Live Your Dream. Be a Pilot!
By earning your Private Pilot Certificate you can experience adventure and a freedom like no other. Your Private Pilot Certificate will allow you to rent and fly aircraft privately throughout the world. Whether you wish to have the flexibility of flying your own airplane on business trips or would like to travel to exciting places with your friends and family, your Private Pilot Certificate will certainly take you places.
What is Westwind’s Approach to Flight Training?
Westwind School of Aeronautics, one of the world's largest Cessna Pilot Centers, has adopted the "Cleared for Takeoff™" Computer Based instruction (CBI) program for Private Pilot training. Our state of the art training program utilizes a FAA approved syllabus that integrates the ground school with the actual flight training. This program was developed in close cooperation with Cessna Aircraft Company, King Schools and the FAA. The CBI uses over 25 CDs and includes streaming full screen video. Because you own the software, you can do your ground school on your own computer, at your own pace, and at your selected time. When doing the CBI if you should get distracted or interrupted, that's no problem. You can start, stop and review as many times as you want. The flight training is conducted at the Deer Valley Airport. Deer Valley is one of the finest training airports in the U.S. Its two runways, nearby practice area and a training-oriented FAA Control Tower make Deer Valley the airport of choice for training in Arizona.
What Do I Need To Do To Get Started?
All you need is some dedication and a handful of pilot tools. You can start at any age, although you must be 16 to solo and 17 to obtain your Private Certificate. To begin, you will need to obtain a third class medical certificate, which will serve as your student pilot certificate until you receive your actual Private Pilot Certificate. Next, submit a completed Custom Student Application to so that we can select an instructor who best meets your training needs. Once this is completed, we will assign you an instructor and your training can begin.
Westwind offers an 8-week Private Pilot Course for those students that can dedicate five days a week to flight training. We realize that most individuals that have a full time work schedule cannot train five days a week. For those individuals Westwind also offers a flexible training schedule. We recommend that students train a minimum of 2 to 3 times a week. By training more often, you will not need as much review from the previous lesson and will not only save time but also money. For example: a student training 2 to 3 a week will usually earn their Private Pilot Certificate in about 4 months. A student training 5 times a week can usually earn his/her certificate in as little as 8 weeks.
How Much Does It Cost?
The FAA requires a minimum of 40 flight hours to qualify for the Private Certificate. Many schools estimate the price of their flight-training program on FAA minimums. Westwind prefers to quote a more realistic amount. For example, the national average to obtain a Private Certificate is about 60 hours of flight training. We, therefore, have based our price on 64 hours of flight. Please note that all pricing quoted is an estimate only and you will only be charged for what you actually require.
| 44 Hours Dual Instruction C-172P | $6,952 |
| 15 Hours Solo C-172P | $1,608 |
| Cessna Multimedia Computer Based Instruction (CBI) Kit | $342 |
| 47 Hours Individual Ground Instruction | $2,773 |
| FAA Computer Based Written Test | $90 |
| Books and Supplies | $150 |
| FAA Medical Exam | $80 |
| Application Fee | $49 |
| 2 Hours in C-172P for Flight Test | $198 |
| FAA Examiner Fee | $350 |
| Total Estimate for Private Pilot Certificate | $12,592 |
How can I pay for my training?
Some students simply pay as they train, while others finance their training. If you are interested in financing your flight training, please contact our Student Admission’s office or give us a call at (623) 869-6973.