilot Licence, you may attempt the test after 35 of the 45 hours (Standard 421.14(4)).
• Flight test: the test can be the recreational one (Standard 428, Schedule 2) or the private pilot one (Schedule 3).

The CO₂ of 25 hours of training

These figures put every one of the 25 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.

Over the permit's 25 hours, the Tecnam P2008 would emit 1,100 kg of CO₂ and the Diamond DA20-C1 would emit 1,425 kg.

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 25-hour minimum costs $38.50 to $49.88, 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 25 hours, the Tecnam P2008 emits 1,100 kg of CO₂ and the Diamond DA20-C1 emits 1,425 kg, a gap of 325 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

• LicensePrivate Pilot LicenceMinimum 45 hours, about 3,960 kg of CO₂ in a Cessna 172.
• LicenseFAA sport pilot licenseMinimum 20 hours, about 1,760 kg of CO₂ in a Cessna 172.

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