Cost of Flight Instruction
Learning to fly is an investment of both time and money. The following breakdown explains the minimum estimated cost to complete your sport pilot certificate, as well as the realistic budget most students should expect.
Minimum Estimated Cost – $9,500
(Best case scenario, finishing in FAA minimum times)
➤ 24 hrs dual instruction
➤ 5 hrs solo
➤ 2 hrs practical test
➤ ~30 hrs logged at end of training
Breakdown:
➤ Module #1 – $4,000
➤ Module #2 – $4,000
➤ Module #3 – $1,500
Realistic Working Budget – $14,000
Most students will need 30–40 hours total flight time to meet skill standards. This means purchasing additional modules and accounting for:
➤ Training materials & test prep ($300–$500)
➤ FAA knowledge test fees (~$175)
➤ Lodging (if needed)
➤ Retest fees (if needed)
Efficient progress during Phase 4 (Pre-Solo Training) is the single best way to manage your budget.
How Can I Save Some Money?
I’m often asked how an individual client may control their flight training costs and maybe save some money while achieving their aviation dreams.
The first thing to come to terms with: “Aviation” is not an inexpensive pursuit. So get “cheap” out of your mind. However, the good news is that the Light Sport and FAR 103 ultralight programs are the most “affordable” way to achieve your dreams of flight.
My best advice:
➤ Choose a school that has a complete path to completion.
➤ Find professional, qualified, experienced instructors who truly love what they do.
➤ Do your homework, arrive prepared, and arrive consistently.
With the Captain Drake’s training system, it does not matter whether you start out planning to…
➤ Explore your bucket list with a romantic weekend flight,
➤ Learn about flying a FAR 103 Ultralight vehicle, or
➤ Earn a sport pilot certificate.
You can even decide later to pursue private, commercial, or airline transport certificates — this is the place to begin building your aviation foundation.
Some folks have been asking what are the best ways to "save money" during flight training? This is the list of helpful tips that you could use to "save money on flight training," whatever that means.
0. Have a good sense of humor!
1. Get a scuba certificate
2. Be young
3. Spend your early childhood and teen years riding dirt bikes and operating farm equipment
4. Read Jonathan Livingston Seagull
5. Understand that education in general is expensive, and aviation education specifically is very expensive
6. Choose a professional instructor who plans to and loves to be an instructor
7. Choose a training environment that specializes in the type of training you seek and has the skills, personnel, certifications, and equipment you need to COMPLETE THAT PROGRAM
8. Understand that you have to make the time to do the program
9. Show up consistently, listen to what they say
10. Do what they ask you to do
11. Do your homework
12. Take notes
13. Keep your mind open to the new material
14. Understand that your dreams are priceless, the memories of the experience last forever, the credit card bill only lasts until you pay it off. And the airman certificate doesn't expire — you just need to keep up on your flight reviews
Wolf's ideas on things that will cost you more:
1. Not starting. Costs only go up year after year — in fuel, aircraft, instruction, and opportunity. Waiting will cost more.
2. Not completing the program. Starting and stopping is the single most expensive thing you can do. A sport pilot certificate is the most achievable first step.
3. Choosing a CFI that you do not jive with. If you and your instructor don’t get along, it will cost you more in time and money.
4. Starting with a CFI or school that doesn’t have a clear path to completion. If they don’t have the right aircraft, access to a DPE, or the program structure you need, you’ll pay for it later.
5. Buying an aircraft too early. Don’t purchase before you know what you need, have some training, or understand certification and maintenance costs.
6. Violating Rule #1. Rule #1 from the Flight Instructor Handbook: learning to fly should be enjoyable. If it’s not fun, it will cost you more.
7. Buying a bunch of “stuff” too early. Wait until your instructor tells you what’s necessary.
8. Not buying a decent headset. If you can’t clearly hear your instructor, you’re wasting lesson value.
9. Not making the time to absorb the material. Rushing or underestimating the workload will slow your progress.
10. Thinking in terms of hours instead of skills. Minimum times in the FARs rarely reflect reality. Focus on building solid foundations, not chasing the lowest possible number of hours.
Study Tips and Memory Tools
Student Pilots, here are simple memory tools I often share with my students. These cover pilot responsibilities, preflight actions, airmanship, pattern work, landings, stalls, and more.
➤ The answer to most FAA/ Aviation questions is: A) it depends, B) nobody knows, or C) all of the above.
➤ FAR 91.3 CONTAINS THE MOST POWERFUL WORDS IN THE BOOK. DO NOT FORGET THEM.
➤ FAR 91.103 read it, know it, understand it. Don’t forget to do it.
➤ As PIC your responsibility ladder goes: A) the innocent people on the ground. B) your passenger(s). C) yourself. D) IN DISTANT LAST PLACE… PRESERVATION OF THE AIRCRAFT.
➤ Old classic… Aviate, Navigate, Communicate.
➤ Always have a plan. Don’t be so married to that plan that you follow it into a disaster.
➤ Anytime words like “Probably” “Maybe” or “I Guess” come into your aeronautical decision making, take a pause and double check your thinking.
➤ It’s better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air, than in the air wishing you were on the ground.
➤ Got time to spare? Go by air!
➤ Mike Patey’s three strikes rule. If you count three annoying but seemingly manageable issues… it’s a no-go!
➤ More fuel is (usually) better than less.
➤ Fuel in the tanks doesn’t do you any good if you don’t open the valve.
➤ As my good friend Don Bradely says: “If this aircraft doesn’t feel compelled to bring us home safely, we aren’t going to feel compelled to bring it home either!”
➤ Our job as pilots often comes down to managing the production of lift. We manipulate airspeed and angle of attack to vary the production of lift.
➤ Pitch for speed, power for altitude.
➤ An aerodynamic stall is due to an angle (exceeding the critical angle of attack). IT IS NOT A SPEED! It is an angle that can happen at different speeds due to differing conditions.
➤ When turning downwind to base, turn slightly more than 90°. Intercept final smoothly and fly a stabilized approach. Fly the center line! Keep it straight.
➤ It’s better to be a little bit high than a little bit low. It’s better to be a little bit fast than a little bit slow.
➤ Four parts to a landing: descent, roundout, float, flare to gentle touchdown over the center line.
➤ During landing transitions (tricycle gear): pull, hold, or slightly relax pressure on the stick—but do not push! If you feel the need to push, push the throttle and go around.
➤ Always ask yourself: “Where’s safety? Where am I going if things start not looking good?”
➤ Don’t turn right to go left!
➤ You’re better off slipping on purpose rather than skidding by accident.
➤ If turning left, the stick should be between full left and neutral. Don’t push it right. Use rudder for over-banking concerns.
➤ Remember… Ball to the sky, you’re going to die. Ball to the floor, descend all the more.
➤ Strive to keep your balls in the middle!
Thoughts on Learning to Land
As a long-time flight instructor, I’ve flown thousands of hours with students learning to land. What’s the single most important thing?
Answer: An imagination.
You must imagine a line and guide the aircraft to follow it through three-dimensional space, balancing time and wind, until you touch down smoothly and confidently.
New students should practice this imagination outside the aircraft — in a chair, visualizing — so that when they are flying with an instructor, they are building on a mental foundation, not wasting expensive hours.
