Skip to content
Desert Skies
Book · $199

Simulator · Redbird FMX

The hour thatcosts $50.

An hour in the airplane with an instructor is $260 with a FULL THROTTLE block. An hour in the Redbird FMX is $50 for our students: you pay the instructor, and the simulator is included. Up to 50 of those hours count toward your FAA certificates.

Build your Flight PlanVisit Jaybird Sim Center(opens in a new tab)
One hour with an instructor
In the airplane
$260
Airplane $80Fuel $80Instructor $100
In the Redbird FMX
$50
Instructor $50Simulator included

You keep

$210every hour

Rates · Piper Warrior or Cessna 172 · updated Nov 2, 2026

01In your training

60 hours,zero to CFII.

Your Flight Plan puts simulator time where the FAA counts it: the most it allows toward the private, the instrument and the commercial, then practice for teaching instruments. Fly fewer simulator hours and they move back into the airplane, at airplane prices.

Planned simulator hours by stage, the FAA credit limit, and what they save
StageSaves
Private pilot2.5 hr instead of flying with an instructor · FAA limit 2.5 hr$525
Instrument rating20 hr instead of flying with an instructor · FAA limit 20 hr$4,200
Commercial pilot27.5 hr instead of flying on your own · FAA limit 50 hr in all$3,025
Instrument instructor (CFII)10 hr instead of flying with an instructor$2,100
Zero to CFII · 60 hr$9,850

02The rules

What the FAAlets it count for.

Training devices are approved under 14 CFR 61.4(c), and each one's FAA letter of authorization sets how much of its time can count. These are the limits for ours, with the rule behind each.

Always in the airplane

  • Solo, cross-country, night, and takeoff and landing requirements
  • The 3 hours of checkride preparation in the two calendar months before each practical test
  • The private pilot's 3 hours of flight by reference to instruments
  • Every checkride, and the flight portion of a flight review

For the time to count

  • An authorized instructor gives it. Instrument currency is the exception.
  • It is logged as total time, instrument time and instruction received.
  • You keep a copy of the device’s FAA letter of authorization. Examiners may ask to see it.
Reviewed Nov 2, 2026Redbird FMX FAA letter · through Jun 2031(opens in a new tab)Gleim BATD FAA letter · through Jun 2029(opens in a new tab)FAA list of approved training devices(opens in a new tab)

03Included

Yours whileyou train.

For students enrolled at Desert Skies who have flown with us in the last 30 days. Practice alone within these hours costs nothing. With an instructor beside you, you pay the instructor, $50 an hour.

  • 10 FMX hours a month

    On the Redbird FMX, with no charge for the device.

  • Unlimited BATD

    The Gleim procedures trainer, as often as you like.

  • Book it yourself

    Practice up to 48 hours ahead. Lessons your instructor assigns can be held up to 30 days out.

  • Checkout included

    Jaybird Sim Center's required checkout session, at no charge.

04The devices

Two trainers,both FAA approved.

AATD

Redbird FMX

Advanced aviation training device (AATD)

  • Three-axis motion platform
  • Cessna 172 with G1000 or six-pack instruments, and a Piper Seminole
  • Instrument approaches, procedures and emergencies with your instructor

FAA letter of authorization through June 2031

BATD

Gleim BATD

Basic aviation training device (BATD)

  • Touchscreen with dual instrument panels
  • Cessna 172
  • Flows, checklists and instrument procedures

FAA letter of authorization through June 2029

05Not a student yet

Fly it throughJaybird Sim Center.

Jaybird Sim Center runs the simulators and sells time to any pilot. Training with one of our instructors? Add $50 an hour; the device is $85 an hour until you enroll.

  • Intro hour

    $85a hour

    • One hour in the Redbird FMX
    • No membership needed

  • Currency

    $249a month

    • 10 Redbird, 10 Gleim and 10 golf hours a month
    • Book 7 days out
    • 24/7 keypad access

    3-month minimum

  • Proficiency

    $349a month

    • Unlimited Redbird, Gleim and golf
    • Book 30 days out
    • 24/7 keypad access

    3-month minimum

Jaybird Sim Center prices · read Nov 2, 2026

See every Jaybird plan(opens in a new tab)

Questions

Simulatorquestions.

All questions
  • Does 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 (14 CFR 61.109(k)(1), 61.65(i) and 61.129(i)(1)(i), as the Redbird FMX's FAA letter of authorization allows).

  • 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.

  • Is the Redbird FMX a full flight simulator?

    No. It is an advanced aviation training device, approved by the FAA under 14 CFR 61.4(c). Full flight simulators and flight training devices are qualified under part 60. What a training device can count for is set by its FAA letter of authorization.

  • 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.

  • How do I log simulator time?

    As total time, instrument time and instruction received, not as flight time. You get a copy of the device’s FAA letter of authorization; an examiner may ask to see it.

  • 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.

Your Flight Plan

Practice on the ground. Fly it for real.

Your Flight Plan puts every simulator hour where it counts, and prices the airplane hours around it.

Build your Flight PlanBook a discovery flight · $199