KPNE · Northeast Philadelphia
Learn to fly one-on-one with a flight instructor at Northeast Philadelphia Airport, from your first lesson to your checkride.
Discovery flight
Regular price $249FREEwith a 10-hour block purchase
You pay $249 for the flight. Buy a 10-hour block ($2,600) and we credit the $249 back to your account.
People call it a private pilot license. The FAA calls it a private pilot certificate. It's what most people mean when they say they want to learn to fly: you fly the airplane yourself, and you can bring people with you.
The certificate has no expiration date (14 CFR 61.19). To keep using it, you stay current with a flight review, recent takeoffs and landings, and a medical.
Fly a single-engine airplane as pilot in command, with passengers. (14 CFR 61.113)
Fly during the day or at night, in weather that meets visual flight rules. (14 CFR 61.113)
Fly in busy airspace like Philadelphia's Class B, with a clearance from air traffic control. (14 CFR 91.131)
Split the cost of a flight with your passengers, as long as you pay at least your equal share of the fuel, oil, airport fees and rental. (14 CFR 61.113(c))
Go further later. An instrument rating and a commercial certificate both start from a private certificate. (14 CFR 61.65(a), 61.123(h))
You can't fly for pay, or carry passengers or cargo for hire. (14 CFR 61.113(a))
You can't fly in clouds or in weather below visual flight rules. That takes an instrument rating. (14 CFR 61.3(e))
A flight review with an instructor every 24 calendar months. (14 CFR 61.56(c))
Three takeoffs and landings in the last 90 days before you carry passengers. (14 CFR 61.57(a))
An FAA medical certificate, third class or higher, or BasicMed if you qualify. (14 CFR 61.23(a)(3))
The rules are in 14 CFR 61.103 and 61.109. Here they are, next to Merlin's plan.
Be 17 or older for the checkride. You can start at 16, our minimum age. Under 18, a parent or guardian signs our consent form. (14 CFR 61.103(a), 61.83(a))
Read, speak, write and understand English. (14 CFR 61.103(c))
Hold a student pilot certificate. Your instructor helps you apply online, and there's no FAA fee. (14 CFR 61.103(j))
Hold an FAA medical certificate, third class or higher, before you fly solo. BasicMed can stand in for it only if you have held an FAA medical at some point since July 14, 2006. (14 CFR 61.23(a)(3), (c)(3))
Pass the FAA knowledge test (the written) once your instructor endorses you for it. (14 CFR 61.103(d), (e))
Log the required training and flight time, and get your instructor's endorsement for the checkride. (14 CFR 61.103(f), (g))
Pass the practical test (the checkride): an oral exam and a flight with an FAA examiner. (14 CFR 61.103(h))
| Flight time | FAA minimum | Our plan |
|---|---|---|
| Total flight time | 40 hrs | 55–65 hrs |
| Flying with your instructor | 20 hrs | 45–52 hrs |
| Flying solo | 10 hrs | 10–13 hrs |
40 hours is the legal minimum, not a plan. Most people need more, so we plan for 55–65. Your instructor's time runs about 1.2x your flight time together because it includes the briefings before and after each flight: 54–63 hours in our plan. (14 CFR 61.109(a))
3 hours of cross-country flying
3 hours at night, with one cross-country of more than 100 nautical miles in total and 10 takeoffs and landings to a full stop
3 hours of flying by the instruments alone
3 hours of checkride preparation in the 2 calendar months before the test
5 hours of solo cross-country
One solo cross-country of 150 nautical miles in total, with full-stop landings at three points and one leg of more than 50 nautical miles
3 takeoffs and landings to a full stop at an airport with an operating control tower
Four stages, in the order most people fly them.
You fly from the first lesson. Your instructor teaches you to hold the airplane straight and level, climb, descend and turn, then slow flight, stalls and emergency procedures. Most of this stage is takeoffs and landings, and you talk to the tower from the start.
The FAA lists the maneuvers you must learn and log before you fly solo. (14 CFR 61.87(d))
When your instructor decides you're ready, they step out and you fly the airplane alone. Before that day you need your student pilot certificate, your medical, a written test from your instructor and a logbook endorsement for the airplane you fly.
There's no set number of hours. On our timeline, first solo comes around weeks 2–8 at 2 lessons a week. (14 CFR 61.87)
Now you go places. You plan flights to other airports and fly them, first with your instructor and then alone: reading the weather, choosing a route, planning fuel and working with air traffic control. You also fly at night with your instructor and practice flying by the instruments alone.
For this certificate, a cross-country flight lands more than 50 nautical miles from where it started. (14 CFR 61.1, 61.93)
You pass the FAA knowledge test, then polish every maneuver to the checkride standard with a mock oral exam and a mock checkride. When you're ready, your instructor endorses you and you take the practical test with an FAA examiner: an oral exam, then a flight.
Your knowledge test result is good for 24 calendar months. (14 CFR 61.39(a))
Estimated total
$16,625to$21,414
Our estimate for the whole certificate is $16,625–$21,414. That covers 55–65 flight hours in N159G at $185 an hour, your instructor at $75 an hour, ground school, the FAA written test, your medical, the examiner's fee for the checkride and gear.
See every line item →How long it takes
Your total depends on your pace, the weather and how often you fly, so we can't guarantee an exact total or completion date. Prices updated October 2026.
Every lesson is you, your instructor and the airplane. We train under FAA Part 61, so lessons fit around your work and you move ahead when you're ready, not when a class does.
A two-seat light-sport airplane with a Rotax 912 engine and Dynon SkyView glass screens. You sit side by side with your instructor. It flies under visual flight rules only, and your time in it counts toward the private pilot requirements.
See the airplane →Northeast Philadelphia Airport (KPNE) has a control tower and sits beneath Philadelphia's Class B airspace. You talk to air traffic control from your first lesson, and you can make the three solo landings at a towered airport that the FAA requires right here, while the tower is open.
We aren't running a ground school class right now. You study with an online course or in one-on-one ground lessons with your instructor. The estimate budgets $800 for it.
Your first lesson is a discovery flight: an introductory flight lesson where you fly the airplane with an instructor beside you. It's $249: a $100 deposit online and $149 at the airport.
You pay $249 for the flight. Buy a 10-hour block ($2,600) and we credit the $249 back to your account.
Book a discovery flightYou don't pay the full estimate upfront. Start with a $1,000 training deposit and pay as you fly, or prepay a block of 10, 20 or 40 hours (from $2,600). Lessons come out of your balance, and you top it up when it runs low.
Every training block comes with free credit: $50 with the 10-hour block ($2,600), $200 with the 20-hour package ($5,200) and $1,000 with the 40-hour package ($10,000).
Prepaid blocks aren't refundable, but any unused balance stays on your account as credit for future flying.
See the ways to pay →You must be 17 to take the private pilot checkride (14 CFR 61.103) and 16 to get a student pilot certificate, which you need to fly solo (14 CFR 61.83). Merlin's minimum age is 16. If you're under 18, a parent or guardian signs our consent form before you fly.
The FAA minimum for a single-engine airplane is 40 hours, including 20 hours with an instructor and 10 hours solo (14 CFR 61.109). Most people need more than the minimum. Merlin's plan is 55–65 flight hours, 10–13 of them solo.
At Merlin Flight Training at Northeast Philadelphia Airport (KPNE), a Private Pilot Certificate typically costs $16,625–$21,414 all-in, based on 55–65 flight hours in our Direct Fly Alto 912 TG (N159G). That's $185/hr for the airplane and $75/hr for instruction, plus ground school, the FAA written test, a medical, the checkride examiner fee, and gear. You don't pay it upfront: you start with a $1,000 training deposit or a prepaid block from $2,600. The itemized table is at merlinflighttraining.com/private-pilot-cost.
It depends on how often you fly. On our plan it takes about 13–15 months at 1 lesson a week, about 6–8 months at 2 lessons a week and about 4–5 months at 3 lessons a week. Weather and your schedule move those numbers, so we can't guarantee a completion date.
Yes. You need at least a third-class medical certificate to fly solo as a student and to use private pilot privileges (14 CFR 61.23). BasicMed can stand in for it only if you have held an FAA medical at some point since July 14, 2006. An aviation medical examiner does the exam and sets the fee; we budget $100–$200. Get it early, before you've spent much on training. If you would rather fly on your driver's license, the sport pilot certificate allows that.
Yes. N159G is a single-engine airplane, so your time in it counts toward the private pilot requirements in 14 CFR 61.109. It has two seats and flies under visual flight rules only. If you later rent a different airplane, expect a checkout flight in it first.
No. Before training starts, U.S. citizens show proof of citizenship, like a passport or birth certificate. If you aren't a U.S. citizen, you need approval from TSA's Flight Training Security Program first, and we help with the application (49 CFR part 1552). Merlin trains under Part 61, so we can't issue I-20s or sponsor visas.
We aren't running a ground school class right now. You study with an online course or in one-on-one ground lessons, and your instructor endorses you for the FAA knowledge test when you're ready (14 CFR 61.103). Our estimate budgets $800 for ground school.
FAA and TSA rules checked November 11, 2026: 14 CFR 61.103, eligibility · 14 CFR 61.109, flight time · 14 CFR 61.113, privileges and limits · 14 CFR 61.23, medical certificates · 14 CFR 61.87, solo flight · 49 CFR part 1552, TSA flight training security. General information, not legal advice.
Questions? Call or text (445) 456-3599. 9800 Ashton Rd, Hangar E3, Philadelphia, PA 19114.
