Training at A4Aviation
Sport, Private, Instrument, Commercial, CFI — delivered by approved independent instructors on the A4Aviation fleet at KDTO.
A4Aviation is a members-only club, not a Part 141 academy. We provide the modern fleet, the maintenance posture, and the dispatch reliability — and we connect you with an A4-approved CFI who runs your training one-on-one. You get the equipment of a serious operation and the attention of a personal instructor, without the academy assembly line.
Every FAA rating from Sport Pilot through CFI is available through A4-approved instructors flying the club fleet. The aircraft, the avionics, and the airport are constants. Your CFI is matched to the rating you're after.
The fastest path to a real FAA pilot certificate. Driver's-license medical, day VFR, one passenger. Trained in our Jabiru J230/J250 LSA fleet at KDTO.
~20 hr minimum (most finish 35–50)
Full PPL with cross-country, night, and Class B endorsements. Under MOSAIC, the Jabiru remains a fully eligible trainer for the private certificate.
40 hr minimum (national avg ~60–75)
Both J230 and J250 are IFR-equipped with glass, autopilot, ADS-B, and synthetic vision. Train in modern avionics instead of vacuum gyros.
40 hr instrument time
Build the 250 hours and finish the commercial maneuvers in the same fleet you time-built in. Complex/TAA requirements coordinated with your CFI.
250 hr total time
Earn your instructor certificate with one of our senior CFIs. Once rated, you can instruct A4 members and fly your own students through the club.
Commercial prerequisite
BFRs, IPCs, complex/HP, tailwheel, high-altitude, and Class B endorsements available through approved CFIs on the fleet.
As needed
Step 01
Standard A4 application — pilot history, medical/driver's license, insurance. New students are welcome; you don't need to be rated to join.
Step 02
We connect you with an A4-approved independent CFI suited to your rating and schedule. You contract directly with the instructor for instruction time.
Step 03
Aircraft are billed through the club at standard member dry rates. No surcharge for training use. You book through Flight Circle like any other member.
Step 04
Your CFI signs you off, you fly with a DPE, and you walk out a rated pilot. After that, the same airplane you trained in stays available to you as a member.
Vetted, not employed. A4-approved CFIs are independent instructors who have completed our checkout in the Jabiru airframe, the G3X / GRT Sport HS avionics suite, and the autopilot. They carry their own instructor insurance and meet our currency standards.
You pay the CFI directly. Instruction rates are set by each instructor, not the club. The club bills the airplane; the CFI bills the lesson. No bundled-package pressure, no academy markup.
CFIs fly free. Active A4 instructors receive complimentary membership. That keeps experienced instructors in our ecosystem and on the fleet you'll be training in. Learn more about teaching at A4 →
G3X Touch, synthetic vision, integrated autopilot, ADS-B in/out. The avionics you'll see on the line — not steam gauges from 1978.
Three-airplane fleet kept inside at Sheltair. Your 6 AM Saturday booking actually happens.
You train with one instructor through the entire rating. Continuity, accountability, and a relationship that lasts past the checkride.
When you finish, you don't leave the fleet — you stay on it at member rates. The airplane you trained in becomes the airplane you fly.
Training FAQ
The questions every new student asks before their first lesson, answered honestly.
$100/month membership. From $110/hr dry. Approved CFI matched to your goal.