What Sterling Flight Training's program costs

Common questions about Sterling Flight Training

How much does Sterling Flight Training cost?

Sterling Flight Training publishes $88,392 for its Career Pilot Program, Zero to CFI, as listed on the academy's own pricing page (July 2026). It publishes 2 tracks in total, priced by how much flight experience you start with. That is the published sticker for the program, not a personalized quote, and it is what the academy asks before the fees the sticker excludes.

What is included in Sterling Flight Training's program price?

Sterling Flight Training's published programs cover Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor, Multi-Engine (AMEL), Instrument Instructor and Multi-Engine Instructor. The academy states about 16 months to finish. On what it excludes, the academy states: Tuition-based (not hourly) price that includes all required FAA knowledge exams, ground school course keys, and all required checkrides. Excludes medical exams. Estimated 16 months.

What happens if you need more hours than Sterling Flight Training's program includes?

Published as an average. Your real cost rises if you fly more than the average hours. Sterling's tuition-based prices are "estimated based on typical student graduation times, in line with national averages," not FAA minimums, so they already reflect typical over-minimum hours. Individual totals still vary with progress. This is the question worth asking hardest at any accelerated academy, because the published price and the price a student who flies over the plan actually pays are two different numbers.

Does going to Sterling Flight Training lower the 1,500-hour airline requirement?

No. An accelerated academy does not reduce the 1,500-hour ATP minimum. Only a qualifying aviation degree does, under 14 CFR 61.160, which lowers it to 1,000 hours for a bachelor's or 1,250 for an associate's. What an academy sells is speed and a fixed price to the commercial certificate and instructor ratings, not a shortcut to the airlines. Most graduates then instruct to build the remaining hours.