Private Pilots License - Learn To Fly Dallas

Private Pilots License: Your First Step

Getting your private pilots license is a huge accomplishment. It's also a spring board for other licenses and ratings.

If you're wanting to learn to fly for pleasure and business, the private pilots license will enable you to not only access vacation spots all over the United States, but it will also give you added productivity for your business as you can quickly travel to business sites and meetings.

After you get your license, you can also get additional ratings such as your instrument rating, multi-engine rating, and commercial licenses.

If your a professional student, then the private pilot license the starting pilot to your career. It is at this point that you will learn crucial skills and habits that you will use from private pilot to the left seat of a huge airliner. If you're a professional student, I adapt your course to airline style training, with a focus on cockpit flows and crew resource management. If you want to be a professional pilot, I will teach you to fly like a professional!

I also offer an accelerated private pilot course to get you your wings as soon as possible. This is great for business executives that want to get to use the advantages of flight quickly and efficiently to further their business. The length of the course is five weeks long and is performed over the weekends. Please contact me for further details

Frequently Asked Questions

How am I going to progress from non-pilot to private pilot?

The training course we have developed follows a logical sequence. Each skill that you learn in the beginning will provide a solid foundation for another skill that you learn later in the course. In the parlance of educations it is called the correlative level of learning, which is the most effective for the student but the most difficult to teach.

Step 1: Learning when to say NO.

The first thing that we are going to cover is the Preflight. The preflight covers two areas: the aircraft and yourself. I'll teach you how to make safe "go / no-go" decisions based on a wide variety of situations ranging from the weather, to how you feel, to whether the aircraft is legally airworthy and most importantly safe to fly.

Step 2: The Basics

The next few lessons will cover the basics. The "basics" include maneuvers like taxiing, takeoffs, flying the aircraft straight and level, turns, climbs and descents, changing airspeeds, "trimming the aircraft", and experimenting with the flaps.

Step 3: Stalls, Slow Flight, Steep Turns...

After you develop a solid foundation with the basics, we''ll move on the the "cornerstone" maneuvers that you'll be expected to execute on your final test with the FAA. The maneuvers will include, stalls, slow flight, steep turns, and performing a "rectangular course" . If you want to see what some of these maneuvers look like checkout my Flying Videos page. You should also have gotten your medical examination done by this stage.

Step 4: Takeoffs and Landings

After you demonstrate proficiency with the "cornerstone" maneuvers. We will cover airport operations, radio communications, airport traffic pattern operations, and take offs and landings. We will also review stalls, slow flight, and steep turns from time to time to make sure that you don't forget how to do the maneuvers.

Step 5: Your First Solo!!

Once you can demonstrate consistent SAFE landings, as well as proficiency with airport operations and radio communications, you will then be given the ability to fly the aircraft on your own. This is a decision that I don't take lightly, and I will NOT force you in to flying the aircraft on your own until you feel comfortable doing so. Everyone is nervous the first time they solo, I know I was way back when, but the feeling you get once you've actually done it, is truly an unforgettable experience and you will cherish that memory for the rest of your life.

Step 7: Cross Country Flights

After you accomplish your first solo, we will then move on to satisfying the cross country requirement, as well as practicing some more advanced maneuvers. The cross country flight are flights that are more than 50 nautical miles in length. The bulk of these flights will be focusing on developing your "long range" navigational skills. The skills include flight planning, situational awareness, fuel management, lost procedures, radio navigation, and diversions to airports when the situation calls for it. Once you demonstrate proficiency in the aforementioned skills you will then be allowed to perform your "Solo Cross Country Flight". You should also have your written examination done by this point.

Step 8: Finishing up

While we are working on our cross countries, I will also have to solo the aircraft from Addison Airport to other airports in the local area to satisfy your solo hours requirement. We will also do several flights at night to teach you the proper technique to flying at night as well as have you become aware of the safety aspects of night flights.

Step 9: The Big Day!!

Once you have performed your solo cross country we will do a few review flights and ground sessions to prepare you for your checkride. The checkride is absolutely nothing to worry about. I have personally selected a cadre of examiners that I find to be especially friendly and extremely fair. Once you complete your checkride you will be a fully certified Private Pilot! You'll look back on your journey and be glad you took it!

How old can I be to apply for my license?

You can be any age to work towards your private pilots license. You have to be 16 to solo, and 17 to apply for the license. I started at 14, soloed on my 16th birthday, and got my license shortly after I turned 17. After that I got my multi-engine rating 2 days after I graduated high school.

Do I have to have perfect eyesight?

Aviation does not require you to have perfect eyesight anymore. With the advent of quality eye glasses, contact lenses, and LASIK, there are thousands of pilots who wear prescription eyeglasses while flying. Even the military is becoming quite lenient on vision standards.

The FAA DOES require you to pass a simple medical exam similar to your annual check up. There are a few medical conditions that may make it difficult to obtain a medical. Some of these require a waiver, and some are flat out unacceptable. The unacceptable condition usually are extreme colorblindness, certain heart conditions, epilepsy, and most psychological disorders.

How long will it take to get my license?

It depends on how often you fly. Flying often will help you to remember what it feels like to fly. Your muscles have a kind memory as well as your mind. The less you fly, the more your body loses the "feel" for the airplane. It will take longer for you to understand subtle concepts AND the longer it will take for you to retain previously learned material. Below is a table listing the approximate amount of time to completion.

1 flight a week

10-12 months

2 flights a week

5-6 months

3 flights a week

2.5-3 months

How much will it cost?

Thats a tough question to answer. It takes bear minimum of 40 hours of flight time. It is EXTREMELY RARE to finish up at exactly the 40 hour mark. More commonly, it takes approximately 50-55 hours to complete the course.

Below is a simple table listing the complete approximate cost of completion.

30 hours of dual instruction (Diamond DA-20)

$3450

10 Ground School Sessions

$500

10 hours solo (Diamond DA-20)

$1150

Books, Supplies, Misc

$200

Written Test

$80

Medical Exam

$80

Practical Test:

1.5 hours of flight time

$173

Examiners Fee

$350

TOTAL $5983

Our services are strictly pay as you go. You can spread the total cost of the course over several months. If the price is still too steep, another great option is a company called Pilot Finance Inc. Pilot Finance specializes in flight training loans and is a great way to finance your training and can lower your costs of training to approximately $230 per month. A few of my students have used them in the past and I've heard no complaints. As you can see, learning to fly is affordable to almost all, and is one of the best investments you can make in life. I made that investment 12 years ago and there hasn't been a single day I've regretted it.

Wow! $5900 for a pilots license! That's kinda steep.

Remember, this isn't like going to the store and buying something you're only going to use once. Your pilots license is something that you are going to use time and time again, it's something you can put on your resume, see friends and relatives on your own schedule, as well as a terrific way to support your business. The pilots license is an INVESTMENT .You're investing in yourself and in a skill that you will have for the rest of your life. Keep in mind that a family vacation to the Bahamas and can easily cost $7000. That's a vacation, your only going to go on once. When you get back home its only a memory, and you're back to the grind. With your pilots license, you'll spend $6000 for a LIFETIME of adventure, excitement, and status that only a few in this world achieve.

Anyway you could cut me a deal?

Sure! I'm always appreciative of students telling there friends and family about the great training we provide! My referral program goes as follows:

For every student you bring to us that begins lessons with is, we knock $10 dollars off your instruction fee. That means of you refer 4 people to me, than I don't charge you for instruction. That means you save a MINIMUM of $1600 off the cost of your license! So instead of paying $5900, you could possibly end up paying only $4300! There is nobody in Dallas, let alone the state of Texas that will offer that kind of discount!

I own my a business. How can getting my pilot's license help me?

It's no secret that many business owners are pilots. The main reason for that is time is money. You know as well as I do, that if you're sitting around in an airport terminal, you're not productive, you're simply wasting time. Imagine being able to visit sites or clients in Houston, Midlands, TX, and Austin, TX, and then finally back home in Dallas IN ONE DAY. That is the type of efficiency that many business owners only DREAM of. With your private pilots license you can visit multiple customers, multiple sites, use the aircraft to entertain potential clients, as well as writing off the use an aircraft as a business expense. As a business owner, a pilots license is practically necessary to help your business reach its full potential.