PPL

Your Private Pilot Certificate, commonly called a PPL, lets you fly solo and carry passengers under VFR. The FAA minimum is 40 hours under Part 61, but most people need 60-70 before they are ready for the checkride.

Most student pilots start here. The quality of your flight school matters a lot at this stage. The cost, fleet reliability, instructor availability, and whether the school has a DPE on staff all affect how long and expensive the process ends up being.