Atlas Heavy Freighter Type Rating

The Atlas Heavy Freighter Type Rating is the licence endorsement that lets you fly the Atlas, Halcyon's 612-metre bulk freighter, in any of its three pilot seats. It is the most commonly held heavy rating in the inner system and the usual first step for pilots heading towards a career in freight.

Requirements set by the Halcyon Type Certification Office include a Commercial Pilot Licence (Orbital), 600 hours of multi-crew experience, 160 hours in an approved Atlas simulator and 110 flight hours, at least one of them a live laden cargo run with a full 52,000-tonne hold. The check ride is taken as a crew of three, with each candidate assessed individually across captain and first officer roles.

Lumen's Heavy Freight Type Rating course is the accredited route, taught at Shackleton Base on Luna with flight phases to Mars. The rating is revalidated annually in the simulator.

Holders who later want to fly the Leviathan Ore Hauler can count their Atlas experience towards that rating's entry requirement.

New holders normally serve as first officer or systems officer before upgrading to captain, which most operators allow after 1,500 hours in type. The rating is the most common route into heavy freight careers in the inner system.