Straight answers before you book

No. The Discovery Flight is designed for complete beginners — you take the controls on your very first visit, with a certified instructor beside you the whole time.

A real first flying lesson, not a tour: a ~60-minute pre-flight briefing, then you fly the Cherokee 140 over the Southwest Florida coast from the pilot’s seat. It costs $175 and you receive an official logbook entry that counts toward your license.

Yes — safety is the whole CORE model. You fly a meticulously maintained trainer with dual controls and a CFI beside you at every moment, from a towered airport with professional ATC. Weather cancellations are standard practice and never charged.

You pay per session: the Cherokee 140 is $170/hr wet and instruction is $55/hr, with no big upfront packages. The FAA minimum is 40 flight hours; most students reach proficiency around 65, so frequency and ground study are the biggest levers on your total.

Most consistent students are checkride-ready in roughly 2–4 months. Accelerated schedules are possible with 3+ flights per week — and with 300+ flyable days a year in Southwest Florida, weather rarely slows you down.

Yes — you need an FAA medical certificate before you can solo (not before a Discovery Flight). We point you to local Aviation Medical Examiners and help you time it correctly in your training.

Every lesson flies in N6145W, our Piper Cherokee 140 — a stable, forgiving low-wing trainer with a 150-HP Lycoming upgrade, kept immaculate. One airplane means zero re-learning between lessons.

Part 61 — the FAA framework built for individualized instruction. It gives maximum flexibility for students with busy schedules, and it is what makes the one-on-one, same-instructor model possible.

No. CORE is pay-per-session — you pay as your training progresses, with minimal startup costs and no lump-sum packages. We don’t offer or push financing; your budget stays in your control.

At the General Aviation terminal of Page Field Airport (KFMY), 607 Danley Dr, Fort Myers, FL 33907 — serving Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Bonita Springs, Estero, Lehigh Acres, Fort Myers Beach, Punta Gorda, and all of Southwest Florida.

We ask for at least 24 hours’ notice to cancel or reschedule. No-shows (excluding genuine emergencies) carry a fee of two hours at the standard instructor rate; weather cancellations are always understood and never charged.

Book a $175 Discovery Flight. It is a real lesson with logbook credit, it answers the “is this for me?” question in one morning, and it is the first entry in your path to a Private Pilot License.