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Flight Training with Direct Connect Flight Academy

Program Details

Understand our training philosophy.

Training Highlights

Read about what you can look forward to.

Program Costs

Learn about flight training costs with DCFA.

Time-Building

Discover our time-building programs.

Program Details

Train with Direct Connect Flight Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado to earn all the certificates and rating required to launch your flying career. Direct Connect Flight Academy is a full-time training program designed for individuals who want to become professional pilots.

With over 300+ days of flying weather conditions each year, Colorado Springs is an ideal place to learn to fly!

Our accelerated, full-time flight training program includes everything you need to begin your career as a commercial pilot with crew-focused, scenario-based training.

Teaching our students to uphold a strong tradition of safety-focused professionalism is at the core of what we do at Direct Connect Flight Academy. Checklist-centered training helps avoid human error and prepares students for their future careers. Challenge/response crew methods and a healthy reliance on quick-reference handbooks prepare our pilots for a life of safe, effective and professional flying.

Our Training Program

As a FAA Part 141 certificated school, Direct Connect Flight Academy provides the structure and clear expectations for a successful flight training experience and career.

Our 141 Certification offers clearer and more structured guidance to students as we help you achieve your goals more efficiently.

Over the course of you training stages, we guide students as they discover flight, learn to fly as a team, equip themselves to fly bigger and faster aircraft and become thoroughly acquainted with professional flying.

Training Highlights

Program Guide

Applying to our program involves a $190 Discovery Flight. Discovery Flights help us determine how you handle the flight training environment and help you ensure becoming a pilot is right for you. After acceptance, you’ll have an opportunity to choose your class date. For those with no previous experience, you’ll start by becoming a Private Pilot. For those with a Private Pilot rating or above, you’ll first take a Transition Course before your scheduled program.

Private Pilot

The first step on your journey to becoming a professional pilot is straightforward: learn to fly airplanes. Our Part 141-certificated program helps you become a Private Pilot quickly and effectively, with a clear structure and defined expectations.

  • Deposit $1,000
  • Total Flight Hours 45 hrs
  • Flight Instruction 37.5 hrs
  • Ground Instruction 58.5 hrs
  • Pre/Post Instruction 36 hrs
  • Solo 7.5 hrs
  • Total Cost $17,644.50

Becoming a Private Pilot in a Part 141 program with Direct Connect Flight Academy is an exciting and challenging introduction to aviation. At DCFA, your training will prepare you for an airline career from the beginning, with materials, checklists and flows developed directly from materials used on the flight deck by DCFA’s airline-pilot founders.

Direct Connect Flight Academy’s program includes Crew Concept Training—an important part of working as an airline pilot. You’ll learn to communicate and fly together as part of a crew, better preparing you for your career ahead.

Transition Course

To ensure students are fully immersed in training flows and our processes, we require those joining our program with a Private Pilot Certificate already in-hand take this transition course. The course helps students understand where documents come from, how our instructors teach and what we expect.

Joining us with a Private Pilot Certificate or Instrument Rating already in-hand? You’ll be required to take our Transition Course prior to your next stage.

Direct Connect Flight Academy’s instrument training provides a focus on the procedures and methods required by airlines and other commercial operators.

141 Instrument Rating

Earning an Instrument Rating remains one of aviation's most rewarding achievements. A requisite for any serious pilot, an Instrument Rating allows you to fly in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) and improves your flying skills.

  • Deposit NA
  • Total Flight Hours 47 hrs
  • Flight Instruction 47 hrs
  • Ground Instruction 56.5 hrs
  • Pre/Post Instruction 27.5 hrs
  • Total Stage Cost $17,628

141 Commercial Single-Engine

Graduating from hobby to profession means more than new maneuvers at Direct Connect. Our professional pilot training prepares you for real-world aviation work environments.

  • Deposit NA
  • Total Flight Hours 121 hrs
  • Total Flight Hours (Single Engine) 104 hrs
  • Total Complex (Multi-Engine) 17 hrs
  • Ground Instruction 54 hrs
  • Pre/Post Instruction 33 hrs
  • Total Stage Cost $36,738

Learn to fly a single-engine aircraft to commercial pilot standards. Our 141 single-engine commercial program is  where you’ll learn what it means to fly professionally.

 

Multi-engine aircraft come with more power, but require advanced knowledge of the additional risks involved. Direct Connect’s focus on multi-engine aircraft early in your training prepares you for a career of flying multi-engine aircraft.

141 Multi-Engine Add-on

Earn your multi-engine commercial certificate with our 141 multi-engine commercial add-on course. You'll also satisfy the 25 hours of actual multi-engine time for your ATP certificate.

  • Deposit NA (unless only course)
  • Total Flight Hours - Multi-Engine 15 hrs
  • Flight Instruction 15 hrs
  • Ground Instruction 20 hrs
  • Pre/Post Instruction 10 hrs
  • Total Stage Cost $8,850

Your training will fly by at Direct Connect Flight Academy.

ATP Multi-Engine

Earn your Airline Transport Pilot Certificate and learn the Part 121 Regulations and crewed multi-engine airline operations protocols.

  • Deposit** $1,000**
  • Total Flight Hours - Multi-Engine 6.5 hrs
  • Flight Instruction 6.5 hrs
  • Ground Instruction 20 hrs
  • Pre/Post Instruction 8 hrs
  • Total Cost $4,435

Transition Course

To ensure students are fully immersed in training flows and our processes, we require those joining our program with a Private Pilot Certificate already in-hand take this transition course. The course helps students understand where documents come from, how our instructors teach and what we expect.

  • Deposit $1,000
  • Dual Single-Engine 5 hrs
  • Total Flight Hours 5 hrs
  • Ground Instruction 5 hrs
  • Pre/Post Instruction 3 hrs
  • Total Program Cost $2,750

Time-Building Rates

Those seeking to rent aircraft for time-building purposes must complete our transition course before using the aircraft. At this time, only those enrolled in or graduated from our courses may rent our aircraft for time-building.

Students don't always complete a stage until after exceeding the required flight hours. When this happens, flight time and instruction is also billed at these rates.

  • N342T (Multi-Engine) $400/hr.
  • N7206C $165/hr.
  • N29230, N555PB, N38989 & N8650E $198/hr.
  • Flight Instruction $70/hr.