Can I take a flying lesson with no experience at all?

Yes. Most first lessons are with people who have never touched an aircraft control. Your instructor handles the radio and takeoff, then hands you the controls for climbs, turns and level flight.

How much is a flying lesson near Dallas–Fort Worth?

You pay the aircraft's published wet hourly rate, which includes fuel, plus one club rate for the instructor's time. The Jabiru J170 light sport carries the lowest rate in our fleet.

How long does a first flying lesson take?

Plan on about ninety minutes at the airport: fifteen minutes of preflight walkaround with your instructor, roughly an hour in the air, then a short debrief and logbook entry.

Does the lesson count toward a pilot's licence?

It does. The flight is logged as dual instruction and counts toward a sport or private pilot certificate if you decide to keep going.

A photo ID and sunglasses. Headsets and everything else are provided. Wear comfortable clothes and closed shoes.

Flying lessons · KDTO

Flying lessons for people who have never flown.

You do not need to know anything about aviation to book a lesson. You show up at the Sheltair FBO at Denton Enterprise Airport, an instructor walks you around the airplane, and then you fly it — hands on the controls from the first few minutes. If you like it, the hour goes in a logbook and counts toward a certificate. If you do not, you have had one good flight and owe nothing further.

Book your first lesson What lessons cost

Your first lesson

What actually happens on the day.

Arrive and meet your instructor

Park at Sheltair, walk into the lobby, and your instructor meets you there. Bring a photo ID and sunglasses; everything else is provided.

Preflight together

You walk around the airplane with the instructor and see what pilots check before every flight. It takes about fifteen minutes and it is genuinely interesting.

You fly it

The instructor handles the radio and the takeoff, then hands you the controls for climbs, turns and level flight. Most people are flying the airplane within five minutes of leaving the pattern.

Debrief and logbook

Back on the ground you get the flight logged as dual instruction. That hour counts toward a sport or private pilot certificate if you continue.

Common worries

The things everybody asks before booking.

No, you do not need perfect vision or a licence first

Corrective lenses are fine. You need no medical certificate and no paperwork at all to take a lesson — only to fly solo later.

Age is not the obstacle you think

We train people in their twenties and people in their seventies. There is no upper age limit for a sport or private certificate.

Nervous is normal

Tell your instructor. They will keep the flight smooth, stay low and slow, and hand back the controls whenever you want.

You can bring someone

A friend or family member can ride along space and weight permitting. Anyone else is welcome to wait in the Sheltair lobby.

What it costs

Rates published before you call.

Aircraft time is billed at a wet hourly rate with fuel included, plus one club rate for instruction. Nothing is bundled into a package you have to buy up front, and the rates on this site come from the same record we bill against.

The least expensive way to fly

The Jabiru J170 light sport carries the lowest wet rate in the fleet — the cheapest hour in the air out of Denton.

Or start in glass

The Cirrus SR20-G2 has a glass panel, autopilot and an airframe parachute if you would rather learn in the airplane you eventually want to travel in.

Pay after you fly

One club invoice covers aircraft and instruction. No enrolment fee, no deposit toward hours you have not flown.

Billing

One invoice. The club handles all of it.

A4 handles all billing, including instruction. Aircraft time at the published wet rate, instruction and membership dues arrive on a single club invoice — you never settle up separately with your CFI, and instructors never chase students for payment. The club pays approved CFIs directly.

The fleet

Three aircraft, published wet rates.

Every rate below includes fuel and comes from the same record members book against.

N94RS

CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR20 · 2006

Available

$250/hr wet, fuel included

Seats: 4
Cruise: 155 kt
Burn: 10.5 gph

View aircraft

N36PL

CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR20 · 2006

Under contract

$250/hr wet, fuel included

Seats: 4
Cruise: 155 kt
Burn: 10.5 gph

View aircraft

N538J

Jabiru J170 · 2008

Available

$135/hr wet, fuel included

Seats: 2
Cruise: 100 kt
Burn: 5 gph

View aircraft

Our facility

Based at Sheltair, the full-service FBO at KDTO.

A4Flight Academy flies from Sheltair at Denton Enterprise Airport — the field's full-service FBO. Members and visiting pilots check in through the Sheltair lobby, and our aircraft sit on that ramp.

Address: 5035 Warbird Drive, Denton, TX 76207
Hours: 0600–2200 daily, after hours on call
On the field: Between taxiways Golf and Hotel, beside the tower
Getting there: Just west of I-35E and I-35W, about 25 nm north of DFW

Pilot lounge and snooze rooms

Quiet seating, restrooms and crew rest inside the terminal, with complimentary refreshments and snacks.

Flight planning and weather room

A dedicated planning room with wireless internet throughout the building.

Fuel, full and self serve

Full-service 100LL and Jet A on the ramp, plus self-serve AVGAS available around the clock.

Hangar space and tie-downs

Community and private hangar space, office space and tie-downs on the same ramp our fleet lives on.

Ground support and concierge

Line service, cargo handling, catering and first-class concierge from an award-winning team.

Cars and parking

Crew cars, on-site Hertz rentals and ample vehicle parking a few steps from the door.

Sheltair is a CAA-approved location and participates in ARINC Direct, AVCARD and UVair fuel programs. Posted fuel prices and services are set by Sheltair — call the FBO at 940-297-6411 for current pricing, hangar availability and after-hours arrangements.

Inside the FBO