Contact Us

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1. ...The first thing you should do is look around at flight schools.  What do they have to offer?  Can you complete all of your training with them, such as private, instrument, commercial, etc.?  How many students do they have?  Read comments about the school.  Ask others about the school.
2. Call and set up a time to visit the school, instructors, see the airplanes and schedule an introductory flight if you have never flown in a small plane before.
3. During this visit we will get you signed up for your student pilot certificate and give you important information on completing your FAA medical. You will also receive information on how to get started with the ground school portion towards the completion of the Private Pilot written test.
4. Scheduling for training will begin when you have completed the initial visit, done a discovery flight, and ground school has been completed or started.
5. Written test completed.
6. Regulations require a minimum of 40 clock hours of required flight time, with specified requirements to be completed in those 40 hours.  National average for students is 45-50 hours.  You will have about that much time and more in ground hours and self-study!
7. A satisfactory completion of an oral and practical test with a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE).  We are lucky to have a DPE in Bemidji, which makes scheduling less complicated.
8. You are a Private Pilot now!

...In todays world you are looking at approximately $12,000.  This depends largely on the student.  

...As a student you want to start training when you can commit to 3 days a week.  That includes ground work and flight hours, with an instructor part of that time.  Your goal should be between two to three months.

...Yes.  We will share scholarships when we, as a flight school, receive information on them.  Students can also search for scholarships online.

Loans may be taken out from your local bank or AOPA offers loans for flight training.

...Regulations state that a private pilot must have 40 hours, minimum, to apply for their practical test towards completion of the certification.  Within these 40 hours there are specific requirements that must be completed.  These are all outlined in the FAR's (Federal Aviation Regulations).

...Currently we have three airplanes, single engine land, for training or rental.  Two of them are Cessna 172's and a Cessna 150.  One of the 172's is set up for instrument training and is a TAA (Technicaly Advanced Aircraft).  Students using this plane for instrument training are also able to cover a portion of both instrument and commercial hours as required by regulations.  This saves time and money!

...Pricing will vary from $130-$289.  This includes the cost of the single engine land planes to the single engine sea plane.  Prices are subject to change.

...Instructor costs are $60 per hour.  This cost does not change whether we are doing spin training, commercial, instrument, floats, ground or any of the many other ratings and endorsements we can do.

...We guarantee you the time that you need to complete your training in the obtainable goal that you have set, weather permitting.  This is a school, which means you are the student and have to commit and study.  We will supply you with a syllabus to follow for the flight portion of your training.  Barnstormers also carries many of your essential supplies that you will need to complete your training.  This includes required books and pilot supplies.

Training is viewed in three parts. 

1. In the beginning you will receive ground to acquire a strong foundation to build your learning on.  This is the same when we are in flight and prepping you for solo.
2. After solo you will begin the adventures of cross country flying and going to toward airports along with non-towered airports.  Included in this is the ground preparation, according to the regulations, of all the information and knowledge you need to make a safe and accurate decision about the flight.
3. Once you have completed the cross country requirements your focus will go back to the prior training and working on flight maneuvers and emergency practice that you learned during the pre-solo lessons.  Ground preparation will become more intense to get that knowledge base up to the standards of private pilot.

...We will get you started as soon as we can.  It is required that we sit down and get your student pilot certificate started.  Then you must go get an FAA physical completed.  I strongly recommend, but is not required,  that you have started your online ground school course and even finished the written test, or close to taking the written test portion. After you have completed those tasks we will look at scheduling you.