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Discovery Flight

Experience Your First Flight!

Ever wondered what it’s like to fly an airplane? A Discovery Flight with Bakersfield Flying Club is the perfect way to experience aviation firsthand! Whether you’re considering flight training or simply looking for a new adventure, this introductory experience gives you the opportunity to take the controls of an airplane alongside an FAA-certified flight instructor.

What to Expect

Your Discovery Flight is more than just a ride! During your visit, you’ll get a firsthand look at what it’s like to be a pilot.

  • Meet Your Instructor: Get acquainted with your FAA-certified flight instructor and learn what to expect during your flight.
  • Get to Know the Aircraft: Learn about basic flight instruments, aircraft controls, and the preflight inspection.
  • Take to the Skies: Experience approximately 25–30 minutes in the air, with the opportunity to practice climbs, descents, and turns under your instructor’s guidance.
  • Explore Your Aviation Goals: Ask questions, learn about flight training opportunities, and discover what it takes to become a pilot.

Plan for approximately two hours for your entire visit, including the introduction, preflight preparation, and flight experience.

Purchase Your Discovery Flight

$150 per Discovery Flight

Ready to experience flying for yourself? Purchase your Discovery Flight online using a credit card.

What Happens After Purchase?

Once your purchase is complete, a Bakersfield Flying Club flight instructor will contact you within 10 days to coordinate a flight date and time based on your availability and instructor scheduling.

Please note: Purchasing a Discovery Flight does not automatically reserve a specific flight date or time.

Purchase Your Discovery Flight — $150

Have questions? Contact us at bakersfieldflyingclub@gmail.com. We’re happy to help you get started!

Discovery Flight

Purchase Your Discovery Flight

Your Training at BFC

You pay as you go. Getting your Private Pilot Certificate will cost $15,500- $19,500. The FAA requires 40 hours of flight time, but the national average is 60-70 flight hours, so the price will vary. We charge a $75 application fee and $30 monthly dues. The C-172 trainers can be rented for $155 to $170 per hour. Instructors are independent contractors who charge between $70 and $80 per hour for their services. You won’t pay anything until you start flying. We require all clients to purchase our training syllabus, which is available for $325.This syllabus prepares you for each lesson and is an online, integrated training course.

We have a waiting list. If you want to be added, please email your full name, email address, and contact number. We currently have openings, and we can start your flight training when you are ready!

 

Brochure

Download our latest informational brochure describing how to become a pilot and why you should train with the Certified Flight Instructors at Bakersfield Flying Club!

bfc_brochure_pages

Private Pilot Requirements

General Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for a private pilot certificate, a person must:

(a) Be at least 17 years of age for a rating in other than a glider or balloon.

(b) Be at least 16 years of age for a rating in a glider or balloon.

(c) Be able to read, speak, write, and understand the English language. If the applicant is unable to meet one of these requirements due to medical reasons, then the Administrator may place such operating limitations on that applicant’s pilot certificate as are necessary for the safe operation of the aircraft.

(d) Receive a logbook endorsement from an authorized instructor who:

(1) Conducted the training or reviewed the person’s home study on the aeronautical knowledge areas listed in §61.105(b) of this part that apply to the aircraft rating sought; and

(2) Certified that the person is prepared for the required knowledge test.

(e) Pass the required knowledge test on the aeronautical knowledge areas listed in §61.105(b) of this part.

(f) Receive flight training and a logbook endorsement from an authorized instructor who:

(1) Conducted the training in the areas of operation listed in §61.107(b) of this part that apply to the aircraft rating sought; and

(2) Certified that the person is prepared for the required practical test.

(g) Meet the aeronautical experience requirements of this part that apply to the aircraft rating sought before applying for the practical test.

(h) Pass a practical test on the areas of operation listed in §61.107(b) of this part that apply to the aircraft rating sought.

(i) Comply with the appropriate sections of this part that apply to the aircraft category and class rating sought.

(j) Hold a U.S. student pilot certificate, sport pilot certificate, or recreational pilot certificate.

[Doc. No. 25910, 62 FR 16298, Apr. 4, 1997, as amended by Amdt. 61-124, 74 FR 42558, Aug. 21, 2009]

Aeronautical Knowledge

(a) General. A person who is applying for a private pilot certificate must receive and log ground training from an authorized instructor or complete a home-study course on the aeronautical knowledge areas of paragraph (b) of this section that apply to the aircraft category and class rating sought.

(b) Aeronautical knowledge areas. (1) Applicable Federal Aviation Regulations of this chapter that relate to private pilot privileges, limitations, and flight operations;

(2) Accident reporting requirements of the National Transportation Safety Board;

(3) Use of the applicable portions of the “Aeronautical Information Manual” and FAA advisory circulars;

(4) Use of aeronautical charts for VFR navigation using pilotage, dead reckoning, and navigation systems;

(5) Radio communication procedures;

(6) Recognition of critical weather situations from the ground and in flight, windshear avoidance, and the procurement and use of aeronautical weather reports and forecasts;

(7) Safe and efficient operation of aircraft, including collision avoidance, and recognition and avoidance of wake turbulence;

(8) Effects of density altitude on takeoff and climb performance;

(9) Weight and balance computations;

(10) Principles of aerodynamics, powerplants, and aircraft systems;

(11) Stall awareness, spin entry, spins, and spin recovery techniques for the airplane and glider category ratings;

(12) Aeronautical decision making and judgment; and

(13) Preflight action that includes—

(i) How to obtain information on runway lengths at airports of intended use, data on takeoff and landing distances, weather reports and forecasts, and fuel requirements; and

(ii) How to plan for alternatives if the planned flight cannot be completed or delays are encountered.

Flight Proficiency

(a) General. A person who applies for a private pilot certificate must receive and log ground and flight training from an authorized instructor on the areas of operation of this section that apply to the aircraft category and class rating sought.

(b) Areas of operation. (1) For an airplane category rating with a single-engine class rating:

(i) Preflight preparation;

(ii) Preflight procedures;

(iii) Airport and seaplane base operations;

(iv) Takeoffs, landings, and go-arounds;

(v) Performance maneuvers;

(vi) Ground reference maneuvers;

(vii) Navigation;

(viii) Slow flight and stalls;

(ix) Basic instrument maneuvers;

(x) Emergency operations;

(xi) Night operations, except as provided in § 61.110 of this part; and

(xii) Postflight procedures.

Aeronautical Experience

(a) For an airplane single-engine rating. Except as provided in paragraph (k) of this section, a person who applies for a private pilot certificate with an airplane category and single-engine class rating must log at least 40 hours of flight time that includes at least 20 hours of flight training from an authorized instructor and 10 hours of solo flight training in the areas of operation listed in § 61.107(b)(1) of this part, and the training must include at least—

(1) 3 hours of cross-country flight training in a single-engine airplane;

(2) Except as provided in § 61.110 of this part, 3 hours of night flight training in a single-engine airplane that includes—

(i) One cross-country flight of over 100 nautical miles total distance; and

(ii) 10 takeoffs and 10 landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport.

(3) 3 hours of flight training in a single-engine airplane on the control and maneuvering of an airplane solely by reference to instruments, including straight and level flight, constant airspeed climbs and descents, turns to a heading, recovery from unusual flight attitudes, radio communications, and the use of navigation systems/facilities and radar services appropriate to instrument flight;

(4) 3 hours of flight training with an authorized instructor in a single-engine airplane in preparation for the practical test, which must have been performed within the preceding 2 calendar months from the month of the test; and

(5) 10 hours of solo flight time in a single-engine airplane, consisting of at least—

(i) 5 hours of solo cross-country time;

(ii) One solo cross country flight of 150 nautical miles total distance, with full-stop landings at three points, and one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations; and

(iii) Three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport with an operating control tower.