Career Pilot Program

The Career Pilot Program is the full zero-to-airline track at NextGen Flying Academy. One school, one fleet, one continuous syllabus from the day you walk in without a logbook to the day you sign an airline first-officer offer.

Part 141 at Riverside (KRAL), with Part 61 elements where they finish faster. Most students complete all ratings through CFI/CFII/MEI in 12 to 18 months with roughly 250 flight hours logged. From there, a typical CFI builds the rest of the 1,500 hours to the airline-required ATP minimum in another 12 to 18 months by instructing.

Total program cost: $80,000 to $110,000. We don't hide costs. Ask us about every fee before you commit. Financing available through Stratus Financial (primary partner), Flight Training Finance, and Surv Credit. GI Bill benefits apply to our Part 141 syllabi at KRAL.

From the FAA's perspective, "airline pilot" means one specific credential: the Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) Certificate with a multi-engine rating, the certificate regional airlines require for first-officer hire. To get there from zero hours, you stack the following certificates and ratings in this order:

• PPL: Private Pilot Certificate. The foundation. Lets you fly a single-engine airplane for personal travel.
• IR: Instrument Rating. Lets you fly in clouds and inside the IFR system. Required before Commercial.
• CPL: Commercial Pilot Certificate. Lets you be paid to fly. The first "professional" credential.
• ME: Multi-Engine Rating, added to your Commercial. Required for almost every airline-track job.
• CFI / CFII / MEI: Flight instructor certificates (Initial, Instrument, Multi-Engine). The most common way to build hours after Commercial.
• ATP: Airline Transport Pilot Certificate. Requires 1,500 flight hours minimum, age 23, and the ATP-CTP course. The final box you check before an airline interview.

The first six (PPL through MEI) are what we deliver inside the Career Pilot Program. That's the training phase. The 1,500-hour requirement is the hour-building phase, which most graduates complete by working as a CFI at NextGen or another flight school. Once you hit 1,500 hours and complete the ATP-CTP, you're ATP-eligible and ready to interview at a regional airline.

Realistic end-to-end timeline from zero to first regional airline class date: 2 to 3 years. Faster is possible (full-time, no breaks, no weather). Slower is normal (working students, family obligations, deliberate pacing).

Phase 1: Private Pilot (PPL)

Hours: 40 hour FAA minimum under Part 141, 35 to 60 hours typical. Timeline: 3 to 4 months. Aircraft: Cessna 152, Cessna 172, Piper Warrior.

You learn aircraft control, takeoffs and landings, basic navigation, radio communication, cross-country flying, night ops, and emergency procedures. First solo around hour 15 to 20. Long solo cross-country around hour 30. Checkride caps the phase. After this you can fly a single-engine airplane for personal travel.

Phase 2: Instrument Rating (IR)

Hours: ~40 hours instrument time (actual or simulated), 50 hours PIC cross-country. Timeline: 2 to 3 months. Aircraft: Cessna 172 (steam and G1000), Piper Warrior, plus the Redbird FMX simulator.

You learn to fly without outside visual reference, file and execute IFR flight plans, brief and shoot every approach type (ILS, RNAV/LPV, VOR, localizer), hold at intersections, and integrate with ATC. A meaningful share of your training time is in the Redbird FMX, where procedural drills are cheaper and more repeatable than in the airplane.

Phase 3: Commercial Pilot (CPL)

Hours: 190 hours total under Part 141, 250 hours under Part 61. Timeline: 3 to 5 months including the cross-country time building between IR and CPL. Aircraft: Cessna 172, Piper Arrow (complex single).

Commercial training refines your maneuvers to a tighter precision standard, introduces new maneuvers the Private didn't see (chandelles, lazy eights, eights-on-pylons, steep spirals, accelerated stalls), and adds complex aircraft experience in the Piper Arrow. Once you hold a Commercial, you can be paid to fly.

Phase 4: Multi-Engine + Complex

Hours: ~15 to 25 hours of multi-engine instruction. Timeline: 3 to 6 weeks. Aircraft: Beechcraft Duchess (twin-engine), Piper Arrow (complex single, completed in Phase 3).

You learn engine-out procedures, single-engine performance, V-speeds (Vmc, Vyse, Vsse), asymmetric thrust, and the systems specific to twin operation. The multi-engine add-on to your Commercial is short but intense. After this phase you're a Commercial multi-engine pilot eligible for almost every entry-level professional flying job.

Phase 5: CFI / CFII / MEI

Hours: Highly variable. Initial CFI is about teaching, not flying new maneuvers. CFII and MEI are short add-ons. Timeline: 2 to 4 months for all three. Aircraft: Cessna 172, Piper Arrow, Beechcraft Duchess.

You learn to teach. The Initial CFI checkride is the toughest checkride in general aviation by reputation, because you have to perform every maneuver from the right seat while teaching it. CFII adds the instrument instructor authorization. MEI adds the multi-engine instructor authorization. With CFI/CFII/MEI in hand, you're qualified to be hired as a flight instructor at any U.S. flight school, including ours.

Phase 6: Hour-building to ATP (1,500 hours)

Hours: From roughly 250 hours at end of training to 1,500 hours. Timeline: 12 to 18 months as a full-time CFI, 18 to 24 months part-time. Aircraft: Whatever your instructing job puts you in.

Federal regulation (FAR 61.159) requires 1,500 flight hours for the unrestricted ATP that regional airlines require. Reductions to 1,000 or 1,250 hours apply to graduates of authorized Part 141 collegiate programs. Most Career Pilot Program graduates target the standard 1,500.

The most common path: instruct full-time at NextGen or another flight school. Our top CFI graduates are offered instructor positions, which lets you build hours, get paid, stay current, and stay inside the same training environment you came up through. Other options: traffic patrol, pipeline patrol, banner towing, light freight, Part 135 charter, skydive operations. We help graduates make introductions.

Once you reach 1,500 hours, complete the ATP-CTP (ATP Certification Training Program) course offered by airline-affiliated training centers, pass the ATP written and checkride, and you're ATP-certificated and airline-eligible.

Total program cost ranges from $80,000 to $110,000. The range is driven by three variables: how many hours past the FAA minimum you actually fly, which aircraft you train in, and how efficient you are on the written tests and checkrides.

Phase-by-phase estimate (training portion only, not hour-building):

• Phase 1, Private Pilot: $12,000 to $18,000
• Phase 2, Instrument Rating: $9,000 to $14,000
• Phase 3, Commercial Pilot: $20,000 to $30,000 (most of the spend is hour-building cross-countries between IR and CPL, satisfying the 250-hour or 190-hour total time requirement)
• Phase 4, Multi-Engine + Complex: $7,000 to $10,000 (Beechcraft Duchess at Riverside)
• Phase 5, CFI / CFII / MEI combined: $10,000 to $15,000
• Tests, books, headset, examiner fees, medicals: $3,000 to $5,000

Underlying hourly rates: Aircraft wet rates run roughly $150 to $230 per hour depending on type (Cessna 152 lowest, Beechcraft Duchess highest). CFI instruction runs $75 to $95 per hour. Redbird FMX simulator is billed separately and is significantly cheaper than airplane time for procedural work.

What's not included in the program estimate: FAA Knowledge Test fees (~$175 per written), FAA medical exam ($150 to $250 depending on class), Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) checkride fees ($700 to $1,100 per checkride, six checkrides total in the program), study materials and ground school subscriptions (~$300 to $500), and a personal headset ($300 entry, $1,200+ premium).

We don't hide costs. Before you commit, ask us about every fee. We'll walk a printed estimate with you line by line during the intake meeting.

Most Career Pilot Program students finance some or all of their training. Four primary paths.

Stratus Financial (primary partner)

Aviation-specific lender. Structured for full-program financing of up to the entire $80,000 to $110,000 program. Disbursement is paced to training progress, so you're not paying interest on $110,000 from day one. Fixed-rate loans, multi-year repayment, no flight school equity required. We submit you for pre-qualification at intake. Approval is between you and Stratus.

Flight Training Finance

Aviation lender focused on phase-by-phase financing. Useful if you prefer to finance one rating at a time rather than the entire program up front. Rates and terms vary by credit profile. Good fit for students with strong personal credit who want flexibility.

Surv Credit

Aviation financing partner with structured products for career training students. Application process similar to Stratus. We can introduce qualified candidates.

GI Bill / VA benefits

The Post-9/11 GI Bill and other VA education benefits cover Part 141 flight training at approved providers. Our Part 141 syllabi at Riverside (KRAL) are GI Bill eligible. Benefits typically cover a significant portion of program cost for qualifying veterans. The administrative side (certificate of eligibility, monthly enrollment certifications) runs through the VA and is something we help walk veterans through. Note: only the KRAL Part 141 path qualifies. Part 61 training and the Redlands campus are not VA-approved.

All four can be combined. A veteran student might use GI Bill benefits to cover the Private and Instrument phases, then bridge the remainder with a Stratus loan once benefits are exhausted. Every student's financing plan is different.

The aviation industry is in a structural pilot shortage. Boeing's 2024 Pilot and Technician Outlook projects roughly 600,000 new commercial pilots needed globally by 2043, including approximately 130,000 in North America. The drivers: retirements at the mainline level, growth at the regional level, and capacity expansion across cargo and international.

Entry: regional first officer

Your first airline job is almost always as a first officer at a regional airline (SkyWest, Republic, Envoy, Endeavor, Mesa, GoJet, etc.). Recent published first-year first-officer pay at regional carriers ranges from $90,000 to $120,000+ in total compensation, with significant signing bonuses and tuition reimbursement programs. The exact number moves with the labor market and varies by carrier and contract.

Progression: regional captain → mainline first officer

Upgrade to regional captain typically happens in 1 to 3 years at the current pace. Once you have 1,000 hours of Part 121 PIC turbine time, you can apply to a mainline (Delta, American, United, Southwest, FedEx, UPS, Alaska, JetBlue). Mainline first-officer pay starts around $100,000 and exceeds $200,000 within a few years on most contracts.

Long-term: mainline captain

From mainline first officer to mainline captain is governed mostly by seniority and equipment bid. Realistic timelines: 5 to 10 years from your first airline class date to left seat of a narrow-body or wide-body, depending on the carrier and how aggressively you pursue upgrades. Senior wide-body captains at major airlines top out well above $400,000 per year.

Non-airline paths

The Career Pilot Program doesn't lock you into airlines. Graduates also fly for corporate flight departments, fractional operators (NetJets, Flexjet), cargo carriers (Atlas, Kalitta), Part 135 charter, and government agencies. CFI/CFII/MEI is a credential that travels.

Five reasons the Career Pilot Program at NextGen works for students who want one school, one continuous experience, from zero to airline.

One campus, the full pipeline

Our Riverside (KRAL) campus runs the full sequence under one roof. Single-engine primary trainers, complex single (Piper Arrow), twin-engine (Beechcraft Duchess), Redbird FMX simulator, Part 141 syllabi, in-house CFI staff. You don't transfer to a different school for multi-engine. You don't lose a month re-orienting to a new fleet between Commercial and CFI.

Part 141 at Riverside, lower hour minimums

Our FAA-approved Part 141 syllabus at KRAL reduces the FAA training-hour minimums for Private (35 vs 40) and Commercial (190 vs 250). That's a real cost reduction across the program. Part 141 also unlocks GI Bill eligibility for qualifying veterans.

One CFI relationship through the phases

Many large career-pilot academies rotate students through a new CFI each phase, sometimes each lesson. We assign a primary instructor and keep them with you through the major phases unless you request a change. Continuity matters. A CFI who's flown 60 hours with you across PPL and IR knows your weaknesses, your strengths, and how to push your checkride prep without re-discovering everything from scratch.

Diverse PIC time in real airspace

Two airports inside one academy. KRAL is towered Class D inside the LA Basin's busy Class B floor. Cross-countries put you into Burbank, Long Beach, Ontario, Palm Springs, and San Diego approach environments. KREI is non-towered with access to mountain training at Big Bear (KL35) and the San Bernardino range. Crosswinds, density altitude, weather decisions, busy radio. The PIC time you log here is the PIC time airlines value.

Direct CFI hire pipeline

Our top CFI graduates are offered instructor positions at NextGen. Hour-building as a working CFI at the same school you trained at is the cleanest path from 250 hours to 1,500 hours. You know the airplanes, you know the airspace, you know the syllabi, and your students benefit from your fresh-out-of-checkride familiarity with the FAA standards.

The Career Pilot Program intake is deliberately structured. We want to make sure you're a fit before either side commits to a multi-year, six-figure training relationship.

1. Take the Ready to Fly readiness quiz. Five minutes. Same questions our team uses during intake interviews. Candid read on whether the timing, motivation, and financing are right today. Start the quiz.
2. Book a campus visit. Walk the ramp at Riverside, meet a CFI, see the Duchess and Arrow, sit in the Redbird FMX, ask the questions you haven't asked yet.
3. Discovery flight. Forty-five minutes in the left seat with a CFI. This is the cheapest, most honest way to confirm that you actually enjoy flying small airplanes before you commit to $80,000+ of training.
4. Financial planning consult. We walk you through the printed cost estimate, financing options (Stratus, Flight Training Finance, Surv Credit, GI Bill), and a realistic monthly cash-flow plan based on your situation.
5. FAA medical exam. Book a Class 1 or Class 2 medical with an FAA Aviation Medical Examiner before you start spending real money. A failed medical is the single biggest reason a career-pilot dream ends before it starts. Better to know on day one.
6. Set the start date. Lock the syllabus, assign your primary CFI, secure financing, and put a tail number on the dispatch sheet for lesson one.

From first inquiry to first lesson is typically 2 to 6 weeks for students who arrive with a medical already in hand and financing pre-approved. Longer if either of those is still in process.