FAQ · 36 answers
Questions,answered.
Grouped by where you are. Prices come from our live rate card, and every answer about an FAA rule links to the rule.
017 questions
Getting started
What you need before the first lesson, which is less than most people think.
The discovery flightDo I need any experience to start?
No. Most people start with a discovery flight: one hour with an instructor, and you fly the airplane yourself. It costs $199 and goes in your logbook.
Am I too old, or too young?
There is no upper age limit. You can start lessons at any age, fly solo at 16, and earn a private pilot certificate at 17.
14 CFR 61.83(opens in a new tab)14 CFR 61.103(opens in a new tab)
Do I need a medical certificate?
You need an FAA medical certificate before you fly solo, not before your first lesson. We can point you to an aviation medical examiner nearby.
Do I need to be a U.S. citizen?
No, but the TSA has to approve you first if you are not. Before flight training starts we check government-issued proof of citizenship, such as a U.S. passport, or a birth certificate with a photo ID. Anyone else applies through the TSA’s Flight Training Security Program and waits for its approval. The rule does not cover a discovery flight.
49 CFR 1552.7(opens in a new tab)49 CFR 1552.3(opens in a new tab)
What is the Flight Plan?
A free questionnaire that takes about five minutes. You get a written plan back: the certificates you need in order, a timeline at your pace, and an honest cost estimate you can share.
What happens after the discovery flight?
If you want to keep going, we build your Flight Plan together: the certificates you need in order, a timeline at your pace and a cost estimate. The hour you flew is in your logbook either way.
Can I give a discovery flight as a gift?
Yes. You buy it, tell us who is flying and book the date, and you can keep it a surprise until the day. See our Gift page for how it works.
What does training cost?
Lessons are $260 an hour with a FULL THROTTLE block, for the airplane, fuel and your instructor. Our planning estimate for a private pilot certificate is about $19,000 with FULL THROTTLE blocks, including ground school, briefings, the written test and the checkride.
Is this a quote?
No. It is a planning estimate built from our rates and the hours most students need, which is more than the FAA minimum. Your instructor updates your plan in the portal as you train, so you always see what is left.
When do I pay?
After each lesson, from the card or credit on your account. Prepay a block of $5,000 or more and the airplane costs less. Students on the Accelerated career track can finance through Flight Training Finance.
Can we use an Arizona ESA for lessons?
It can help, if the Department of Education approves the lessons. Families submit them as tutoring or teaching, part of every award must still go to core subjects, and most awards are $7,000 to $9,000 a year. Our Financing page explains how it works with us.
A.R.S. 15-2402(opens in a new tab)ESA Parent Handbook 2025–26(opens in a new tab)
Can I get a refund on a block?
Training credit is non-refundable once you stop training, as set out in our enrollment agreement. That is why we suggest buying the block that covers the next month or two of flying rather than a whole certificate up front.
What is not in the estimate?
Extra hours if you need them, a retest if a checkride does not go your way, a multi-engine rating, and housing or travel. Everything else, from fuel to the examiner fee, is a line in the estimate.
Why do some schools list a lower hourly rate?
Our hourly rate plans fuel at 10 gallons, more than most lessons burn, and our estimates count a briefing with every lesson. Many listed rates leave those out. Compare complete totals for the same certificate, with what each one includes, rather than hourly rates.
034 questions
Schedule
How often you fly matters more than anything else on the calendar.
Plan your timelineHow long does a private pilot certificate take?
It depends mostly on how often you fly. The FAA minimum is 40 flight hours; we plan for 60, which is closer to what most people need. At 3 lessons a week, the pace we recommend, that is about 4 months. At 1–2 lessons a week it is closer to 8.
Can I learn on weekends only?
Yes. Flying at least twice a week keeps skills fresh between lessons, so if you can add one weekday, you will usually need fewer lessons overall.
How fast can I go?
As fast as the weather and your schedule allow. Students on our Accelerated track fly 3 or more days a week and go from no experience to their CFII in about 8 to 12 months.
Can I change my discovery flight date?
Yes. Give us 24 hours of notice and rescheduling is free.
044 questions
Safety
Who is in the airplane with you, and who decides whether you fly.
About Falcon FieldIs it safe?
Your instructor is FAA-certificated, our airplanes are inspected on the FAA schedule, and we only fly when the weather is safe.
Is my instructor with me on every flight?
Until your first solo, yes. Before you fly alone, the FAA requires a written presolo knowledge test, training in specific maneuvers, and your instructor’s endorsement in your logbook.
What if the weather is bad on my discovery flight?
We reschedule you at no cost. Safety decides whether we fly, not the calendar.
Does Falcon Field have a control tower?
Yes. Falcon Tower is open 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM (5:30 AM in summer), so you talk to a controller from your first lessons, with your instructor beside you.
How long until I can fly for an airline?
About 8 to 12 months to your CFII on the Accelerated track, then building to the 1,500 hours an airline transport pilot certificate requires, usually by instructing. Hiring itself moves with the market.
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.
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.
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 career 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.
I already have hours. Do I start over?
No. Under part 61, training you have logged counts toward the FAA minimums, wherever you flew it. Bring your logbook and your instructor plans only what is left. On our Continue training page, enter your hours in the Program Builder and they come off the estimate.
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.
I trained at a part 141 school. Does that time count?
Yes. Time you logged there counts toward the part 61 minimums. Moving the other way is harder: a part 141 school can credit no more than 25 percent of its course for training done outside part 141 or 142.
Do you do flight reviews and instrument proficiency checks?
Yes, each with its own lesson plan in our portal. A flight review is due every 24 calendar months and takes at least an hour on the ground and an hour in the air, $380 at our rates. An IPC is required once your instrument currency has lapsed for more than six months, and part of it can be flown in the Redbird FMX. Call or text (480) 409-3781 to book one.
14 CFR 61.56(opens in a new tab)14 CFR 61.57(opens in a new tab)
075 questions
Simulators
Jaybird Sim Center shares our suite and runs the simulators.
Simulator trainingDoes simulator time count toward my certificate?
Some of it. With an instructor, up to 2.5 hours count toward the private certificate, 20 toward the instrument rating and 50 toward the 250 hours a commercial certificate needs, as the Redbird FMX’s FAA letter of authorization allows.
14 CFR 61.109(opens in a new tab)14 CFR 61.65(opens in a new tab)14 CFR 61.129(opens in a new tab)Redbird FMX · FAA letter of authorization(opens in a new tab)
What does the simulator cost?
$50 an hour for the instructor if you train with us. Up to 10 hours a month on the Redbird FMX, and unlimited time on the Gleim BATD, cost nothing more. If you are not a Desert Skies student, an hour with one of our instructors is $135, device included.
Do I need an instructor with me in the simulator?
For time that counts toward a certificate or rating, yes: the FAA credits it only when an authorized instructor gives it. Practice on your own and instrument currency do not need one.
Can I do a checkride, flight review or IPC in the simulator?
Not a checkride, and not the flight portion of a flight review. The FMX letter allows an instrument proficiency check in the device, but not all of it; the rest is flown in an airplane.
Redbird FMX · FAA letter of authorization(opens in a new tab)
What if I am not a Desert Skies student?
Jaybird Sim Center sells simulator time directly: an intro hour on the Redbird FMX is $85, and memberships start at $249 a month. Training with one of our instructors adds $50 an hour.
Rules reviewed Nov 2, 2026
Prices from our portal · updated Nov 2, 2026
Still wondering?
Ask a pilot.
Call or text (480) 409-3781, or send us a message. Or book a discovery flight and ask in the air.