”Appropriately rated“ refers to the successful training in a specific category and class rating of aircraft.
Private pilots are allowed to fly any aircraft for which they are appropriately rated. ”Appropriately rated“ refers to the successful training in a specific category and class rating of aircraft. An example of ”category“ would be ”airplane“ or ”helicopter“ while an example of ”class rating“ would be ”single-engine land“ meaning the aircraft has one engine and is limited to operations on land rather than on water. So, upon completion of your Private Pilot Certificate rated for ”airplane, single-engine land“ although you may have trained in a Cessna 172 you are allowed to act as pilot-in-command (PIC) in any aircraft that is a single-engine land airplane, a Piper Archer for example. Acting as pilot-in-command means you have the final authority and responsibility for the operation of the aircraft and the safety of the flight. Some aircraft may require additional authorization to act as PIC, known as receiving an endorsement, such as tailwheel or high-performance aircraft.