So believe it or not there are actually a ton of flying licenses available. Since I'm really only interested in fixed-wing airplanes, I'll really only get into those. Other types of licenses include rotor powered aircraft (helicopters), balloons, gliders, lighter than air (blimps) and the list goes on and on. The first license a fixed-wing pilot usually obtains is the private pilots license, although it is possible to obtain a sport or recreation pilots license, however; these two licenses have strict limitations on where you can fly i.e. only 50 nautical miles from your initial location. The benefit of these licenses is that you don't need to pass a medical exam every few years, you only need to certify that you yourself are healthy enough to fly the aircraft. The private pilots license has a few more restrictions. You have to pass a medical exam at least every 5 years, and there is more flight hour requirements. After one has obtained a private license, the next step is typically an instrument rating. An instrument rating allows a private pilot to fly in clouds, get better air traffic control vectoring, and basically gives the holder more opportunity. Since clouds cause a complete loss of ground reference, private pilots without an instrument rating are basically limited to sunny days, or days where they would be able to fly under a cloud layer. After the instrument rating, one typically gets a multi-engine rating. This rating is as simple as it sounds, you can fly a plane with more than one engine. Up next is the commercial pilots license, which gives the holder the option of flying for compensation or hire. As a private pilot, I am not allowed to accept money for flying people or cargo. I can however pay a share in the flight, but it must be no less than the total operating cost divided by the number of people on board. After the commercial license, one can get a certified flight instructor rating. This is where pilots typically accumulate the bulk of their flight hours, teaching other people how to fly a plane. At 2500 hours total time, one is allowed to apply for an airline transport pilots license, which allows them to be hired by major airlines, but has very strict rules. A class 1 medical certificate is required, which must be renewed every 2 years if you are under 40 years old, or every 12 months if you are over 40 years old. The mandatory retirement age for airline transport pilots is now 60 years old. At 60 years old, one cannot fly for an airline, but can continue to fly for leisure on their own.