Frequently Asked Questions

Non-Refundable Scheduling Deposit

A non-refundable security deposit of $750 is required to lock in your training dates and get access to our training resources page.

Balance of Training Package

Upon receiving your email address and pictures of your Passport (or Birth Certificate), Driver’s License, Pilot Certificate, Medical Certificate, you will be setup on our schedule. This will trigger an invoice being sent to you for the training. You can pay by any of the available options: 

• Online check/ACH*
• Credit Card (Advertised price applies)
• Cash* or Venmo*

*Advertised pricing includes credit card option. Discount and/or Additional flight time available for the non-credit card payment methods. Please coordinate non-credit card payments prior to billing to enjoy some additional savings on our pricing. Otherwise, we will add some additional flight time to your training package.

You are welcome to go ahead and pay the balance of your invoice, but it is not required. However, we do ask that your invoice be paid the Monday before training starts. We do this because our checkride dates are a valuable component of these training slots. Losing one due to a student cancellation that is financially related is costly to our operations.  We are happy to work with you to reschedule as long as we have sufficient time to place another student in your spot.  See our Refund/Cancellation Policy.

If you have already paid the full balance for your training, then something happens that requires you to cancel that training, we will be happy to refund your payment (less the non-refundable deposit), so long as you’ve contacted us within 5 days of starting your training. Refunds will have any fees incurred by Attitude Aviators deducted from the balance returned to you (Example: credit card processing and refund fees the merchant services provider assesses to us).

If you cancel inside of the 5 days before your scheduled date, then a refund will be given ONLY if we are able to fill your spot another student. This is usually possible for us to do, but it is not always guaranteed. 

If we are unable to fill your spot, we will do one of the below at your discretion:

• Issue a partial refund to cover our loss of the checkride date and any other expenses associated with it (While the expenses vary, they are usually in the $500 range, less any applicable processing fees, etc); or
• Reschedule you on our training calendar (some expenses may apply depending on circumstances) See our Rescheduling Policy.

NOTE: Refunds will be processed the same way original payment was received. Payments can take up to 2 weeks depending upon method used.

Anybody familiar with aviation training is aware of the ever-present possibility of unexpected and unscheduled maintenance issues with an airplane. We’ve taken every possible precaution to mitigate that risk with our clients by operating two Cessna 310’s, to provide continuity between airplanes, and having a backup in the event of an unexpected event. However, having multiple airplanes doesn’t completely eliminate this risk. Training and checkride disruptions will be rescheduled at no cost to you.

Weather is another factor we deal with in flight training that is simply beyond our control. We train for multiple days, so when possible we will adjust flights and ground work to address weather when we can. Checkride days are set however. If those are busted due to weather, or we are unable to get the prescribed training done in lead up to your checkride, we will reschedule the training and/or checkride at no cost to you.

The same issue can arise if your examiner becomes unavailable due to a personal matter or illness. In that case we work with everyone to find the earliest date available base on examiner’s schedule to complete your practical exam. This rescheduling will be done at no cost to you.

Situations where your flight instructor availability becomes a problem are rare, because we have several MEIs that we can use on a standby-by basis if your primary MEI becomes unavailable. If instructor availability delays your training and/or checkride, we will reschedule the training and/or checkride at no cost to you.

NOTE: The pricing for your training is based on an approximate number of flight hours as well as all of the ground training and other costs associated with operating a flight training business. Should you be rescheduled to complete your training and checkride, but believe you need additional flight time beyond our package pricing, additional costs may apply. See below for the approximate hourly cost for additional flying time, which is determine on a case-by-case basis.

When we are forced to reschedule training and/or checkrides due to one of the factors discussed above, we approach it as follows:

1. Our first step is to immediately put you on our next available checkride training date, as a backup date, in the event we are unable to find a more immediate remedy. This next available date is determined by how busy our calendar is, and the regular movement of student dates due to life events
2. The next thing we do is make every attempt to coordinate with the Examiner to find something on their schedule that would get you back in for your checkride sooner than our backup date. Examiner availability is an issue that plagues the flight training industry because so many ratings and certificates require checkride assessments from a DPE. In full disclosure, this can be very difficult to do, but thankfully we work with one of the most professional and respected examiners in the business.
3. If more than one student is caught in rescheduling limbo, priority for open dates is given to the student who has waited longest, then to the next if an available date does not fit their schedule.
4. Finally, should we have an exceeding difficulty getting you back on the checkride calendar and you no longer wish to wait, partial refunds can be given based on our Refund Policy

For Multi-engine add-on ratings, the flight time averages approximately 9-10 hours. approximately 8 hours of dual flight instruction, and 1-1.5 hours of PIC during your checkride with Examiner. Ground instruction for a multi-engine program is usually in the 7-8 hour range, depending on the preparation of the student prior to training.

For other programs the hours are similar, but can vary slightly depending on the amount of ground training included. For example, an MEI will have 1-2 less flight hours, but more ground training time due to the amount of ground instruction associated with teaching mock lessons.

In the event that a student desires, or requires, additional flight training to complete a checkride, additional costs may apply. Training program costing is approximately $750/hr. However, additional flight hours are generally billed out at $675/hr since our sunk costs have already been paid in the original training package.

In the event an applicant doesn’t pass their checkride on first attempt, we will be required to do the ground and flight retraining in the deficient area(s), endorse you for retest, and coordinate with examiner a date to retest. 

Sometimes retraining and retesting can be done same day, at the discretion of the examiner. Rescheduling for a retest is not something we control, but is a requirement of the type of rating and/or certificate you are seeking. An FAA Designated Pilot Examiner is required to complete these training programs, and their schedules are extremely busy due to the demands for their services. Retests can sometimes take weeks to complete and sometimes can be done on the same day as your original checkride. We will make every effort to get your retest done as quickly as possible.

If an applicant requires more than approximately an hour of additional flight training, it is likely additional costs may be incurred to get them ready for the retest. Sometimes an applicant wants additional flight time before retesting due to a lack of recency because of retest schedule. We are happy to accomodate, but may need to bill for additional flight time due to the high operating costs of these twin aircraft. 

While it is extremely uncommon, we do occasionally have a student that isn't having success with their multi engine training. Most everyone can successfully completely their training, but some require additional flight time. Some require remedial training in other prerequisite areas before returning to multi training (Tailwheel training and instrument training come to mind). And unfortunately, some in fact shouldn't be multi engine pilots. 

While it is rare for us to encounter students with areas of weakness sufficient enough to jeopardize their chances of success, we try our best to either find a solution to the problem, or offer alternative to remedy the areas of weakness rather than sending a student into a checkride for a known failure. Examples are rescheduling for more remedial studying, extra flight training time for deficient flight skills, etc. Common areas where we see weaknesses are: 

Deficient Instrument Skills - Solution is often remedial training in a smaller less complex airplane

An Undislosed Gap in Flight Time Prior to Course - this can be difficult to assess based on total experience, type of prior experience, etc.

Undisclosed Motion Sickness - This is a very tough one to handle. Often it’s best to terminate the training with a prorate refund, rather than continue with lower chances of success.

Weak stick and rudder skills due to prior training and/or flight experience

If a workable solutions for student deficiencies isn’t found, we will try to identify it early and propose a plan of action by setting up additional flight training time or referral out to the appropriate flight training (Instrument, Tailwheel, etc). In cases where a successful path may not be available, we may be able to offer partial refunds depending on how early these needs are identified. Your success is important to us, and flight training is costly, so we try very hard to help everyone.

This page is password protected. Once you have scheduled your training, I will setup your access using the email you provide me. 

No. Our insurance does not allow that activity for our operations. We do, however, offer time building blocks for students seeking to building their multi time. It requires one of our insured MEIs to sit right seat, but is an effective way to build twin hours given the scarcity of multi rentals.

Plan to bring your own headset and Electronic Flight Bag for your training. We do not currently provide those items, except in the case of the EFB in N480BW, which is equipped with foreflight on the iPad.