Are you a business professional wanting to save time, stress, and hassle from highway or public airport travel? Are you a young person who is dreaming of a meaningful career as a private pilot? Have you always dreamed of flying yourself somewhere?
At SOTOW Aviation, we train students of all ages and backgrounds and help make these dreams come true. Our mission is to provide the highest quality flight instruction, while prioritizing their safety and satisfaction.
SOTOW Aviation specializes in one-on-one training using Cirrus SR20-G6 aircraft—the gold standard for safety and innovation in general aviation. Learn to fly with advanced avionics, modern safety features, and the same technology used in high-performance aircraft.
We develop a flight training program that fits your schedule and budget. A typical schedule for a person working towards a private pilot certificate flying at least one to two lessons per week will complete training in about 6 months. Your learning process may vary, but as a rule of thumb, the more often you train the less you have to re-learn as you go along.
Ground school is an early step in flight training and is more theoretical than flight school. You will study aviation-related topics such as aerodynamics, airport rules, aircraft instruments, and the weather. This is designed to help you pass the applicable knowledge tests for a pilot license. Contact us for more information.
Please reach us at cfi@sotowaviation.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
It depends on several factors: frequency of lessons, how quick of a study you are, whether you take time off from training or proceed straight through from start to finish. If you fly at least twice per week and you do your homework, you should be able to get to your Private Pilot Check Ride between 6 and 9 months. The elapsed time includes things like weather cancelations, maintenance delays, sickness, etc.
Again, it depends on how long it takes you to get your certificate. The cost is a calculation of total hours of airplane rental, total hours of flight instruction and total hours of ground instruction. The Cirrus Aircraft Platform is the latest and greatest in aviation technology and safety and because of that, it takes a little longer to master at a higher hourly cost. According to the FAA, the average hours to get to Private Pilot is around 75, and we normally see a total cost of between $40K and $60K to complete the course.
Normally we do an initial training interview to make sure there are no concerns that might get in the way of your training, such as medical issues or motion sickness issues. We then schedule a discovery flight. This is to get you in the airplane and actually flying a bit to make sure you are going to like it. After that, we get you your books and assign you a weekly lesson time. We do our best to work around your timeline and schedule so it is very convenient for you.
The minimum age requirement is 16 years old.
No, you do not need any prior experience to take flight lessons at SOTOW Aviation. Our experienced instructors will guide you every step of the way.
The Cirrus SR20 G6 is a modern, high-performance four-seat trainer built for today’s aspiring pilots. Featuring a 215 hp Lycoming IO-390 engine, it cruises at up to 155 knots and climbs efficiently to 17,500 ft.
Designed with safety and advanced avionics in mind, the SR20 G6 comes equipped with the Cirrus Perspective+™ by Garmin® flight deck (with synthetic vision, ADS-B weather/traffic, and the “Blue Level” automatic attitude button) and includes the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System® (CAPS®) for added peace of mind.
In the training environment, it delivers a refined cabin, versatile 60/40 seating for up to five, and user-friendly systems that help transition students from fundamentals to advanced flight with confidence.
