Never touched the controls? That is exactly who this is for. Here is how it works, start to finish.
A private pilot certificate lets you fly a small airplane, day or night, with passengers along. No aviation background, no perfect eyesight, no math degree. Just a medical, some time you protect, and one instructor the whole way.
The training moves through three stages, each building on the last. Ground study runs the whole way through, from your first lesson to your checkride, not in one block.
Two things get you set up: a student pilot certificate, the free FAA paperwork that eventually lets you solo, and a third-class medical from an FAA medical examiner. We line both up early, so you know you qualify before you spend real money. The medical exam is close to a normal physical.
About an hour in the airplane with me, hands on the controls from the start. Roughly $280, no commitment. This is always first, so you can find out if you love it before spending real money.
Once I sign you off, you sit the FAA private pilot knowledge test at a testing center. I like getting this done early so it is not hanging over you near your checkride. It is multiple choice, you need 70 percent, and a pass is good for 24 months.
You get comfortable with how the airplane flies and what the controls do, then basic maneuvers, takeoffs, and landings, over and over until they are second nature. Stage one ends the day you are ready for your first solo, when I sign your logbook, step out, and you fly the pattern alone.
Short and soft field takeoffs and landings, night flying, and using the instruments as a backup. Then the cross-country phase: planning and flying to other airports with pilotage, dead reckoning, and the airplane's navigation, and operating safely in the same airspace as the airlines.
You plan and fly your longer solo cross-countries, then we polish every maneuver until it meets the FAA's standards for a private pilot. This is the home stretch before your checkride.
An oral exam and a flight with an FAA examiner, the practical test. Pass it and you are a private pilot, and the country gets a lot smaller.
The FAA minimum is 40 hours, but most people in the Dallas Fort Worth area need 55 to 75. How fast you get there is mostly about how often you fly. Twice a week, most people finish in five to seven months. Once every couple of weeks can stretch past a year, because you spend part of each lesson catching back up. I train under Part 61, which has no stage checks and no fixed syllabus, so your training is shaped around what you actually need.
My instruction is $75 an hour in the air and $50 on the ground, and the airplane is about $165 an hour wet, with fuel included. Someone needing 60 hours of dual and 15 solo can expect roughly $14,000 to $20,000 in aircraft and instruction, plus about $175 for the knowledge test, $900 to $1,100 for the examiner, $150 to $300 for a medical, and a few hundred for a headset and books. Flying regularly is the biggest thing that keeps the total down.
You can start lessons without one, but you need at least a third-class FAA medical, or BasicMed, before you can fly solo. A third-class medical from an Aviation Medical Examiner is the standard path and is similar to a basic physical. Get it early, before you put a lot of hours in, so you know you qualify. If you have any history you are unsure about, talk to an examiner first.
I am independent and not tied to one airport, so we train at general aviation fields across the metroplex depending on where you have access to an aircraft. Flying out of a few different fields is actually good for you. It exposes you to different airspace, tower communications, and traffic patterns, which makes you a more capable pilot than someone who only ever flew at one home field.
One call is all it takes to start. Tell me you have never flown, and we will book your first hour in the airplane. You will always talk to a real person, never a front desk.
Call or text (806) 240-5310 Email [email protected]
Settle Aviation. Flight instruction across the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex. © 2026
