CFII Flight School
$26,000 less than Thrust.
Before you commit six figures, here is the CFII Career Track side by side with Thrust Flight's Zero Time to Airline program.
The breakdown
| CFII | Thrust | |
|---|---|---|
| PricePublished price for the same starting point, every certificate included. | $89,000 | $115,000 + |
| Program lengthZero experience to the last checkride, full time. | ~9 months | 11 to 14 months |
| Cost per flight hourPrice divided by the flight hours you graduate with. | ~$316 | Not published |
| Flight hours at graduationWhat your logbook says on graduation day. | 282 | Not published |
| Hours in a real airplaneEverything that is not the simulator. | 229 | Not published |
| Hours in a simulatorApproved sim time that counts toward the ratings. | 53 | Not published |
| Multi-engine hoursTwin time for the multi-engine rating. | 25 | Not published |
| Paid instructor phaseWho pays for the hours after certification. | $15,000 add-on | Not guaranteed |
| You save | $26,000 |
These figures are the $89,000 training program alone. Thrust figures: published Zero Time to Airline program fee of $115,000, plus a $5,000 allowance refunded if unused ($120,000 total), and its 11 to 14 month length, thrustflight.com, October 2026; flight hours are not published. Cost per flight hour is each program's price divided by its flight hours at graduation, rounded. Our $15,000 Work with us add-on guarantees a paid instructor phase, while Thrust does not guarantee one.
A more modern fleet
Every CFII trainer is a factory-new Tecnam P-Mentor. Ask any school you are comparing how old its airplanes are.
- Garmin G3X glass cockpit
- The kind of screens you will fly for a living.
- GFC 500 autopilot
- Learn to manage automation from the first lessons.
- BRS parachute
- One handle brings the whole airplane down under canopy.
- IFR-ready panel
- The same airplane takes you through your instrument rating.
With the paid instructor phase
Work with us is our optional $15,000 add-on. After your certificates, a 25-hour bootcamp prepares you to teach, then you instruct for a guaranteed 175 hours at $30 per flight-training hour. You graduate with a minimum of 480 hours, and the last 175 are paid instead of purchased.
- $15,000
- Work with us add-on
- 175 hrs
- Guaranteed paid instructing
- $5,250+
- Earned back at $30 an hour
- 480+ hrs
- In your logbook at graduation
Thrust's published program ends at certification and does not guarantee an instructing job.
These figures are the $89,000 program plus the $15,000 Work with us instructor add-on. Thrust figures: published Zero Time to Airline program fee of $115,000, plus a $5,000 allowance refunded if unused ($120,000 total), and its 11 to 14 month length, thrustflight.com, October 2026; flight hours are not published. Earned back instructing is the guaranteed 175 paid instructing hours at $30 per flight-training hour; hours beyond 175 are paid the same. Estimated savings is the price difference plus that guaranteed instructing pay. Our add-on runs through the instructor phase to a minimum of 480 hours, and every hour past certification is in a real airplane.
What the table cannot show you
Southern California, all year
Nine months only works somewhere the weather cooperates. You also train in the busiest, most complex airspace in the country.
What training here is like
Housing and financing
Furnished student housing near the airport is free right now for career students, normally $1,300 a month. The program can be financed.
How financing works
Learn more.
A table only goes so far. Create your account to see the full program, the costs and the timeline, and ask us anything.
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