Career training · KFFZ · private through CFII
Zero to CFIIin Mesa.
From first lesson to instrument flight instructor at Falcon Field in about 11 months on the Accelerated track, planned at $78,600 with every examiner fee inside. Or fly Flex at your own pace for about $74,000 with blocks.
6 FAA checkrides on record since September 2026. Every one passed on the first attempt.
Career Flight Plan · planned
01Private pilot60 hr · 2.5 sim
$20,500
02Instrument rating35 hr · 20 sim
$13,300
03Commercial pilot105 hr · 27.5 sim
$26,900
04Flight instructor (CFI)25 hr
$12,900
05Instrument instructor (CFII)5 hr · 10 sim
$5,100
Zero to CFII
$74,000 on Flex with blocks
$78,600
60 simulator hours save, already in the number$11,050
Rates from our portal · updated Nov 2, 2026
01Choose your track
Two tracks.Same certificates.
Same instructors, airplanes and syllabus on both. Flex fits training around a job. Accelerated is a full-time program with priority on the schedule and financing.
Flex
Your pace$74,000
About $4,600 a month at 3 lessons a week
- Time to CFII
- About 16 months at 3 lessons a week; 32 at 1–2 lessons a week
- How often you fly
- Your call, week to week
- Planned total
- $74,000 with FULL THROTTLE blocks, $78,600 paying as you go
- Block discount
- Up to 20% off the airplane
- Paying
- After each lesson, or prepay a block
- Scheduling
- Standard
- Simulator
- 50 hours toward your commercial
- To start
- A discovery flight, $199
Accelerated
Full time$78,600
8 to 12 months · about $7,400 a month
- Time to CFII
- 8 to 12 months; about 11 as planned
- How often you fly
- 3 days a week or more
- Planned total
- $78,600, estimated stage by stage and settled to the hours you fly
- Block discount
- None; stages are priced at the standard rate
- Paying
- Stage by stage, or financed through Flight Training Finance
- Scheduling
- Priority on the schedule
- Simulator
- 50 hours toward your commercial
- To start
- A Flight Plan consultation
Financing on Accelerated is through Flight Training Finance, at 12% to 18% APR with $250 down, over 18 to 48 monthly payments set by how often you fly. We are paid from your funding account only after each lesson you approve. How financing works
02The stages
Five checkrides,priced one at a time.
Each stage is the hours most students fly, above the FAA minimums, with briefings, ground school, the written test and the examiner fee inside. Open any of them in the Program Builder and change the airplane, the block or your logged hours.
Stage
With instructor
Solo
Simulator
Planned
01Private pilot
$20,500
45 hr with instructor · 15 solo · 2.5 sim
Simulator saves $575
45 hr
15 hr
2.5 hr
saves $575
$20,500
Build02Instrument rating
$13,300
20 hr with instructor · 15 solo · 20 sim
Simulator saves $4,600
20 hr
15 hr
20 hr
saves $4,600
$13,300
Build03Commercial pilot
$26,900
20 hr with instructor · 85 solo · 27.5 sim
Simulator saves $3,575
20 hr
10 complex
85 hr
27.5 hr
saves $3,575
$26,900
Build04Flight instructor (CFI)
$12,900
25 hr with instructor
25 hr
none
none
$12,900
Build05Instrument instructor (CFII)
$5,100
5 hr with instructor · 10 sim
Simulator saves $2,300
5 hr
none
10 hr
saves $2,300
$5,100
Build+Multi-engine rating
Not in our fleet, and not in the total. Airlines require it, so add it after Commercial at a multi-engine school. One at Falcon Field publishes $8,862.
Zero to CFII
230 hr in airplanes, 60 in the simulator
$78,600
$74,000 with FULL THROTTLE blocks
03An Accelerated year
One possiblecalendar.
Start Monday, January 4, 2027, fly 4–5 lessons a week, and this is roughly when each checkride falls. Instrument training and solo time building run together, which is how the cross-country hours for the instrument checkride get flown.
Sample Accelerated plan · 48 weeks
Illustration01Private pilot
60 hr airplane · 2.5 hr simulator
Jan 4 – Mar 28 · Private checkride
02Instrument + time building
120 hr airplane · 47.5 hr simulator
Mar 29 – Sep 12 · Instrument checkride
03Commercial
20 hr airplane
Sep 13 – Oct 17 · Commercial checkride
04Flight instructor
25 hr airplane
Oct 18 – Nov 21 · CFI checkride
05Instrument instructor
5 hr airplane · 10 hr simulator
Nov 22 – Dec 5 · CFII checkride
04The simulator
50 hours that count,at $50 an hour.
You fly the Redbird FMX at Jaybird Sim Center without paying for the device, up to 10 hours a month. You pay the instructor, $50 an hour, instead of paying for the airplane, fuel and instructor for the same hour in the air.
50 of the simulator hours count toward the 250 your commercial certificate needs, the most the FAA allows (14 CFR 61.129(i)). The other 10 are instrument instructor training.
- The same hours in the airplane
- $14,050
- In the simulator
- $3,000
- Private · 2.5 hr, in place of flying with an instructor$575
- Instrument · 20 hr, in place of flying with an instructor$4,600
- Commercial · 27.5 hr, in place of flying on your own$3,575
- CFII · 10 hr, in place of flying with an instructor$2,300
- Saved across the program$11,050
05Compared
Every totalwith exam fees in.
Published career-program prices, with the examiner fees some schools list separately added back, so each total covers the same tests. Every one of the others includes a multi-engine rating; ours does not.
See what each includesATP Flight School
Published $123,995 + $12,000 exam fees
$135,995
Sierra Charlie Aviation
Published $106,922 + $12,000 exam fees
$118,922
Venture West Aviation
Falcon Field (KFFZ), Mesa
$110,575
Desert Skies Accelerated
Standard rate, no multi-engine
$78,600
Desert Skies Flex
With FULL THROTTLE blocks, no multi-engine
$74,000
Chi-Rho Aviation
Assumes split-time building
$55,475
Published prices, not quotes · read Nov 2, 2026
06After your CFII
What the hoursturn into.
Teach
Instructing is how most new pilots build hours: you are paid to fly while you teach. Graduates can apply to instruct here.
Build to 1,500
Airline first officers need an airline transport pilot certificate, which takes 1,500 hours (14 CFR 61.159). You finish this plan with about 230 in airplanes. At 60 to 80 hours a month as an instructor, the rest takes roughly 16 to 21 months.
Stay sharp
Jaybird Sim Center, where you flew your simulator hours, stays open to you for instrument practice and currency after you finish.
07How to start
Three stepsto day one.
Discovery flight
One hour in the air for $199, in your logbook. Ask your instructor about the career track after you land.
Career Flight Plan
Your stages, pace and track, with dates and costs. Accelerated students go over it with us in a consultation.
First stage
Get your medical, enroll, and start Private. Headed for the airlines? Make it a first-class medical.
Questions
Before youcommit.
How long until I can fly for an airline?
About 11 months to your CFII on the Accelerated track, then building to the 1,500 hours an airline transport pilot certificate requires, usually by instructing. Instructors who fly 60 to 80 hours a month cover the rest in roughly 16 to 21 months. Hiring itself moves with the market.
Can I switch tracks?
Yes. Your hours and certificates carry over, and the estimate is rebuilt from what is left. Moving to Accelerated starts with a Flight Plan consultation.
What is not in the total?
A multi-engine rating, which our fleet does not cover; housing; extra hours if you need them; and a retest if a checkride does not go your way. Fuel, briefings, ground school, written tests and examiner fees are all in it.
Do I need a degree?
No FAA certificate requires one. Some airlines prefer a degree, and a qualifying aviation degree can lower the airline minimum to 1,000 or 1,250 hours under a restricted ATP certificate.
I already have my private. Where do I start?
At Instrument. Pick the stages you need in the Program Builder or your Flight Plan, add the hours you have logged, and they come off the plan.
Which medical do I need?
A third-class medical is enough to train. If you are headed for the airlines, get a first-class medical before you start, so you know you qualify before you invest.
Where it leads
Every hour counts toward 1,500.
Your discovery flight is the first hour in your logbook. Start there for $199, or plan the whole path first.