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All training is done on a per hour basis and is broken into ground and flight hours.  Ground entails all teaching that is not done while flying and covers all of the knowledge portion, FAA requirements and regulations.  While flight time is in the airplane learning flying skills and safety procedures.  

 

Ground:

Ground instruction is the bedrock on which your training and license are built.  This foundation isn't just about learning or memorizing facts and figures, although there is some of that involved.  It is more about being aware of what is happening to the plane as it flies, how the plane functions, navigation and weather.  Summing those points up in one sentence does them no justice, as each is vital in there own way.  

 

As you can imagine spending hours with an instructor going over the knowledge portion can get very expensive, very quickly.  At Lift Drag Aviation we are committed to keeping your training in your hands, we want the time you spend with an instructor to be in the air as much as possible.  So, we have broken down all the required knowledge into small training blocks, tailored them to the phases of flight training and provide them as self study for you to do at your own pace between flight lessons.  This serves two great purposes first; it keeps you the student from getting overwhelmed or discouraged in what can look like a mountain of information.  Second, it will significantly reduce the overall cost of each license by reducing the number of hours spent with the instructor.

Flight:

This is what we all come out for, the chance to pilot an aircraft.  The flight portion like the ground is broken down into smaller training blocks to teach the necessary skills to build into more complex flight.  For each license the FAA has certain hourly requirements for different phases of flight and minimum proficiency parameters for different maneuvers.  These skills among others are built on and practiced until each is fluid and automatic, stressing safety practices throughout.  

 

Since there are FAA mandated hour requirements to qualify for a license the cost outline for each license is more closely standardized then for acquiring the needed ground knowledge.  That being said, the requirement from a teaching stand point is for the student to be proficient in all phases of flight, not to just have an hour minimum met.  Still, there are ways to reduce the overall training costs here as well.  The frequency of each lesson has a lot to do with the overall costs involved.  Someone who only flyies once a month will have more time in building the necessary skills then someone who flyies once a week.  Also, the plane you choose will have an impact as well, the more basic the plane the less it will cost per hour.  Once you have built some basic flying skills moving into aircraft with better systems will serve you more then paying for things you don't know how to use at the start.

 

Another added feature and cost saving bonus of training at Lift Drag Aviation is its outstanding partnership with Plus One Flyers, America's largest flying club.  Your membership with Plus One gives you access to the largest and most diverse group of rental aircraft including Lift Drag Aviation's own aircraft.  This offers you the student the most flexibility in choosing your training and scheduling your training aircraft.  Unlike other smaller operations where you have to jockey with many other students to get flight time at Plus One you can almost always find a plane to fly.  The club boasts cheaper rental rates then almost all other flying clubs, FBO's and local schools this is because all the aircraft are owned by local pilots and Plus One has such an amazing safety record their insurance is much cheaper then other places.

Instructor fees only vary slightly with ground or flight time the license you are training for.  This is simply do to the required knowledge and skill the instructor has procured to be able to teach at that level. 

 

Basic Training-  $60.00/hr Flight/Ground Instruction

 

Advanced Training-  $60.00/hr Flight/Ground Instruction

 

Multi-Engine Training-  $70.00/hr Flight/Ground Instruction

 

All Add-on endorsements such as "High Performance" or "Complex" are taught at advanced training rates.

 

All training is pay as you go with Lift Drag Aviation, there is no need to put large sums of money on account or to come up with the entire costs of a license up front.  

 

If you have done your homework, which I am sure you have if you made it this far!  You will notice that Lift Drag Aviation's Instruction fees are less then most others in the local area.  This can be attributed to the efficiency with which we run things, low overhead, ownership of are own planes and our desire for you to fly as much as possible!