Frequently Asked Questions

Federal minimums under FAA regulations for a Private Pilot Certificate are 40 hours total flight time and 20 hours dual instruction flight time. National averages for Private Pilot Certificates are in the 60-70-hour range and probably closer to 30 hours of instruction. Sport Pilot Certificates require 20 hours of total flight time and 10 hours dual instruction flight time under Federal regulations. Nationally, the actual time is closer to 30-35 hours and 15 hours dual instruction.

We can provide some very rough estimates of costs, but every single student pilot is different and will take a different amount of time and money to get through flight training.

The first factor is the student training in a LSA aircraft or larger aircraft like a Cessna 172? That decision alone can be a $5,000 difference in cost for a Private Pilot Certificate.

The second factor is whether or not the student is using the Wings Above Yavapai membership and/or credits for money on account. If the student isn’t using these programs, they should as either of these programs will save significant money over the number of hours required to learn to fly.

A rough estimate on costs for a Private Pilot Certificate for a LSA aircraft is approximately $10,000. For a larger aircraft such as a 172 or one of the G1000 172s, that cost will start at around $15,000.

For a Sport Pilot Certificate, costs starts around $5,000.

Most flight instructors in an ideal situation would recommend two to three lessons in a week’s period. Any more lessons and you risk saturating a new pilot with too much information too soon. On the other side of the question, a new flight student would want to try and fly at least once a week. Stretching the time out further than a week will risk having to relearn material from the prior lesson.

Weather will also sometimes impact the timeline. A stretch of bad weather or high winds could introduce additional time into learning to fly.

Student pilots also need to have time to study to pass a written test. There is also material that will have to be reviewed as part of your aviation training.

Typically a 2-4 month period of time will allow for a student to get through flight training and pass the Private Pilot or Sport Pilot check ride.

Affordable flight training is a reality by training in a LSA aircraft for any certificate. Why? Because LSA aircraft are cheaper to buy and operate. Costs for a flight student for a Private Pilot certificate are in the $7,000 to $9,000 range in a LSA and that same certificate in a bigger plane, the costs start at $10,000 and can be over $16,000.

LSA aircraft do have limits, particularly around weight and height. Large people, either in height or weight will sometimes have to train in a larger aircraft, such as a Cessna 172.

Leighnor Aircraft successfully trains Commercial Pilots and Flight Instructors in our LSA aircraft in addition to Sport Pilot and Private Pilot certificates.

Affordable Flight Training – Cost of Acquisition

To understand why affordable flight training can be done in a LSA, let’s consider two new trainers. A brand new Cessna 172 which is a $500,000 airplane and a brand new Aeroprakt A22LS, which is a $125,000 airplane. So a school can buy over three LSA trainers for the price of a Cessna 172. The Cessna 172 is a 180-HP engine aircraft which burns 8-11 gallons of fuel per hour. By comparison the Aeroprakt has a 100-HP engine and it burns 3-5 gallons of fuel per hour.

New Aeroprakt prices may be verified at Aeroprakt USA.

Cost of Maintenance

Now consider the aircraft’s maintenance which is an extremely key part of affordable flight training. Aircraft used in the flight training business are required to have annual and 100-hour operation inspections. That new Cessna 172 has dozens of inspection plates and requires two days to at a minimum to complete either of those inspections. But the Aeroprakt? No inspection plates exist and an inspection is a morning’s work. This difference in times means labor charges to maintain the LSA aircraft is considerably less than the Cessna 172.

All of these factors combine to make affordable flight training a reality in one of Leighnor Aircraft’s LSAs. At Leighnor Aircraft, a flight student really can accomplish more by flying with Leighnor!