FAQ

It’s a pretty simple process, just contact us! You can call or text (678) 506-1222, email us at [email protected], send us a message on Facebook, or direct message us on Instagram and we’ll get you on the schedule as soon as possible. When you come in for your first lesson at Dragonfly, whether just getting started or transferring from another school, you’ll need to bring either an unexpired U.S. Passport or your Birth Certificate AND Driver’s License. We are required to verify your U.S. citizenship for training and these are the easiest ways.  If you are not a US Citizen, you will need TSA approval to train.  Contact us at any of the above methods and we’ll guide you through the process.

The Introductory Flight Lesson is approximately a half an hour in the airplane, where you’ll actually get to take the controls. An very abbreviated first lesson, your Instructor will walk you through a basic preflight inspection all the way through taking off and landing. You’ll be ready to start your journey to your Private Pilot License once you experience the Freedom of Flight.  You can download and complete theIntroductory Flight Waiverahead of time, or fill it out when you arrive.  If you’re under the age of 18, you’ll need a parent or guardian signature.

It’s all up to you! To earn your Private Pilot Certificate, flying once a week, it takes on average 14 to 16 months. Flying twice a week averages 6 to 8 months. There’s no minimum of maximum amount of time you can fly per week – it’s all up to your schedule and budget. Keep in mind the less often you fly, the more you’ll spend overall, although costs will be spread out over a longer length of time. The more often you fly the more you’ll spend up front but you will spend less overall. This is because you’ll be retaining more knowledge from each lesson and reviewing less. You could feasibly go from zero time to CFII in two to two and a half years if you work hard and fly often.

It all depends on the student. The FAA says you need a minimum of 40 hours of flight time with 20 hours of instruction. At our current prices that comes to just under $7,000. Most people take a little longer to obtain their license, between 50-60 hours of flight time with about 40 hours of instruction. That comes to between $10,500 and $12,000. Keep in mind that these costs are spread over the length of your training, as everything is pay-as-you-go, meaning you pay at the end of each lesson for just that lesson.

YES! We partner with Flight Training Finance and Stratus Financial for both hobby and career students.  If you’re looking at aviation as a new hobby, check out FlightTrainingFinanceLLC.com.  They’ll finance Private Pilot and Instrument Rating.  Is a career as a Professional Pilot in your future?  Check out Stratus.

This one is a slightly more complex answer. The short version is $75,000-$85,000. This will get you all the time and instruction you need to get through your CFI, CFII, and MEI ratings. The long answer is that it can be less expensive if you split time building with another pilot and it can be more expensive if you build time in one of our DA40s. $37,000 gets you about 75 hours in a DA40, and 125 in a DA20 (all at club rates), plus 50 hours of instruction with a staff instructor, and a year membership in the club.

We train under FAR part 61. This means that we can tailor the curriculum to each student. Under part 141, flight schools are limited to a specific program that they cannot deviate from. The advantage to this is that they can theoretically complete training in less time. Of course if you get stuck, you could spend many hours in the cockpit working on the same thing over and over until you get it. This can be very frustrating. Under part 61 we can move past training before you get frustrated and revisit it later.

Absolutely! Where’s the fun in getting your license if you don’t have anything to fly! Our DA20s and DA40s are all available for rental, with the completion of a minimum of two rental checkout flights. We do not charge a fuel surcharge, and reimburse your out station fuel purchases up to $0.50/gallon over what our pump price is at KWDR. (However, we don’t reimburse for ramp, parking, landing, or other fees you may accrue while parked at an out station FBO.)

Dragonfly’s minimum day policy is pretty lenient:
Our minimum Hobbs time is three hours per day. If you leave after 1 pm (13:00) local time, then there is no minimum day charge for the day you leave. If you return before 1 pm (13:00) local time, then there is no minimum charge for the day you return. Any “minimum time” not flown will be billed at $35/hour for the DA20s and $45/hour for the DA40s. We know it’s a bit convoluted so here are some examples to help out:
Example One: Renter wants to rent an aircraft leaving on Wednesday at 9 am and returning on Saturday at 3 pm. The aircraft will be gone for four minimum day applicable days. Minimum day for the trip is 12 hours. Renter puts four hours on the Hobbs meter for the trip, so the total charge would be four hours of aircraft rental plus eight hours at the minimum charge rate.

Example Two: Renter wants to rent an aircraft leaving on Saturday at 3 pm and returning on Wednesday at 9 am. The aircraft will be gone for three minimum day applicable days, making the minimum Hobbs meter time nine hours for the entire trip. Renter puts nine point five (9.5) hours on the Hobbs meter, so the total charge would be 9.5 hours of aircraft rental. Because this is more than the minimum Hobbs meter time for the entire trip, there is no additional minimum charge.

Dragonfly Aviation does reserve the right to refuse all day or multi day rentals at any time for any reason

We’re advantageously located in Winder, Georgia at the Barrow County Airport (KWDR). Fuel prices are lower than at larger general aviation airports in Atlanta and we don’t spend valuable Hobbs time waiting for take off.  When you arrive at KWDR, we are on the bottom floor of the main terminal building.  It’s a hard to miss two story building with a red stripe.  Stop by and visit with us anytime!

As long as your airplane is properly insured, absolutely!  We offer instruction in your own aircraft from single to multi engine, and tailwheel to high altitude.