Private Pilot – $8999*

What is the Private Pilot Certificate?

Being a Private Pilot means you can fly for fun and certain business activities.  You can take trips or just go fly around for fun.  Take friends and family up and have a blast.  You can rent an airplane similar to the way you rent a car.  The only real limitations are you have to fly in relatively good weather and you can’t get paid as a Pilot.  To be paid as a Pilot you will need a Commercial Pilot Certificate.

Requirements

Everyone learns at a different pace and our goal is to help you become a pilot that is comfortable taking your family in the airplane with you.  Here is what is included in the pricing:

• 40 Flight Hours in an Airplane
• 30 Hours with a Flight Instructor

*Total cost depends on airplane used and amount of time needed to complete training.  Price above assumes Warrior and pre-paid pricing discount.

** 10 hours of airplane and instructor = $2500.  When you put down $2500 we will credit your account $250.  Buy 40 hours and the effective price goes down to about $8999.

You will have other fees.  Many of these are not paid to the school and include:

• Online Ground School
• Pre and Post Flight Briefings
• One-on-One Ground School with Instructor
• Check ride
• Knowledge Exam
• Medical Exam
• Pilot Supplies
• Aviation Headset

Many of these expenses can be financed into your loan as well

Prerequisites

• Be 17 years old at the end of the course. You may start at 15.
• Government Issued photo ID
• FAA Medical Certificate – 3^rd Class is all that is needed for Private Pilot
• Proof of US Citizenship. US Passport or Birth Certificate is the most common.  If you are not a citizen, contact us as we may be able to train you but there are TSA procedures that must be followed.
• Non-Owned Aircraft Renters Insurance. This protects you in the event of an incident or accident.  $60,000 minimum for aircraft damage.  Many of our students use AOPA Insurance Services.

Financing

Financing is available through both Flight Training Finance and Meritize as well as others.  Contact us for details and options.

Lesson Structure

A typical flight lesson lasts 2 hours.  You and the instructor will have a preflight briefing to go over what you will be doing during the flight and answer any questions.  Next you will fly the lesson as described on the syllabus.  After you land the instructor will take you through a post-flight briefing and help you get prepared for the next lesson.

If you would like to schedule longer flight training sessions just let us know.

Flying is like any skill.  It takes practice.  The more frequently you train, the quicker you will gain the skills necessary.  

Flight Training Syllabus

Flight training is broken into 4 stages. All times are estimated as individual progress varies.  Each stage makes sure you have gained the required knowledge and skills to progress to the next stage. At the end of all the stages, you will be ready for your Private Pilot License. After each phase, the student will take a stage check before progressing to the next stage. Times are an estimate based off averages.

Stage 1- Pre Solo

• During this stage, the student obtains the foundation for all future aviation training. The student becomes familiar with the training airplane and learns how use the airplane controls to establish and maintain specific flight attitudes and ground tracks. The student learns how to recognize and recover from stalls and gains the proficiency to solo the training airplane in the traffic pattern.

Stage 2 – Supervised Local Solo

• During Stage 2, the student will fly solo (by him or herself).  This is a huge accomplishment!  It signifies that instructor has confidence in the student to be able to successfully operate the airplane in the local area, communicate, navigate and handle common emergencies.  This is done under the direct supervision of the instructor.

Stage 3 – Cross Country Flight  / Night Operations / Performance Takeoffs and Landings

• During Stage 3, the student expands the skills learned in the previous stage. The student is introduced to short field and soft field takeoff and landing procedures, as well as night operations, which are important steps in preparation for cross country training. Additionally, the student will increase proficiency in performing maneuvers and procedures solely by reference to the instruments. In the cross country phase, the student learns to effectively plan and conduct cross country flights in the National Airspace System using pilotage, dead reckoning, VOR and GPS navigation systems.

Stage 4 – Check Ride Preparation

• During this stage, the student will receive instruction in preparation for the End-of-Course Flight Check. This stage will be complete when the students demonstrates performance of private pilot operations at a standard that meets or exceeds the criteria established in the FAA Private Pilot – Airplane Airman Certification Standards.

Check Ride

After all phases are complete, you will take a Check Ride with a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE). He or she will begin the check ride with an oral / verbal exam. This is a one-on-one conversation where the DPE will quiz you on material that you learned. He will also have you prepare a flight plan ahead of time and you will discuss various elements of it with him. After the oral exam is complete, your will then proceed to the airplane and do the flight portion of the test. The examiner will have you do many of the maneuvers your learned during your training. He will be assessing your skills and decision making throughout the process.

If all is successful, he / she will print out your Private Pilot Certificate right there on the spot!