The whole path, month by month.
One program from your first flight to commercial pilot and instructor, flown one on one in factory-new glass-cockpit airplanes in Southern California.
Nine months to train.
Six certificates and ratings, five checkrides and 282 hours, in this order. The months assume you fly full time. Training part time around a job stretches them.
Months 1 to 3
Private Pilot License
You get to know the airplane and learn what it takes to be a safe, proficient pilot.
Months 3 to 6
Instrument Rating
Every professional pilot has to be able to fly on the instruments alone. This is where you learn to.
Months 6 to 7
Commercial Pilot License
You build hours on real trips and drill maneuvers to professional tolerances. After this checkride, flying is legally your profession.
Months 7 to 8
Certified Flight Instructor
Lesson plans, spin training and the FAA's toughest practical exam. Teaching makes you a sharper pilot than any rating.
Months 8 to 9
Instrument Instructor
You now hold every certificate you need to instruct students in any type of flying.
Month 9
Commercial Multi-Engine
25 hours in an actual twin-engine airplane. This is the rating airlines expect to see, and the last checkride of the program.
Training complete
You are a commercial pilot and instructor now, with 282 hours in your logbook. This is where Work with us begins, if you have added it.
What $89,000 covers.
- Certificates and ratings
- Private pilot, instrument rating, commercial single-engine and multi-engine, flight instructor (CFI) and instrument instructor (CFII)
- Flight time
- 282 hours: 204 single-engine, 25 multi-engine and 53 in the simulator
- Instruction
- All of it, one on one
- Checkrides and written exams
- Checkrides scheduled with FAA examiners, so you test on time, and written test prep for every rating
- Study materials
- Textbooks, study guides and exam prep for every rating, plus the training portal: lessons, quizzes, stage checks and your logbook
Not included
Examiner (DPE) fees, FAA written test fees and personal equipment like your headset are paid separately. Student housing is an optional add-on at $1,300 a month, close to the airport and shared with other pilot students.
If you already fly
| Starting from | Hours | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Zero experience | 282 | $89,000 |
| Solo completed | 239 | $75,000 |
| PPL in hand | 204 | $66,600 |
Full pricing, refunds and policiesFinancing for the full amount
Then nine to earn, if you want them.
Work with us is the optional instructor phase, a $15,000 add-on. It is not for everyone. If teaching your way to the airlines is your path, this is how it runs.
Months 9 to 10
A 25-hour instructor bootcamp led by our experienced instructors: running lessons, managing students, teaching safely and effectively. You leave it with 307 hours in your logbook.
Months 10 to 18
You teach the next students, paid $30 per flight-training hour. A guaranteed 175 hours of instructing carries you to a minimum of 480 total by month 18. That is the floor: bring in students of your own and every extra hour is paid and logged the same.
The bootcamp and the 175 instructing hours are part of the Work with us add-on, guaranteed once you complete training and certification requirements. Day-to-day scheduling depends on student demand, weather and aircraft availability.
After that: 1,500 hours.
480 hours is about a third of the 1,500 the airlines require. You keep instructing, with us or anywhere, until your logbook gets there. Then the Airline Transport Pilot certificate is the last one between you and an airline cockpit. We help you get it: prep, written test support, and checkride and examiner coordination.
Regional airlines have been starting first officers at $100,000 or more, often with signing bonuses. Senior major-airline captains clear $400,000 under the current contracts.
- $226,600
- Median US airline pilot pay
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2024
- 18,200
- Projected US pilot openings per year
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics
- 674,000
- New pilots needed worldwide through 2045
- Boeing Pilot and Technician Outlook, 2026
We will be straight with you: we do not have airline partnerships to sell, and no school can honestly guarantee an airline job. What we offer is the proven path, a full logbook of real airplane hours, and career support from your first lesson to your interviews.
Next to ATP.
ATP's Airline Career Pilot Program is the benchmark. Same certificates, same flight hours, same simulator time. Ours costs $34,995 less.
| CFII | ATP | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $89,000 | $123,995 + |
| Cost per flight hour | ~$316 | ~$440 |
| Flight hours at graduation | 282 | 282 |
| Hours in a real airplane | 229 | 229 |
| Hours in a simulator | 53 | 53 |
| Multi-engine hours | 25 | 25 |
| Paid instructor phase | $15,000 add-on | After the program |
These figures are the $89,000 training program alone. ATP figures: published zero-experience Airline Career Pilot Program price and hours, atpflightschool.com, August 2026; select ATP locations add up to $5,000. Cost per flight hour is each program's price divided by its flight hours at graduation, rounded. Both published programs end at certification; the difference afterward is that our $15,000 Work with us add-on guarantees a paid instructor phase, while instructing at ATP is a separate job.
Now you know what you are buying.
What is not in the fixed price, our refund policy and our training policies are on the pricing page. Then come and see the airplanes, and ask us anything.
Apply nowCreate your account and we will help you set up a visit.