Private Pilot License

Overview  Requirements  Costs

Overview

Welcome to Ahart Aviation! We are based at Livermore Municipal Airport and fly the most popular training aircraft on the market today – Cessna 152, Cessna 172 and the Piper Warrior. These are single engine, fixed gear aircraft that have proven themselves in their safety and ease of flying over the past three decades. These aircraft were designed specifically for instruction purposes to best develop your skills and techniques. We concentrate our effort in teaching you the entire realm of safe and enjoyable flying. Most first time students have never flown before and find it challenging, exciting and fun! We believe that with our assistance and guidance, most everyone can learn to fly, safely and economically.

Requirements

There are three main requirements that must be met prior to earning a Private Pilot Certificate. First, you must pass a basic physical exam given by an FAA approved medical doctor, which becomes your Student Pilot Certificate and will then be valid for either 2 or 3 years (depending on your age). Next, a computerized written exam of 60 questions must be taken with a minimum passing grade of 70%. Finally, there is the actual flight training. We follow the popular Jeppesen syllabus that guides you through the flight training until you are competent and proficient in each subject area. Once this is completed your instructor will recommend you for the final check-ride. This Private Pilot Certificate will then allow you to fly with friends and family up or down the coast, or perhaps to a dinner in South Lake Tahoe or on a scenic aerial tour of Yosemite! With the skills you learn at Ahart, you will be a safe and confident pilot!

Private Pilot Flight Training – Costs

The costs associated with learning to fly and earning the Private Pilot License vary depending on a number of factors, including individual skills, personal preparation of the student and frequency of lessons. The flight instructor will assign portions of the textbook for you to review before each flight. Optimally, we encourage you to fly a minimum of 2 or 3 times per week. We will, however, work with your work or school schedule. Each lesson is approximately 2 ½ hours in length, allowing sufficient time before the lesson for the instructor and you to thoroughly prepare for each flight. The flight normally lasts about 1¼ hours (depending on the lesson content) and then a post-flight review to answer your questions. 

All time spent in pre-flight and post-flight review discussions are charged at the $39 per hour pro-rated. Instruction is on a one-to-one basis and is designed to permit you to progress at a comfortable rate.

Cost Break-out for Part 61 Program can be found here

Cost Break-out for Part 141 Program can be found here

Terms are payment in full (cash/check/charge card) upon completion of each lesson. Prepaid accounts of $500.00 (cash or check only) receive a 5% discount.

We accept VISA/MC/AMEX/Discover cards.