FAQs

Easily the most common question pertaining to flight training, and for good reason! This plays into the timeframe it takes to earn the certificate. The National Average of 60 – 75 hours to earn a private pilot’s certificate can cause a student to spend between $9,000-15,000+ depending on the type of aircraft the student learns in. The more a student focuses on their training, generally, the quicker they make it through the training. As the old adage goes “garbage in, garbage out,” flight training is something that requires effort and studying….and studying away from the airport (at home). For a breakdown of our estimated cost of training click here.

These rates pertain to the rental of aircraft. A dry rate is the price a Pilot/Student will pay for the aircraft NOT including the price of fuel or oil.

A Wet rate is the dry rate of the aircraft plus the hourly cost of the fuel burn for that type of aircraft (gallons per hour (GPH) * the price of fuel), and applicable taxes (state tax). Note*: taxes are only due on the aircraft dry rate

Our aircraft are rented “Wet.” This is shown on our current Rates Sheet. After a flight lesson is conducted, the invoice shows the separate items (Dry Rate, Fuel Burn, taxes).

No, there is no age limit to begin flight training!

Students can begin at any age but would not be allowed to solo until their 16th birthday.

A student would also not be able to earn their Pilot’s Certificate until the day of their 17th birthday.

Some student’s look at having their first Solo flight on their 16th birthday and earning their pilot’s certificate on their 17th birthday! This makes it legal for them to fly with their friends somewhere (Block Island for example) long before it would be legal for them to all drive in the same car together! Crazy but true and achievable! 

Great question and the most widely asked! The answer to this is simple, yet complicated. The FAA minimum hours is 40 for a Part 61 flight school, but this is well below the national average of 60-75 hours. The easiest means to determine how long it will take you to earn your certificate is to determine how frequently you’re able to take a lesson.

If you take one lesson a month you’re looking at roughly a year or longer to earn your certificate, at a higher overall cost to complete the training.

If you’re able to schedule 3 lessons a week (we do live in New England after all and some lessons will be rescheduled due to “weather days”) you’re looking at between 10-16 weeks.

There is a saying we like to use when discussing this questions “two steps forward, one step backwards”. The more frequent a student can have a lesson the more they retain resulting in less time to earn their certificate.

“Keep your mind in the game” – stay focused on completing your training and you’ll make it through quickly and at less of a total cost! Study at home! Come to each lesson prepared for what will be taught….and ASK QUESTIONS! 

As a Private Pilot you can do a lot! You can fly with friends and family to any location in the United States and internationally under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), although we advised additional training to fly internationally as there is more paperwork required for this type of flying. 

You can also fly at night but the one thing you CANNOT DO as a Private Pilot is fly in the clouds, what is called Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC), or make money from flying the aircraft (pro-rata share). In order to fly in the clouds you need to continue your flight training and receive an Instrument Rating.

A Pilot’s License is an incorrect term for a Pilot’s Certificate. The best way to describe the difference is that the FAA does not license a pilot to operate an aircraft. They issue a certificate based on certain criteria that the Pilot/Student has demonstrated. This criteria is now called the Airmen Certification Standards (ACS) formerly known as the Practical Testing Standards (PTS).

The addition of an Instrument Rating on your Private Pilot Certificate opens the true freedom of General Aviation to be at your fingertips! This Rating (think of it as an add-on to your certificate) requires additional training with a qualified instructor (CFI-I).

Through the training you will learn to fly the aircraft by the sole reference to the instruments, simulating you are in the clouds.

The addition of this rating to your certificate gives you, what we like to call, a “get out of jail free” power to what you can do. If the weather deteriorates beyond what the forecast was calling for when you did your planning you would normally have to divert to a different location with better weather. Having your Instrument Rating allows you to file and fly “in the system” and continue on to your destination when you normally wouldn’t have had the ability to do as a VFR pilot.

No, most colleges and universities will grant you college credit for certificate/ratings earned. However we always recommend you check with your school for clarification.

Most major airlines (i.e. Delta, American, United Airlines…etc…) are NOT requiring a B.S. degree anymore for employment. Due to the pilot shortage across the country. 

Absolutely! We are open to any method of payment including; cash, personal check, credit cards, debit cards or a lump sum payment put under your account. Talk to us today about our lump sum payment option!

Believe it or not, most people get into an accident when they are on their way to the airport instead of in the aircraft. We have very strict requirements and inspections on our aircraft to ensure they are maintained in the best condition possible. When you see a Piper Cub from 1946 still flying in the skies overhead one of the first things that should come to mind it how well maintained that aircraft is. Most of the smaller planes you see flying overhead are “older” aircraft that might have been brand new 15-30+ years ago. 

          As pilot’s we are always worried about the “What if”. When you drive your car most people are concerned with the “What if” because if something happens they can pull over to the side of the road. Pilot’s have to ensure that nothing is going to happen once they are airborne so we always do a thorough pre-flight inspection on the aircraft as well as a “pre-flight” on the engine prior to leaping into the sky. 

No, once you receive your Pilot’s certificate it never expires! The FAA does mandate that certain requirements are met after you become certificated. You need to complete a Biennial Flight Review (BFR) every 24 calendar months to remain “legal” with a CFI as well as maintain an active FAA Medical Certificate*. If you are going to be flying with passengers the FAA requires you to remain “current” with your landings every 90 days. 3 landings during the day for daytime flight or 3 landings to a full stop for night flight is required every 90 days. 

*Medical Certificates have changed as of June 2017. Refer to FAA BasicMed for more information.

Indeed they do! Flight hours never “expire”. While you might have 30 hours of flight time logged from when you were younger this does not mean you only need 10 more hours until you are ready for the practical test. What the 30 hours translate into is less time you need to accumulate in order to qualify to take the test.

We have multiple locations throughout Connecticut! Check out our most current locations listed on our Locations page.

Great question! It depends on a few factors. 1) What type of Pilot Certificate are you looking to achieve, Sport Pilot or Private Pilot? The minimum number of flight hours for a Sport Pilot is only 20 hours. A Private Pilot has a minimum of 40 hours. 2) How often do you plan to schedule lessons? The closer lessons are booked between each other, the more information you’ll retain from each lesson. Scheduling one lesson per week, or every other week, will generally result in it taking a least a year to complete the training. Just because you schedule 3 or 4 lessons per week…doesn’t mean you’re going to fly each lesson, because of weather days. 3) Most importantly…your ability to learn something new. Each person has a different way of learning something new. For those that can immerse themselves in the training and “keep their mind in the game”, they will make it through the training quickly, generally 4-6 months.

We offer flight training and Intro Flights 7 days a week, generally from sunrise to sunset (and at night for night requirements). We offer flight training and Intro Flight at all of our Locations.

When looking at the overall cost of earning ones Pilot Certificate, the following are items to consider; Flight Instruction, Ground Instruction, Aircraft Rental, Books and Supplies (i.e., ground school books, E6B Flight Computer, VFR Sectional, VFR Plotter), Written Test Fee (normally $175), Practical Test Fee (normally $500), Aircraft Rental for the Practical Test (flight can last 1-3 hours long), Other (some students purchase items such as; an iPad, EFB subscription, headset, kneeboard, simulator, etc…)

The easiest way to schedule an Intro Flight is to send us an email to info@learn2flyct.com with some dates and times that work best for you. Please also let us know which of our Locations you’re looking to schedule the Intro Flight at. We need to have a phone number before we can schedule the flight.

A typical flight lesson will include pre-flight Ground Instruction from your Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI), Aircraft Rental, and post-flight Ground Instruction.

We normally use a 2-hour period of time, on the schedule to complete a lesson. Longer lessons are welcomed, if the student wishes.

Our aircraft are rented wet, meaning the cost of the aircraft, fuel, oil and applicable taxes are included in the price of the aircraft. Flight / Ground Instruction is taxable.

This is a difficult question to answer because each student learns differently. A lesson can very from being only a Ground Instruction lesson, to a normal flight lesson that will include pre-flight Ground Instruction, Aircraft Rental, and post-flight Ground Instruction. The typical cost for a lesson can ranges from $60 – $300+.

We do offer discounted rates to our clients, which are applicable to all our aircraft and CFI rates!

Not everyone gets along with the first CFI they fly with. Sometimes personalities just don’t match. If this is the case, then we would suggest letting us know and we can recommend a different CFI.

No, we do not offer flights to the public. This is known at Charter flight operations (legally Part 135 operations). We only offer flight training to the public, to clients who’s goal it is to achieve their Pilot Certificate.

For Charter flights to a location of your choosing, we would recommend calling the Hartford Jet Center (HJC) for their Charter flight company, Pegasus Air Charter (a Part 135 company). For quotes and to book your chartered flight, please call them at 860-548-9334.

No, we do not offer flights to the public. This is known at Charter flight operations (legally Part 135 operations). We only offer flight training to the public, to clients who’s goal it is to achieve their Pilot Certificate.

For Charter flights to a location of your choosing, we would recommend calling the Hartford Jet Center (HJC) for their Charter flight company, Pegasus Air Charter (a Part 135 company). For quotes and to book your chartered flight, please call them at 860-548-9334.

We get asked this a lot! Simply put, we are not doctors! We would suggest talking to an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) over the phone, to have your questions answered. This is an unofficial way of getting an official answer from the person that would know best…the doctor that will be issuing your FAA Medical Certificate.

You only need to have a 3^rd class FAA Medical Certificate, a very basic medical exam. If you are considering a career as a pilot, then we would suggest getting a 1^st class FAA Medical Certificate so you know right away if you would qualify.  

Anything regarding a medical condition or medication should be directed to an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME).

The only “medical” requirement for a Sport Pilot is to have a valid Driver’s License. There is no other requirement for a FAA Medical Certificate.

You cannot just show up and take the test when you want! You need to have a written endorsement from an authorized instructor before you can take the test. Simply put, someone needs to legally state that they have provided you the training or based on a home course of study.

A passing score is 70%. For a Private Pilot Certificate, there are a total of 60 multiple choice questions and you have 2.5 hours to complete the test.

You must have an IACRA account prior to registering to take the written test. Create a free account on IACRA and write down your user name, password and your FTN. You need to have a FTN prior to the written test.

The exam costs $175, paid to the testing vendor (PSI Exams). One the day of your test, show up with your Driver’s License, written endorsement, E6B, VFR Plotter.

You’ll know how you did on the test after submitting it. Once the test is complete, there is a huge weight lifted off your shoulders because now you only have to fly!

Great question! We offer the courses throughout the year. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for when the next class will be held.

Fly with a safety pilot! A lot of the simulator IFR experience can be accomplished with another pilot (not a CFI-I) renting the plane with you! Maybe they are looking to complete their Instrument Rating or just build flight time. Fly a cross-country flight (>50NM) and one person flies under the hood while the other pilot (sitting in the passenger seat) acts as a safety pilot, keeping their eyes outside the plane. When you land, switch seats and rolls. When you get back to the base airport, split the cost of the flight with the other person 50/50. You can still log the flight time as a safety pilot, but it cannot be PIC time.

At this time, we do not. Please stay tuned!

There are two different types of Gift Certificates available; an Intro Flight Gift Certificate, and a Gift Certificate for a specific amount of money to be placed on someone’s account.

The Gift Certificate will be emailed to the email address provided during the purchase.

To purchase and Intro Flight please use the following link, https://learn2flyct.com/flight-training/intro-flight.

A simple Google search for “Pilot Shortage” will answer this very quickly! We are experiencing a very large shortage of qualified pilots for the next 30 years. It is a great time to become a professional pilot!

There are 2 types of flight schools in the United States. A Part 61 flight school is what 95% of flight schools across the country operate as. We refer to this as “wild west” training because we can custom tailor the training program for each individual student.

A Part 141 program “FAA approved” is a more structured program and each lesson must be completed in sequence. Part 141 has lower hour requirements, with the biggest advantage being towards a Commercial Pilot Certificate.

FYI: A student starting as a 141 student, but then decides to switch to a Part 61 program, all of the flight time from the 141 side will transition to the Part 61 program. The same is not true for going from a Part 61 program to a Part 141 program.