Guides, Not Brochures
Three questions come up in almost every first phone call. They are answered here properly and at length, with the numbers we actually plan around — and where the answer really is “it depends”, these guides say so and then explain exactly what it depends on.
Three of them. Each answers one question properly rather than three questions briefly.
The whole visit in order: when to arrive, the briefing, the walk-around, what the instructor hands you and when, what you will actually be doing in the air, and what happens afterwards. Also what to bring, what not to bring, and who can come with you. Read this if you have booked a flight or are about to.
Why the answer is measured in two different units — flight hours and calendar months — and why the second one surprises people. What we plan around, what stretches a timeline, and the one factor that is almost entirely in your hands.
What the two sets of FAA rules actually are, where the hour minimums differ, what changes day to day for a student, and why we train under Part 61. Read this if a school has told you one is better than the other.
Everything we publish about price and time is either a rate we charge or a planning estimate we tell students to budget for — labelled as one or the other, never blurred together.
$110 an hour, all in, on the ground and in the air. for an hour of dual instruction. Discovery flights are $200 for one passenger and $300 for two or three, everything included.
About 55 flight hours for a private pilot certificate, and a typical total budget of $12,000–$17,000. The range covers the whole certificate, including the costs paid to other people — the medical, the knowledge test, the examiner’s fee, the online ground course and your own supplies.
The full cost breakdown, line by lineThe shorter answers, and the pages these guides keep pointing at.
The shorter answers, all in one place — twenty-eight of them.
Read the F.A.Q.The certificate itself: stages, requirements, and what each one involves.
Private pilot trainingSpecification, avionics and maintenance.
The aircraftDirections, parking, and arrival.
McClellan AirportTraining in English and Russian, and how the TSA security approval works step by step.
International studentsThe school as it flies — straight from its Instagram.
Ask A Person
Call (916) 907-5812 Monday to Friday between 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM, or send a message — we answer by the end of the next business day. If the question is "is this realistic for me", that one is worth asking a person.
