Private Pilot Certificate
EARN YOUR WINGS AND LIVE YOUR DREAMS
Flight training with American Flyers is based on a standardized teaching method. This helps students learn faster, in a structured environment, that assists in retention and confidence in their knowledge. Earning your private pilot certificate is accomplished through a combination of ground school, simulator time, and flight time. Our method is to learn on the ground, practice in the simulator and perfect in the air.
Aviation 101 - Private Pilot Certificate
Our “Learn to Fly” course consists of around 80 hours of total on-site education – this satisfies the minimums and provides you the training that you need. The majority of that time is going to be in a Cessna 172, Piper 100i or simulator and the rest is going to be on the ground and in the classroom. Students learning to fly with American Flyers have unlimited access to practice in our on-site simulators.
Learn to Fly
Train With us
Aviation 101 - Private Pilot Certificate
Our “Learn to Fly” course consists of around 80 hours of total on-site education – this satisfies the minimums and provides you the training that you need. The majority of that time is going to be in a Cessna 172, Piper 100i or simulator and the rest is going to be on the ground and in the classroom. Students learning to fly with American Flyers have unlimited access to practice in our on-site simulators.
Learn to Fly
Train With us
Choosing The Right Flight School
Your flight training experience should be focused on learning how to fly, how to understand aircraft systems and performance and most importantly, how to become the best all-around pilot possible.
Determining which school to attend to earn your private pilot certificate should be based more on the quality of education than cheap hourly rates. Let’s remind ourselves of the famous quote “you get what you pay for.” This is especially true in aviation. The quality of your primary flight training will determine your long-term success as a pilot.
What works for someone else may not work for you. Do you need a program that allows you to work at your own pace or do you want to go through your training with a group in an academy style setting?
The Right
Questions to Ask
choosing a flight school.
Pass the FAA Knowledge Test in as little as one weekend with American Flyers’ weekend ground school for the private written test.
American Flyers can prepare you to complete your instrument rating at a pace that fits your schedule through a regular or accelerated course.
If you already have some flight training experience under your belt, American Flyers can help you Finish-Up your private pilot’s certificate.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)
American Flyers utilizes a highly structured, standardized teaching methodology refined over more than 85 years of experience. Their core operational philosophy for earning a Private Pilot Certificate follows a distinct three-step block approach: “Learn on the ground, practice in the simulator, and perfect in the air.” This sequential rhythm ensures that students understand the aerodynamics and systems before they practice procedures in a controlled environment, leading to rapid proficiency once they step into the live cockpit.
The baseline “Learn to Fly” course at American Flyers consists of approximately 80 hours of total on-site education. This comprehensive footprint is deliberately designed to far exceed basic FAA minimum requirements, ensuring students receive all the practical ground and flight training they need to become confident, safe, and fully competent pilots.
The majority of a student’s technical training is completed using industry-standard, highly reliable single-engine aircraft, specifically the Cessna 172 and the Piper Pilot 100i. These aircraft are paired directly with on-site, FAA-approved Advanced Aviation Training Devices (AATDs) located at each training facility.
No. Students who enroll in the Private Pilot course with American Flyers receive unlimited access to practice on the school’s on-site flight simulators. This policy encourages student pilots to independently master complex flight profiles, navigation instruments, checklists, and emergency procedures on the ground at no extra cost, significantly accelerating their retention and real-world flight confidence.
The 80-hour on-site Private Pilot curriculum splits its time evenly to build a comprehensive foundation. The largest portion of the program is spent actively logging maneuvers and flight controls inside the Cessna 172, Piper 100i, or the simulator bays. The remaining hours are dedicated strictly to foundational ground instruction and group classroom lectures to ensure deep comprehension of aviation systems, regulatory frameworks, and weather patterns.
American Flyers emphasizes that primary flight training forms the permanent structural foundation of a pilot’s entire career, meaning quality of education should always take priority over low prices. Invoking the classic principle that “you get what you pay for,” they explain that cutting costs on primary training often leads to incomplete instruction. Investing in high-quality, standardized instruction from day one is what ultimately dictates a pilot’s long-term safety, adaptability, and ultimate success in complex aviation environments.