Sport Pilot Certificate
The Sport Pilot Certificate is the newest rating offered. It's a great way to get started for the least amount of money, but still fly a certificated airplane. At A&M, you'll do your training in our classic Aeronca Champ. The Sport Pilot Certificate is the only certificate that does not require you to get an FAA medical exam, though you will need to certify yourself medically fit to fly. This has frequently been called a "driver's license medical", because the medical standards required to drive an automobile are similar to those deemed sufficient to pilot aircraft under the Sport Pilot Certificate. For the latest on the Sport Pilot Certificate, the Experimental Aircraft Association offers a wealth of information.
Average Cost of a Sport Pilot Certificate
Private Pilot Certificate
The historic starting point for pilot education has been the Private Pilot Certificate for Airplanes - Single Engine Land, or PP-ASEL. With appropriate endorsements, this allows one to fly any of the single-engine airplanes in our fleet.
Average Estimated Cost of a Private Pilot Certificate (PP-ASEL)
Instrument Rating
After the Private Pilot Certificate, people generally opt for an Instrument Rating. This is because the Private restricts you to flying in "good weather", called Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC). While that will actually allow you to complete most flights as planned, you will inevitably encounter the situation in which some low clouds right over your departure airport delay or prevent you from finishing that vacation trip down to the Bahamas. That's where the Instrument Rating comes in. It shows that you've received the instruction necessary to operate the airplane solely with respect to the instruments, so you can fly through that low overcast into the brilliant sunshine above and complete your trip as planned. This training is accomplished in an aircraft certified for instrument flight, so you'll be using one of the four-place trainers or the advanced aircraft.
Average Estimated Cost of an Instrument Rating
Commercial Pilot Certificate
If you want to be paid for flying, you'll need a Commercial Pilot Certificate. This is taking what you learned for the Private and making it more precise. It's a good way to really hone your skills, even if you don't plan on being paid. Remember, you don't need to be drawing a paycheck to be a professional pilot. Being a "Professional Pilot" is a state of mind! This training will require at least some time in a retractable gear aircraft, such as our Cessna 210.
Average Estimated Cost of a CP-ASEL
Multi-Engine Ratings
Flying over the mountains or out to sea, many people feel better knowing that they have a second engine should something happen, no matter how unlikely. The multi-engine rating, which can be had at either the Private or Commercial pilot levels, allows you to select an airplane that offers that added safety margin. Training for this will be in our Cessna 310, a fast, capable, twin-engine aircraft. Your certificate here will be PP-AMEL or CP-AMEL.
Average Estimated Cost of a PP-AMEL (add-on)
Average Estimated Cost of a CP-AMEL
Flight Instructor Ratings
After you have a Commercial Pilot Certificate, you can share your knowledge and excitement with others by teaching! Certified Flight Instructors have multiple levels: ASEL and AMEL, both with and without Instrument Instructor Authorization.
Average Estimated Cost of a CFI
Average Estimated Cost of a CFI-I
Average Estimated Cost of a CFI-ME
Airline Transport Pilot
The ATP is the certificate required to fly as a captain for the scheduled airlines. You must have 1500 hours of flight time to be eligible for this certificate.
Average Estimated Cost of an ATP
Endorsements
Even after getting your certificate, you can get endorsements to fly other, more advanced aircraft.Tailwheel (conventional gear)
In the Aeronca Champ, you can get an endorsement per 61.31(i) to operate a tailwheel aircraft.
High Performance
In either of the Cessna 182s or the Cessna 210, we can provide training meeting section 61.31(f) to operate a high-performance airplane (an airplane with an engine of more than 200 horsepower).
Complex
In the 210 Centurion, we offer training meeting section 61.31(e) for an airplane that has a retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller
High Altitude
And in the King Air C90, we offer training meeting section 61.31(g) for a pressurized aircraft (an aircraft that has a service ceiling or maximum operating altitude, whichever is lower, above 25,000 feet MSL).