Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

1 Answers

Choosing The Best Flight School/Training

Asked by: 3484 views Commercial Pilot, Student Pilot

Hi, I am currently trying to research the different flight schools to see which one I could be best trained at. From the different webpages and little bit of info I have been able to get from each school, it would seem that the more flight hours one can obtain the better.  I have no experience or flight hours at this time. I have looked at the for profit flights schools ranging from prices $70K to $100k and each one "promises" different amount of hours. The National Aviation Academy which also trains aircraft mechanics states it is a 19 month long program in which time on can earn between 350 hours and even more, up too 500 plus if you become a student instructor there. Then there is the Texas State Community College which is also a degree program and so in two years it will take to earn all the certificates and licenses and about 250 plus hours.

Do you have any advice for one just starting out and the type of training that I should look best for?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

1 Answers



  1. Boiler on Feb 08, 2014

    Wilky,
    It partly depends on what your end goal is. Are you looking to make aviation a career or are you planning on flying for recreation/personal travel? I recommend going to a few flight schools or FBO’s (fixed base operators) around you and talking to them in person. The FAA minimum for the Private certificate is 40 hours but most students in my experience take 50-60 hours so plan your budget accordingly. I would stay away from a school that quotes the price at 40 hours and doesn’t advise you that it will probably take more flight time than that. The cost also depends on what part of the country you are doing your training in. Where I’m from you can rent a 172 with an instructor for about $160/hour. On the coasts and near big cities that cost will typically be much higher. Also, if you do all of your training in an SR-22 vs a Cessna 152 the costs will be much different.

    If you are looking to make aviation a career it MAY make sense to go to a University or Academy type school. There are a lot of things that go into that decision as well. Can you get in-state tuition? Do you qualify for the GI bill? etc. etc.

    As far as “the more flight hours one can obtain the better”… I suppose this is true to a certain extent but I would say the quicker you can get your certificates and then get PAID to do the flying, rather than pay for the flight time yourself, the better. Any flight school would love to have you buy a lot of flight time from them but make sure you do your research first.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.