pilots license

Best Schools for Flying Lessons

Filed under: Wings

plane interior If you are thinking about learning to fly, keep in mind that flight schools, as most businesses these days, want your business.Many flight schools recommended for purposes of this article have recently closed their doors. What do you look for when seeking out a flight school? What should it cost?

Here are recommendations gleaned from several pilots and flight schools:

1.The true cost of flight training should be based upon your needs. "When you enter our offices and tell us you want to learn to fly, we are going to ask 'Why?'," says Zeke Valtz, owner of Horizon Aviation Inc. in Boston, Massachusetts and Warwick, Rhode Island. "Are you seeking a career with the airline industry? Do you want to fly your own plane, or for business? We will tailor our flight training to your needs.. You will be trained by instructors who are fully engaged in your success. Consider that many flight instructors are in the air with you to build their flight time. We are here for our student, and our FAA check ride pass rate is one of the highest in the industry: 90% pass rate!" The FAA check ride is considered one of the most important factors in the development of high quality U.S. pilots.

2. How often you plan to take flight lessons will factor into the costs of lessons. "It all starts with the private pilot's license. Do you want to have your license in a year? Take a lesson each week. If you want the license in six months, bump it up to two classes per week. If you are really eager, take three lessons and week and your target date will be four months from now," says Gail Erwin, a private pilot in California. Usually, the more often you take classes, the lower the costs of flight training. You may spend $6,000 taking lessons over a year and $5,000 if you take the same lessons over six months.

3. The kind of aircraft you use during training may also influence how much you pay. If your training occurs in a two-seat aircraft vs. a 6-seat twin engine craft, your costs will be lower. Where you take training may also affect how much you pay. For example, a flight school in Puerto Rico quoted a cost of $3,000 to obtain the Private Pilot's License. This is a certificate, not an actual license. In speaking with other flight schools along the eastern seaboard, most costs average somewhere north of $4,000. It may be worth paying more for higher quality instructors and equipment than seeking out the lowest bidder for your business. Some schools, e.g. Flight World, Inc. in San Juan, PR say costs run anywhere from $4,000-$10,000 to obtain your license.

Tags: bestschoolsforflyinglessons, fly a plane, FlyAPlane, flying lessons, FlyingLessons, learn to fly, learn to fly a plane, LearnToFly, LearnToFlyAPlane, pilot training, pilots license, PilotsLicense, PilotTraining