Are their financing options?

Yes! We offer financing for flight training. Click here for more information.


Is flying safe?

Yes, flying with us is safe. Statistically, flying with a good pilot you'll be 6x safer than driving in a car. Our instructors are highly skilled and held to a very high standard. They also continue to retrain and compare lessons with each other using GoPros to keep this level of safety and high standards.

Also, unlike in the movies, planes do not just fall out of the sky when things go wrong. It is scarce for anything major to go wrong, but in the small chance that the engine quits, the plane becomes a glider. Our planes are designed to be landed on grass, so even with a complete engine failure, they can be landed in any field, road, or runway.

We hold a very high standard during training, and each student is taught how to manage any potential emergency. We want to make sure you are the safest you can be.


What sets Pilot Rise apart from other flight schools?

  • Quality to Safety
    We want to help you get your certificate, but we will not let you take the checkride until our instructors know you will be safe and prudent for all your flying. We also want to make sure you learn things right the first time rather than relearning things later on.
  • Higher Standards
    We require training in several areas which are not required to be taught by the FAA. We do so in the interest of safety. For example, all students must learn how to land with a simulated engine failure when next to the runway, all students get taught how to land on grass runways, all students get to experience and learn how to land in very strong winds, and more. These special areas of training and skills may pay off one day to save your's or someone else's life.
  • Instructors
    Our instructors are held to a very high standard of teaching. They are responsible training the next amazing generation of pilots. Our instructors are taught to teach based on official documents instead of what their instructors taught them so flaws in training will be stopped. Read more about our instructors here.
  • Structure
    We are not required to have a syllabus or training structure of any kind, but we have a very formal structure to keep training consistent, on track, and make everything more efficient.
  • Technology
    We are innovating flight training by incorporating technology to its fullest potential. We use online ground school videos to provide massive savings in time and money for students. Our scheduling is electronic (once you're a pilot). We also use keypad systems to let pilots access our building and aircraft without anyone having to be there. We also use electronic agreements to save on printing and large amounts of student files. This is just a glimpse of how we use technology to help.

What are the steps to becoming an Airline or Corporate Pilot?

We have written an article about this here.


How much does it cost to become a commercial pilot?

First off, there is a common misconception in the language. A commercial pilot is different from an airline pilot. A commercial pilot can do a few jobs and get paid to fly, but a majority of piloting careers require an airline transport pilot certificate. We cover the process and costs of becoming a pilot here.


How much does it cost to get started?

We are "pay as you go", so we do not require a large deposit of any kind. To begin training after a discovery flight. We offer a discovery flight for $149. From then on, all costs are just the aircraft hourly rate and instructor hourly rate.


How much does each lesson cost?

You pay for the instructor's time and the aircraft, so the cost of each lesson depends on the length. When starting private pilot training, the first lessons before soloing (or flying on your own) are a bit more costly since it requires a lot of instruction time. After this, you get to solo, and you pay for only the aircraft as you solo. Then there are still lessons with instructors as well to finish up training.

Each lesson is about $250 to $350 per session during private pilot training. We do offer financing.


How much does it cost to become a pilot?

We have created estimates along with our courses here.


I already have flight hours, will they count for my training here?

Yes. Flight hours are yours forever.


How long does it take to become a pilot?

Our courses are all at your own pace. Estimated times on the low end are provided on our courses page here. It is possible to complete training even faster, but since we focus on quality, we want to make sure your learning is more than enough to keep you and your passengers safe, and not just help you get a certificate.

How does the training work?

All our training is one on one with your instructor. We try to keep you with one instructor throughout all your training (with another instructor for stage checks).

To cut out on-ground training time and costs, we are partnered with Gold Seal Ground school. This program will teach you the knowledge you need to pass the written test as well as the knowledge you'll need inside the cockpit. Check it out here. (This course provides about $2,500 worth of savings by using videos. You won't need an instructor for nearly as much time as in the past, and you won't need to buy all the bulky books anymore.)

As for the one-on-one part, each flight consists of ground training and flight training. We begin with a preflight briefing, flight instruction, and a debrief.

While becoming a private pilot, your training will flow like this:

  1. Learning the basics
  2. Solo
  3. Cross Country Training (flying between airports)
  4. Solo Cross Countries
  5. Practice
  6. Checkride and Certificate

Most ground instruction takes place during the learning the basics stage. As it turns out, there is a lot to learn about the aircraft on the ground, and we make sure you will know how to preflight the aircraft to be safe for each flight.


Is there a syllabus?

Yes. Our syllabuses are found here.


Do I have to be a US Citizen to learn to fly?

We are not authorized to train foreign students.

If you are a US Citizen, we are required to collect proof of citizenship in one of two ways: Non-expired US Passport or an Original copy Birth Certificate.