Originally Posted by CLT Guy

When I had 50 hours and a PPL, I did not consider myself a real pilot. It wasn't until I was signing my name for a jet with paying passengers in the back that I felt like a real pilot. Even when I was flying a turboprop on the west coast full of rubber dog doodoo, I didn't consider myself to be a "real" pilot yet. I still had way too much to learn to be that cocky.

I still have a lot to learn, but I do consider myself a real pilot.

Maybe for a military guy, it was something different - a stage when they issued you wings that you earned.

But that is just me.