Priveleges.
The Private Pilots License is the first step to your aviation career (or hobby!). With the PPL, you can fly seaplanes and landplanes for fun! A Private Pilot Licence allows you to fly single-engine, non-high-performance aircraft with passengers. This is the prerequisite to the Commercial Pilot Licence. Add ratings to fly at night, above the clouds, or even multi-engine! (view the ratings page here for more information).
Prerequisites.
Candidates for the Private Pilots Licence must be at least 14 years old to fly solo and 17 years old at the completion of the licence. This licence requires you to have a Category 3 medical certificate issued by Transport Canada. Although you don’t need a medical to begin training, you must have either a Category 1 or 3 prior to solo flight. It’s recommended you get a medical evaluation done as soon as possible when starting training.
You never know until you try – a discovery flight is a great way to test the waters and see if flying is the right choice for you. Discovery flights include a 30 minute introductory ground brief and an hour of flight time. Check out our discounted rates below;
172M $375 + GST
Training is at the student’s pace and convenience. Expect to budget 3-4 months full-time, or 6+ months part-time
Below are the Transport Canada minimum training requirements. Please see “*a note on hours and fees” below for more detailed information’.
| Total | 45 |
| Dual Flight Time | 17 |
| Dual Cross Country | 3 |
| Dual Instrument Time | 5 |
| Solo Hours | 12 |
| Solo Cross Country | 5 |
| 150 nm Solo Cross country | / |
A minimum of 40 hours of ground school. The applicant must complete an online ground school independently with pilottraining.ca. There is no requirement to complete the ground school before you start your flight training, though it is recommended to at least complete the PSTAR and ROC-A portions.
The applicant will need to pass a Transport Canada written exam within 24 months prior to applying for the licence, and successful completion of a flight test within 12 months prior to applying for the licence.
Important: Airhart Aviation does not provide a complete ground school program, so it is very important to keep in mind that studying for the test is self-guided and fully the responsibility of the student.
$24,100.00 + GST*
| 33 hrs Dual flight instruction: | |
| – Aircraft Rental @ $460.00/h | $15,180 |
| – Instructor Fees: $60/hr | $1,980 |
| 12 hrs Solo flight $460.00/hr | $5,520 |
| 17 hrs Briefing $60.00/hr** | $1,020 |
| Supplies and Pilot Kit | $400 |
$17,575.00 + GST*
| 33 hrs Dual flight instruction: | |
| – Aircraft Rental @ $315.00/h | $10,395 |
| – Instructor Fees: $60/hr | $1,980 |
| 12 hrs Solo flight $315.00/hr | $3,780 |
| 17 hrs Briefing $60.00/hr** | $1,020 |
| Supplies and Pilot Kit | $400 |
**All dual instruction includes an additional 0.3 hrs of ground briefing. This number is reflective of this + additional longer briefings for more advanced ground prep such as navigation. ie the majority of your flight training sessions include 0.3 hours of ground briefings, but sometimes these briefings will be longer.
***Please note we are not currently conducting the PPL on seaplanes.
The hour break down and prices above are based on reaching the Transport Canada minimum requirements of 45 hours for the PPL. The majority of students do not complete the PPL in the minimum time stated above.
Students should be aware when budgeting for their training that every student is different and the number of hours required to reach PPL test standards is heavily dependant on the amount of independent preparation the student conducts as well as natural skill level. We strive to have students test ready as close to the minimums as possible, and students should strive to be realistic about the number of hours they can expect to need. The average for a PPL is between 80-100 hours of flight time. Our average is 75 hours.
As such, the average cost for flight training is around $27,500 in Landplanes and $38,000 in Seaplanes. Please ensure that you understand the hourly rates and that you read the Learn to Fly page to get a fuller understanding of the requirements involved.
Extra Fees include aviation medical, online ground school, ground briefings, English proficiency testing (if required), licence fees and exams.