Flight Lessons

Private Pilot Certificate

The first step in every pilot’s journey is the Private Pilot’s certificate. Whether you are learning to fly for fun or want to make a career out of being a pilot, this is your first step.

Get yourself behind the throttle of an airplane and reach for the skies today!

 

Course Outline

Ground School

Your private pilot’s certificate begins with learning the fundamentals of flight through rigorous academic training. Most pilots choose to complete an online ground school such as those provided by Sporty’s or Gleim Aviation. Choosing one of these ground schools can save you considerable money on your journey to getting your license.


Fundamentals of Flight

In this stage of training, you will learn the basics of flying. We will focus on essential flight maneuvers such as take-offs, landings, turns, and getting comfortable communicating with Air Traffic Control. We’ll discuss weather, aerodynamics, aircraft systems and more, following right along with the Airplane Flying Handbook and the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge.


Solo Flight

It’s just you, the airplane, and a whole lot of sky! This is your chance to validate your skills and build confidence in your own abilities as a pilot by taking the airplane out on your own.


Advanced Maneuvers and check ride prep

You’ll continue your flight training by reinforcing skills you’ve been working on and learning some new ones. Together we’ll work on fine-tuning your control touches, increasing stall proficiency, and solidifying all the maneuvers you will need for check ride day. We’ll move into night flying techniques and cross countries, further increasing your toolbelt of skills as you get more comfortable in the air. You will also be expected to push your academic knowledge to the limits, moving from the memorization stages of learning all the way through to correlating what you’ve learned across multiple flight disciplines.


Instrument Rating

Typically the next rating a private pilot seeks is the instrument rating. Learning how to precisely control the aircraft by referencing only the instruments in your cockpit will greatly improve not just your ability to operate in a variety of weather conditions, but also your control over the aircraft.

 

Course Outline

Ground School

The bulk of your time for the instrument rating will be spent on the ground studying complex academics instead of shooting approaches in the sky. Some of the areas you’ll learn in-depth include FAA regulations, IFR departure, en route, approach and terminal procedures, hazardous weather, and precision aircraft controls under instruments.


Basic instruments

During this phase of training, you will solidify your understanding of how the instruments work in correlation with each other. You will become proficient in your scanning techniques and control manipulation as you execute turns, climbs, level offs, power changes, descents, and radio navigation all under Instrument Flight Rules. Some key discussion points will be aeromedical factors such as spatial disorientation, primary and secondary instruments during maneuvers, and basic IFR procedures.


Advanced instruments

Once you’ve mastered the fundamentals of flying under instruments it's time to apply those skills to actual IFR flight. You’ll take to the skies and fly multiple approaches and cross country flights, all only by referencing your aircraft instruments. You’ll fine-tune approach procedures, precision, and non-precision along with your interactions with Air Traffic Control and learn how to handle common emergency situations.


Commercial Pilot Certificate

Transform your passion for flying into an exciting and rewarding career in the skies. Your commercial license not only makes you eligible to act as a for-hire pilot but will also continue to enhance your skills and confidence in controlling the aircraft in a wide variety of situations.

 

Course Outline

Ground School

The ground school portion of your commercial pilot certificate focuses primarily on increasing the depth and breadth of your prior learning. Jumping off the diving board of the basic skills learned in your private pilot training, you’ll learn advanced academics, aerodynamics, and emergency operations preparing you for passengers and other commercial applications.


Flight Maneuvers

A few of the commercial flight maneuvers include, but are not limited to steep turns, steep spirals, chandelles, lazy eights, eights-on-pylons, and power-off accuracy approaches. You’ll spend several hours of flight perfecting these maneuvers while honing all your abilities and reactions as a pilot.



CertificateD Flight Instructor (CFI) & CFI w/ Instrument Rating (CFII)

Being a Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI) is a great way to share your passion for aviation, build flying time, improve your skills, and get paid to do it. Teaching others to fly can be a great way to move forward in your own flying and your own career. This is normally the first step taking in your career as a pilot as most pilots’ first job in aviation is as a CFI.

 

Course Outline

Ground School

Similar to the instrument rating, ground school plays a very important role in your development as a CFI. Your academics will include the fundamentals of instruction while becoming familiar with theories of learning and how to properly communicate with your students. You’ll learn how to adjust your teaching method based on student aptitude, how to write and adjust lesson plans, as well as best practices for conducting a thorough evaluation of student performance. Physiological and behavioral human factors exploration will give you insight on how to effectively teach aeronautical decision making (ADM).


Flight Maneuvers

In-flight you will focus on flying from the right seat and managing a cockpit with a student pilot. We will teach you training techniques, common errors of both CFIs and students, and how to effectively manage an airplane with someone who is brand new to flying. Our training will focus heavily on situational-based training scenarios to prepare you for your first job!