$16,995 less than Sling.
Before you commit six figures, here is the CFII Career Track side by side with Sling Pilot Academy's airline program: price, flight hours and the paid instructor phase.
Line by line
Sling Pilot Academy also trains in modern light aircraft, and its published program has three more hours than ours, with six more of them in an airplane instead of the simulator. Same idea, similar hours. The difference is the price, and what happens after your last checkride.
Sling has no solo-credit price, so there is no solo comparison.
| CFII | Sling | |
|---|---|---|
| PricePublished price for the same starting point, every certificate included. | $89,000 | $105,995 + |
| Cost per flight hourPrice divided by the flight hours you graduate with. | ~$316 | ~$372 |
| Flight hours at graduationWhat your logbook says on graduation day. | 282 | 285 |
| Hours in a real airplaneEverything that is not the simulator. | 229 | 235 |
| Hours in a simulatorApproved sim time that counts toward the ratings. | 53 | 50 |
| Multi-engine hoursTwin time for the multi-engine rating. | 25 | 25 |
| Paid instructor phaseWho pays for the hours after certification. | $15,000 add-on | Not offered |
| You save | $16,995 |
These figures are the $89,000 training program alone. Sling figures: published zero-experience airline program price and hours, slingpilotacademy.com, August 2026. Cost per flight hour is each program's price divided by its flight hours at graduation, rounded. Our $15,000 Work with us add-on guarantees a paid instructor phase, while Sling does not offer one.
| CFII | Sling | |
|---|---|---|
| PricePublished price for the same starting point, every certificate included. | $66,600 | $81,995 + |
| Cost per flight hourPrice divided by the flight hours you graduate with. | ~$326 | ~$396 |
| Flight hours at graduationWhat your logbook says on graduation day. | 204 | 207 |
| Hours in a real airplaneEverything that is not the simulator. | 151 | 157 |
| Hours in a simulatorApproved sim time that counts toward the ratings. | 53 | 50 |
| Multi-engine hoursTwin time for the multi-engine rating. | 25 | 25 |
| Paid instructor phaseWho pays for the hours after certification. | $15,000 add-on | Not offered |
| You save | $15,395 |
These figures are the $66,600 training program alone. Sling figures: published zero-experience airline program price and hours, slingpilotacademy.com, August 2026. Their PPL price is their published credit price; their hours are estimated by crediting the same 78 hours off their zero-experience program. Cost per flight hour is each program's price divided by its flight hours at graduation, rounded. Our $15,000 Work with us add-on guarantees a paid instructor phase, while Sling does not offer one.
With the paid instructor phase
Work with us is our optional $15,000 add-on. After your certificates, a 25-hour bootcamp prepares you to teach, then you instruct for a guaranteed 175 hours at $30 per flight-training hour. You graduate with a minimum of 480 hours, and the last 175 are paid instead of purchased.
This table is the $89,000 program plus the add-on, from zero experience, against Sling's published program.
| CFII | Sling | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $104,000 | $105,995 + |
| Cost per flight hour | ~$216 | ~$372 |
| Flight hours at graduation | 480+ | 285 |
| Hours in a real airplane | 429+ | 235 |
| Hours in a simulator | 53 | 50 |
| Multi-engine hours | 25 | 25 |
| Paid instructor phase | Guaranteed, built in | Not offered |
| Earned back instructing | $5,250+ | None |
| Estimated savings | $7,245+ |
These figures are the $89,000 program plus the $15,000 Work with us instructor add-on. Sling figures: published zero-experience airline program price and hours, slingpilotacademy.com, August 2026. Cost per flight hour is each path's price divided by its flight hours at graduation, rounded. Earned back instructing is the guaranteed 175 paid instructing hours at $30 per flight-training hour; hours beyond 175 are paid the same. Estimated savings is the price difference plus that guaranteed instructing pay. Sling's published program does not offer a paid instructor phase. Our add-on runs through the instructor phase to a minimum of 480 hours, and every hour past certification is in a real airplane.
What the table cannot show you
- Factory-new airplanes
- Tecnam P-Mentors with a Garmin G3X glass cockpit, a real autopilot and a BRS parachute for the whole airplane. Ask any school you are comparing how old its fleet is. See the fleet
- Southern California, all year
- Nine months only works somewhere the weather cooperates. You also train in the busiest, most complex airspace in the country. What training here is like
- Housing and financing
- Furnished student housing near the airport is an optional add-on at $1,300 a month, and the program can be financed. How financing works
Compare them in person.
A table only goes so far. Walk the hangar, sit in a factory-new cockpit and meet the people who would train you. Bring whoever is part of the decision.
Apply nowCreate your account and we will help you set up a visit.