Fixed Wing Flight Training & Airplane Pilot Programs

View our fixed-wing flight training rates

You pay for what you fly, billed per hour: the aircraft, your instructor, and ground lessons. Our TAA Cessna 172 is $190/hr wet; the Analog 172 is $180/hr wet; instruction is $90/hr. We also offer a block discount rate with a $5-per-hour discount on flight and ground training. Plan on roughly 11,000–15,000 for a Private Pilot License. FAA exam fees are extra, typically $150 for each knowledge test and 1,000–1,500 for each checkride examiner. Flying 3–4 times a week is the single biggest way to keep your total down, because less time goes to re-learning between lessons. Ask us for a written estimate based on your goals.

Flying 3–4 times a week, most students finish their Private in 3–5 months and their Instrument Rating 2–3 months later. The long stretch is building up to 250 hours for the Commercial, which usually takes 6–12 months, often while working as a CFI or renting aircraft. Full-time students who go all the way to CFI typically take 12–18 months.

Both lead to the same FAA certificates. Part 61 is flexible: your lessons follow your progress and your schedule. Part 141 follows an FAA-approved syllabus with stage checks, and it allows lower minimum hours for some ratings. Our airplane courses currently run under Part 61. Our Cessna 172 Part 141 curriculum is awaiting FAA approval. If you plan to start after approval, tell us and we’ll let you know as soon as it opens.

A Technically Advanced Airplane (TAA) has glass displays, a moving-map GPS, and an autopilot linked to the navigation. That’s the equipment you’ll use in almost any flying job. The practical benefit is that TAA time meets the FAA’s 10-hour complex/TAA requirement for the Commercial certificate. You won’t need to rent an older retractable-gear airplane just to tick that box. We also fly a traditional analog 172, so you can learn both kinds of cockpit.

Yes. With an instructor, hours in our FAA-approved AATD can be logged toward the Instrument Rating (up to 20 hours) and the Commercial certificate (up to the limit in the device’s FAA authorization). The simulator can switch between G1000, dual G5/GNS 530, and analog panels. On days of low cloud or maintenance, your training keeps moving. See the AATD simulator.

Your first lesson is an introductory demo flight. An instructor briefs you, you do the preflight inspection together, and you fly the 172 yourself once you’re off the ground. Allow about 2–2.5 hours in total. If you enroll, the flight can go in your logbook. Bring government photo ID. If you plan on enrolling afterwards, U.S. citizens also need a passport or birth certificate: the TSA requires schools to check citizenship before training. Non-U.S. citizens need TSA approval first; see our international student page.