You are not required to pay in advance, or maintain a minimum balance. You can "pay as you go." You are asked to pay at the end of every lesson.

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A typical lesson lasts about 1.2 hours of flight with .5 of pre/post-flight ground-briefing and costs about $350. Some lessons will be longer or shorter. Some will have more ground instruction or no flight at all. Some will be solo flights with no instructor.

The overall costs vary depending on the aircraft you fly and the hours that you need. If you were to complete the Private Pilot in the FAA minimum 40 hours in a Piper Archer or Cessna 172 with 30 hours of dual instruction and 10 hours of additional ground instruction, the cost would be about $10,400. Then there is the cost of the check ride examiner ($1500),  and additional pilot supplies (headset, charts, kneeboard, fuel tester; approximately $250). So even though it is possible to complete the Private for about $12,000, it is recommended to have a budget available of at least $15,000 to allow for sufficient practice time to gain the proficiency and confidence to pass the check ride. But remember you can pay as you go (after each lesson) and you are not required to place any funds on account prior or during your training.

Learn To Fly San Diego is owned and operated by pilots for pilots. We are motivated to get you through the training safely, competently, and for as little money as possible. We want you to fully enjoy the experience and we hope that you will want to continue training in the future for additional certificates, ratings, and currency. We want you to love flying! We hope you will want to take your friends and family out to experience the thrill of flying in Southern California and beyond!