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Chapter 2 of 10

The pilot: XP, ranks, ratings

How a career grows and why some aircraft stay locked

Pilots grow on experience (XP). XP unlocks ranks, a rank opens up heavier aircraft, and a type rating opens up the specific machine. Three steps, and you climb them in that order.

Where XP comes from

XP is awarded for every completed flight: the flight score multiplied by a distance factor. Short hops give little, long legs give the most.

Under 50 nautical miles×0.2
50–150 nm×0.5
150–600 nm×0.8
600–2,500 nm×1.0
Over 2,500 nm×1.2
Below 25 logged hours all XP is doubled — newcomers don't have to spend years catching up with the veterans.

Ranks

Cadet0 XP
First Officer500 XP
Captain1,750 XP
Senior Captain4,300 XP
Instructor Pilot8,500 XP
Chief Pilot14,500 XP

Rank decides which weight class you are trusted with: light and medium from Cadet, heavy (Boeing 767 and 777, Il-96 and the like) from Captain, super heavy (A380, An-225) from Instructor Pilot.

Type ratings

Rank alone is not enough: every type also needs a rating. The starter ones are free; the rest you pay to train for, in the Career section.

Light (L)₽100,000
Medium (M)₽200,000
Heavy (H)₽800,000
Super heavy (J)₽2,000,000
Ratings have to be kept current. Ninety days without flying a type and it lapses — that type is no longer bookable until you take a recurrency course: roughly a quarter of the training cost, but never less than ₽25,000. Career warns you two weeks before the deadline.

Pilot money

  • Salary from the airline — every 30 days, based on your rank. Each airline sets its own scale; the default runs from ₽40,000 a month for a Cadet to ₽450,000 for a Chief Pilot.
  • Flight bonus — a share of the profit the flight brought the airline, 10% by default. It arrives together with the report.
  • Your personal account pays for training, recurrency courses, personal aircraft and their ferry flights.

Quality rating

Besides XP, every pilot carries a rating — the average score of recent flights, starting at 90. Clean flying lifts it, rough flying drags it down. It shows in the rankings, and airline management looks at it when hiring.

CareerRankings
Next · Chapter 3How a flight works