Type & Class Ratings
Add new aircraft to your licence. From complex-type training on the Cessna 182 to advice on larger multi-pilot types, we’ll get you current and confident.
About the course
Fly something new
Every aeroplane you fly sits on your licence as a class rating (single-engine piston, multi-engine) or, for multi-pilot and CAAZ-designated aircraft, a type rating. Moving to a new aircraft means training on its systems, performance and procedures.
We run complex-type training on the Cessna 182 as part of our CPL syllabus, conversions onto our fleet — the Cessna 172, Cessna 182 and Cirrus SR22 — and multi-engine training. For larger multi-pilot types we’ll advise you on the route.
What it lets you do
- Fly a new aircraft type or class as pilot-in-command
- On multi-pilot types, act as pilot-in-command or co-pilot within the crew
- Transfer a foreign type rating to a Zimbabwean licence when the type is on the Zimbabwe register
Before you start
- A pilot licence appropriate to the aircraft (PPL, CPL or ATPL)
- A valid medical certificate
- For multi-pilot types: ATPL-level knowledge of aircraft technical, performance, human performance, meteorology, principles of flight and radar
- The type must be on the Zimbabwe aircraft register to be endorsed on your licence
Minimum experience
| Multi-engine class rating | 10 hrs supervised + skill test |
|---|---|
| Types over 5,700 kg | 30 hrs simulator + 3 hrs aircraft |
| … or | 36 hrs in a Level D simulator |
From the Civil Aviation (Personnel Licensing) Regulations, 2019 (S.I. 176 of 2019), section 66 and the Thirteenth Schedule. Training must cover normal, abnormal and emergency procedures, instrument procedures, upset prevention and recovery, and crew coordination.
Your training journey
How the course runs
Technical ground school
Systems, limitations, performance and loading for the new type.
Normal procedures
Checklists, handling and normal operations until they’re second nature.
Abnormals & emergencies
Failures, emergencies, instrument procedures and upset prevention and recovery.
Test & check-out
A knowledge test on the type and a flight check-out or skill test.
Ground school
What a conversion covers
Exams & test
Knowledge test on the specific type, and a flight check-out or skill test.
Validity: type ratings for aeroplanes over 5,700 kg and multi-engine class ratings last 1 year; single-engine class ratings last 2 years. Renewal is by practical test.
CAAZ can issue a special written authorisation for training or test flights on a type you aren’t yet rated on.
Why it matters
Trained to understand, not just to pass
“In the absence of all other standards, maintain your own.” — the standard we hold ourselves to.
A licence is the start, not the goal. What counts is how you handle the moment something doesn’t go to plan — and that comes down to how deeply you were trained.
Over the years, Guthrie-trained pilots have gone on to fly for — and reach the senior levels of — some of the world’s most recognised airlines, including Cathay Pacific, Emirates and Qatar Airways, and to serve as chief pilots for corporate operators and private families.
Training at Charles Prince (FVCP)
Convert onto our fleet
From the classic Cessnas to the Cirrus SR22 with its whole-aircraft parachute system.
Cessna 182 complex-type training is part of our CPL syllabus.
A CAAZ Approved Training Organisation (certificate 0006), also approved by the Ministry of Higher Education (0162/98). Training here since 1995.
Questions
Frequently asked
What’s the difference between a class and a type rating?
Most light single-engine aeroplanes are flown on a class rating. Type ratings apply to aircraft certificated for two or more pilots and to types CAAZ designates.
Do I need a type rating for the Cessna 182?
Single-engine piston aeroplanes are generally flown on a class rating, but you still need training on each new aircraft. Ask us what a particular aircraft requires.
Can I transfer a foreign type rating?
Yes, if the type is on the Zimbabwe aircraft register.
How long does a rating last?
Single-engine class ratings: 2 years. Multi-engine class ratings and type ratings for aeroplanes over 5,700 kg: 1 year, renewed by practical test.
Request information
Ask us about the Type Ratings
Tell us where you are now and what you’d like to achieve. We’ll come back with the next intake, a training plan and costs.
Ready for a new aircraft?
Tell us what you want to fly and we’ll set up the conversion.