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Learn to Fly!

Thanks for your interest in flying and the East Hill Flying Club. Our two main purposes are to teach people to fly and to provide planes to our members at a reasonable cost. We'll be happy to answer any of your questions. The next few sections address the more common questions.

What is a Private Pilot Certificate?

A private pilot certificate is much like an ordinary driver's license, except it allows you to fly an airplane. The ability to fly, besides being great fun in itself, puts most destinations in the Northeast within a couple of hours' travel. Cape Cod or the Chesapeake are an easy two-hour trip away. Business trips are also more efficient and enjoyable.

What are the requirements to become a Private Pilot?

1. You must be 17 years of age (16 years old to solo) and write, speak and understand English.
2. Obtain a third class FAA Medical Certificate (issued by an FAA Medical Examiner and available here in Ithaca).
3. Fly a minimum of 35 hours: including 10 hours solo, 20 hours instructional, 5 hours solo cross-country (that is, more than 50 nautical miles [nm]... not to California), 3 hours at night and 3 hours on instruments only. These times are all bare minimums. The national average for completion is somewhere around 70 hours. The total cost here is approximately $7,000-$8,000, spread out over the length of your training.
4. Pass a 50-question multiple-choice knowledge test given at the club at our FAA Approved LaserGrade Testing Center.
5. Pass a practical flight evaluation with an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner. David, our Chief Instructor, is a pilot examiner.

How long does it take to get a Pilot Certificate?

To make reasonable progress, you should try to fly one or two lessons a week. You will also be doing at least two hours of ground school for every hour of flight. The Jeppesen Curriculum that we use integrates a multimedia ground school with your flight training. This is a self-paced course which you complete in modules as you fly each lesson. This integrated method of teaching has proved very efficient in creating pilots that have both the skill and the knowledge to be confident pilots after certification. Before you enter the plane for a flight, you have studied the maneuvers! Additionally, every lesson is carefully organized and presented so you know the completion standards of each lesson and where you are in the entire flight program. Three written quizzes and three briefings are required during flight training and insure that all the knowledge you need is thoroughly mastered.

When you earn your certificate here, you are a skilled, knowledgeable, confident pilot!

Why learn at the East Hill Flying Club?

We have been teaching flying safely in Ithaca for over 50 years. The club is maintained to the highest FAA standard: 14 CFR 141. This designation is what makes the school an FAA Approved Flight School which assures that your flight training is of the highest quality, organized carefully and supervised continuously by the FAA. The club is also a not-for-profit corporation. Though your training is of the highest quality, it is also very reasonably priced. Included in the club membership is full insurance coverage. The club maintains its seven aircraft with a mechanic on staff and has installed the latest GPS navigation systems. We currently have eight instructors teaching seven days a week and all the scheduling and dispatch is online through the Internet. You can create and view reservations online from your home or office to fit your schedule.

How do I get started?

First, try the controls of one of our Cessna aircraft with an instructor in the other seat with a "Discovery Flight" over the beautiful Finger Lakes. This is a "test drive" to make sure you like the experience and you get to meet the instructors and visit the school as well. The current intro. price is $80 in a Cessna 152 and $100 in a four-place (four seat) Cessna 172. Most larger people are more comfortable in the four place plane... or bring a friend along for the ride. You will experience the beauty and excitement of flying and see how easy it is to progress through the basic maneuvers. Most people love this experience and then want to know how to get started in flight training.

How do I join the club and start flight training?

Well hopefully your instructor gave you a yellow application form when you completed your Discovery Flight. If you are excited about learning to fly, we want you as a member! If you do not get this form, download it here. Another essential part of getting started is reading through the Rules of Operation. These guide all of our everyday operations and keep us safe in the air. Once you have read these guidelines and filled out the application, arrange a time to meet with our manager/chief instructor David so you can get oriented and enrolled. This takes about an hour and you should be prepared to pay the initiation and deposit at this time as well as buy the Private Pilot ground school kit. Your first fee is currently $1315, but $700 is your refundable deposit (ever since 1952). You will also need to visit an aviation medical examiner for a student pilot certificate/medical and bring a passport or birth certificate to us for the TSA. We can guide you through these steps at the initial meeting to insure your success with the medical. Upon joining, you receive a login to our on-line scheduler system so you will be able to set up your flight training schedule to suit your needs.We fly seven days a week and each member initially gets 4 reservation slots. Our typical flight lesson is a two-hour time time block and your syllabus (part of the student kit) will explain what ground school you need to complete before each lesson.