What’s the path?
Private Pilot
What can you do as a private pilot?
A private pilot certificate is the certificate held by the majority of active pilots in the USA. It allows command of any aircraft weighing less than 12,500 lbs, (subject to appropriate ratings) for any non-commercial purpose and gives almost unlimited authority to fly under visual flight rules (VFR). A private pilot may carry passengers and flight in furtherance of a business. However, a private pilot may not be compensated for services as a pilot. Passengers are only allowed to pay a pro-rata share of flight expenses, such as fuel or rental costs.
A private pilot certificate is the minimum requirement for adding other ratings and more advanced certificates. Popular advancements include: technically advanced avionics aircraft, high performance aircraft, tailwheel endorsement, mountain flying checkout, and Cirrus training.
How long does it take?
That’s very much dependent on each student. Flying regularly and studying at home shortens the amount of time in the air and time with an instructor on the ground substantially. Flying a minimum of two, 3-hour lessons per week, a student can expect to have their certificate in approximately 6 months. For students in our academy program you can expect between 14 and 16 weeks! For people doing flight training for a professional pilot career, contact us for a more detailed training curriculum.
What aircraft will I fly?
Flight Test Prep Academy has a large diverse fleet of aircraft in which students can learn to fly including Cessna 172s, Tecnam P2008, and Cessna 150s.
Click here to meet our fleet.
What’s involved in flight training?
Private pilot training involves two main components
Ground school
Ground school is accomplished either in our classroom or through a home study course. It teaches you all the background information that all pilots need to know, but are not easily taught in the air. Topics covered during ground school include: regulations, airplane systems, navigation, aerodynamics, weather theory, and radio communications.Flight training
Typically 3-hour lessons are scheduled during which students will log 1-2 hours of flight time. Each lesson is structured to cover the specific maneuvers needed to master in order to earn a certificate. This training prepares the student to take both the written and practical tests. Certification is achieved upon successful completion of these two tests.
How much will it cost?
Cost is also very dependent on the student. If a student flies regularly, and is able to complete the syllabus in the minimum time specified by the FAA, the cost will be less. Here’s a breakdown based on the minimum requirements:
Average cost to Private Pilot
Instrument Rating
Why should I get an instrument rating?
An instrument rating is the next step on the path to being a professional pilot. It qualifies a pilot to fly in the clouds and when the weather is not favorable by reference to instruments in the flight deck and electronic navigation signals from the ground and GPS.
Without a doubt, an instrument rating will make any pilot better. Instrument flight training develops a more comprehensive understanding of many topics introduced in private pilot training while adding instrument specific knowledge into the mix. Additionally, with an instrument rating, flight opportunities are no longer restricted to only flying on clear weather days. Instrument rated Pilots can file an IFR flight plan enabling flight through clouds and making flights through difficult airspace much easier.
How long does it take?
Once again this is very much dependant on each student. One of the prerequisites is that you must have 50 hours of cross-country flight time as pilot in command. This stage usually takes the longest for students to complete, but this stage is also a lot of fun. After completing roughly ___ hours of instrument training with an instructor you will can partner with another pilot to fly to many different beautiful destinations to build the required time. Partnering with another pilot allows you to build this time at almost half the price and also learn from each other!
For students who fly regularly in our Academy you can expect to take about ____ weeks to complete your training.
What aircraft will I fly?
Almost all of our aircraft are IFR equipped and capable. You will be flying a variety of C172s including our G1000 and Garmin G3X Touch equipped aircraft.
Click here to find out more about our fleet.
What’s involved in flight training?
Much like private pilot training, instrument training involves two main components
Ground school
Ground school is accomplished either in our classroom or through a home study course. You will learn all the background information and regulations which you need to know before getting in the plane to fly. Learning these on the ground will greatly streamline your learning in the air. Topics covered during ground school include: regulations, navigation, weather theory, and radio communications. At the end of your ground school you will be fully ready to pass your written exam.Flight training
Where your primary training was focused on learning specific manoeuvres under visual flight rules, your instrument training will focus on navigating and flying solely by reference to instruments under simulated or actual instrument conditions. Typically 3-hour lessons are scheduled during which students will log 1-2 hours of flight time. You will fly many practice instrument approaches, learn how to recover from unusual attitudes, and learn some other instrument-specific procedures.
How much will it cost?
Once again cost is very dependent on the student. If a student flies regularly, and is able to complete the syllabus in the minimum time specified by the FAA, the cost will be less. Here’s a breakdown based on the minimum requirements:
Average Cost of Instrument Rating
Commercial Pilot
So You Want To Get Paid To Fly?
Achieving Commercial Pilot certification is the ticket to finally being able to receive compensation as a pilot. This certificate opens the doors to a wide variety of personally and financially rewarding flying opportunities. Commercial pilots are able to fly passengers for hire, transport cargo, or pursue a career as a flight instructor, charter pilot, airline pilot and much much more. The sky is the limit!
How long does it take?
Like with your other ratings the time it takes to complete training is very much dependant on each student. You must have 250 hours of flight time before you can apply for the certificate and many pilots chose to build time with another pilot by flying cross country flights. Partnering with another pilot allows you to build this time at almost half the price and also learn from each other!
Individual and group study is vital in this stage - you will learn crew resource management and refine your aeronautical decision making skills. Flight Test Prep Academy offers free, instructor-guided group study sessions which can greatly speed up your learning process. We also encourage commercial students to take an active leadership role in the private pilot study sessions to build confidence in explaining complex topics.
For students who fly regularly in our Academy and participate in study sessions you can expect to take about ____ weeks to complete your training.
What aircraft will I fly?
You will be flying in our fleet of C172s for your commercial training. N6337X and N330ME both qualify for TAA (Technically Advanced Aircraft) time and you will focus much of your training in these aircraft to build the required TAA time.
Click here to find out more about our fleet.
What’s involved in flight training?
The manoeuvres required for the commercial pilot certificate are almost identical to those required for the private pilot certificate. However, as a professional pilot you are expected to fly them to a much higher degree of accuracy and consistency. In addition to the manoeuvres from your private training you will add 4 manoeuvres which demonstrate your expert control over the aircraft in all phases of flight.
Ground school
While you should already know much of the knowledge required for the commercial pilot certificate, there is a greater level of fluency and detail required of a professional pilot. There are also a set of regulations specific to commercial operations with which you must be familiar. Remember: With a commercial pilot certificate you are set up to fly a wide variety of aircraft professionally as pilot in command. Ground school is accomplished either in our classroom or through a home study course. You will learn all the background information and regulations which you need to know before getting in the plane to fly.Learning these on the ground will greatly streamline your learning in the air. At the end of your ground school you will be fully ready to pass your written exam.
Flight training
Your commercial pilot flight training will consist of reviewing and refining the manoeuvres with which you are already familiar. Additionally you will learn to execute 4 additional manoeuvres: Chandelles, Eights-on-Pylons, Lazy-Eights, and the Power-off 180 Precision Approach and Landing. Typically 3-hour lessons are scheduled during which students will log 1-2 hours of flight time.You also have the option of completing your commercial pilot training from the right seat in order to easy the transition into the flight instructor training and reduce your cost of the next rating.
How much will it cost?
Once again cost is very dependent on the student. If a student flies regularly, and is able to complete the syllabus in the minimum time specified by the FAA, the cost will be less. Here’s a breakdown based on the minimum requirements:
Average Cost of Commercial Pilot Certificate
Give us a call, send us an email, or fill out our contact form to schedule a demo flight and begin your flying career!