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Training programs

Flight training in Fort Myers — PPL to CFI

Core Aviator Training is a boutique Part 61 flight school at Page Field (KFMY) in Fort Myers, Florida — one instructor, one student, one meticulously kept Piper Cherokee 140, with a 99% first-time checkride pass rate.

  1. Close view of the Piper Cherokee 140’s classic lines on the ground at golden hour
    01 / 06
    ▸ Start here

    Private Pilot License

    The FAA minimum is 40 flight hours; students who study their ground material typically reach proficiency around 65 hours, and consistent flyers are checkride-ready in a few months.

    You train at towered Page Field, so ATC communication and real airspace discipline are built in from lesson one — flying the Gulf coast, the Caloosahatchee, and the barrier islands.

    Start with a $175 Discovery Flight: it is a real lesson, it goes in your logbook, and it counts toward your 40 hours.

    Book a Discovery Flight — $175 Map my path
  2. Piper Cherokee 140 N6145W in flight over the mangrove islands and waterways of Southwest Florida
    02 / 06 All-weather precision

    Instrument Rating (IFR)

    Dual instruction at KFMY with the same one-on-one model as every CORE program: your instructor, your pace, your plan.

    Precision approaches, IFR navigation, and the weather decision-making that Southwest Florida’s sea-breeze patterns teach better than any textbook.

    Visiting pilots working on an instrument rating are welcome — plenty of seasonal residents fly with us while they are in town.

    Map my path to Instrument Rating (IFR) →
  3. The flight instructor shaking hands with a student pilot in front of a Core Aviator Training backdrop
    03 / 06 Fly for a career

    Commercial Pilot License (CPL)

    Commercial maneuvers demand exactness; a one-on-one instructor who knows your flying is the fastest way to reach it.

    Training continues in the Cherokee 140 you already know, so every hour goes into skill, not re-familiarization.

    We map the full path with you — hours, ratings, and the sequence that fits your goals and budget.

    Map my path to Commercial Pilot License (CPL) →
  4. View over the wing of the Cherokee: turquoise Gulf water, a white-sand barrier island, and the Southwest Florida coastline
    04 / 06 Teach what you fly

    Flight Instructor (CFI)

    Learn instruction the CORE way: brief thoroughly, teach one-on-one, debrief straight.

    Right-seat proficiency, lesson planning, and the FAA fundamentals of instruction, tailored to your timeline.

    Time building continues in the Cherokee 140 at pay-as-you-go rates — no package commitments.

    Map my path to Flight Instructor (CFI) →
  5. The flight instructor shaking hands with a student pilot beside the Cherokee 140 on the ramp
    05 / 06 The knowledge half

    Ground School

    Private sit-down sessions cover aerodynamics, regulations, weather, and everything the FAA written exam demands.

    Your first ground sessions also set up your student paperwork, profile, and digital logbook correctly from day one.

    Studying ground material before and during flight training is the single biggest accelerator — it is how students pass near the 40-hour minimum.

    Map my path to Ground School →
  6. The Piper Cherokee 140 parked on the tarmac between hangar rows at golden hour
    06 / 06 Sharpen between flights

    Simulator Training

    Simulator practice between lessons keeps procedures sharp — many of our fastest finishers pair weekly flights with sim work.

    Ideal for instrument procedures, radio flow, and chair-flying maneuvers before you fly them for real.

    Ask us how to structure sim practice around your flight blocks; it is the cheapest hour in aviation.

    Map my path to Simulator Training →

  7. From first flight to a professional career — we train the whole path.

How it works

Training built around you

CORE is pay-per-session: the Cherokee 140 rents at $175/hr wet (fuel and maintenance included) and instruction is $60/hr. How often you fly is the biggest driver of your total.

See how pricing works → Meet your instructor →

Training questions, answered

Which ratings can I train for here?
Six: Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor (CFI), Ground School, and Simulator Training. All of them are taught one-on-one, and all the flying happens in the same Piper Cherokee 140.
How long is a single lesson?
Three hours, booked as one block: brief, fly, debrief. That is why one trip to the field is a complete training session rather than a 45-minute hop, and it is the main reason students who commute from Cape Coral or Naples find the drive worth it.
Will I have the same instructor every lesson?
Yes. This is a one-instructor school by design — you are not handed to whoever is free that morning, and nobody re-teaches you a lesson you have already flown.
Do I have to finish one rating before starting the next?
For the certificates themselves, yes — the FAA sequence runs Private, then Instrument, then Commercial, then CFI. Ground school and simulator work run alongside all of them, and the earlier you start the ground material the fewer flight hours it takes.
Do you offer multi-engine training or endorsements?
No. We train the six programs listed above in a single-engine Piper Cherokee 140. If you need a multi-engine rating we would rather say so plainly than take the booking.

Not sure where to start?

Call us and we'll talk it through — where you are, where you want to go, and what it takes to get there, numbers included.

Book a Discovery Flight — $175 Speak to an advisor

or call 239-722-6751

5.0 · 11 Google reviews

Serving Cape Coral · Naples · Estero · Punta Gorda · Bonita Springs · Fort Myers Beach · Lehigh Acres · Immokalee

Book a Discovery Flight — $175 Speak to an advisor