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Flight Training Programs

 

Freeway Aviation Training Center has nearly seventy years of experience and has trained thousands of pilots. FAA approved ground school classes and flight training are available for nearly all single-engine airplane certificates and ratings. We are located at Freeway Airport just off Route 50, near Bowie, Maryland, and within easy driving distance of the Washington Metropolitan area, Annapolis, and Baltimore. Our office is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. until sunset and instruction is available anytime by appointment.

 

Hourly Rates

Instructors                 

Cessna 172P VFR    N400GE & N6155K

Cessna 172P IFR     N78ER     

$60 per hour

$140 per hour

$145 per hour

Training Requirements

Freeway offers 30 and 60 minute introductory flights, and they are a great way for anyone interested in flight training to check us out. The 30 minute intro is $110, the 60 minute intro is $200. Both require a $25 deposit when you schedule, the remainder is due at the time of the flight. If you would like to bring a passenger along for the ride, you can do so for an additional $35 fee. Gift certificates are available for introductory flights and flight lessons.  Give us a call at 301-390-6424 or stop by to schedule your intro flight.

 

While we can answer questions by email, you must call or stop by the office to schedule an intro flight.

 

There is no minimum age for introductory flights.  There are no requirements for any documents for intro flights.  If you would like to do more than just a single intro flight with us, you will then need to meet the US citizen or non-US citizen requirements listed out below.

Freeway Aviation’s Private Pilot course is designed to fulfill the FAA Part 61 requirements for a private pilot certificate. The syllabus has 40 hours of flight training in our Cessna 172s, consisting of at least 20 hours of dual instruction and 10 hours of solo flight. Progress checks will be conducted throughout the training process. During this flight instruction, the student will receive:

  • the required training for solo flight
  • cross-country flights
  • controlled fields
  • night flights
  • all specified maneuvers

 

There is no minimum age to start flying, however, students must be 16 to solo, and 17 to earn a private certificate.

The Instrument Rating course includes simulated or actual instrument time in an IFR equipped C-172 for a minimum total of 40 hours instrument time. The course includes training for basic attitude instrument flying, instrument approaches including GPS navigation, ATC communications, Cross-Country operations, weather theory and decision making, and emergency procedures.

 

Applicants must hold a Private Pilot Certificate before they can begin the Instrument course.

Commercial Pilot flight training includes extended cross-country operations, proficiency maneuvers such as lazy eights, chandelles, eights on pylons and others to bring your flying skills to a new & higher standard. A minimum of 250 total flight hours is required to complete this certificate, and you can complete all but 10 hours of this with Freeway.  The remaining 10 hours must be acquired elsewhere in a complex airplane, or a TAA (technically advanced airplane) .

 

Applicants must hold a Private Pilot Certificate before they can begin the Commercial course, and must be at least 18 to earn a Commercial Pilot Certificate.

For those who would like to become an instructor, we offer a thorough Certified Flight Instructor training program for both Flight Instructor Airplane Single-Engine and Flight Instructor Instrument Airplane that includes 15 hours of flight instruction and 15 hours of ground instruction in preparation for the practical test. Applicants must hold a ASEL Commercial Pilot Certificate with Instrument Airplane Rating before they can begin either CFI training course.

US Citizen Requirements:

TSA regulations require flight schools to receive proof of US citizenship in order to begin flight training. This can be done by bringing in your US passport, US birth certificate, or US naturalization certificate along with a government-issued photo ID. Flight schools are required to keep copies of these documents on file for 5 years.

Non-US Citizen Requirements:

If you are not a US citizen, you must complete the TSA’s security threat assessment and receive approval before you can start flight training for your initial (private) pilot certificate, instrument rating, and multi-engine rating.

As of 30 July 2024, the requirements have changed.  In the past, non-US citizen applicants had to request TSA approval in order to fly with a specific training provider, for a specific training purpose (such as private certificate or instrument rating) and that approval was valid for only 365 days.  With the new system, all of that has changed.  Now non-US citizens can receive approval for training for a 5 year period, that approval covers initial, instrument, and multi-engine training, and that the training provider can be changed at any time, or you can work with more than one at the same time.  One fee covers that, and if you have certain other valid background checks, such as a TSA pre-check, your fee will be reduced. 

 

I have not yet seen the portal from the applicant’s perspective, so some of the following instructions may not be correct.  There is a user guide for candidates on the FTS homepage under “User Guides”  or available here: Candidate Guide

 

1. Go to the TSA’s Flight Training Security Program (FTSP) site https://www.fts.tsa.dhs.gov/ to create an account and submit your application for a Security Threat Assesment. 

2. Create your application:

a) Select Freeway Airport Inc. as your training provider.

b) Select the appropriate training type: initial or instrument (Freeway does not provide multi-engine training).

c) Input the aircraft type: C-172.

d) Input the course number: “Private” or “Instrument” as appropriate.

3. After you submit your application, Freeway’s chief instructor is automatically notified by e-mail.  If the above information has been entered correctly, your application will be approved by the chief instructor as a valid application.

4. Once the application if validated, you will receive instructions from the TSA on paying the $130 application fee and instructions on where to go to get your fingerprints submitted. 

5.  When the TSA approves your application, you and Freeway’s chief instructor will receive notice by e-mail that you are approved to begin flight training.  Your training request is valid for 5 years from this date.  If you do not complete your training within this time, you must submit another application and be approved to continue.

6.  Freeway’s chief instructor must take a photo of you when you come out to the flight school and upload it to your application to complete the application process.  You must also bring your passport with you, Freeway must keep a copy of it on file. 

Freeway does not sponsor students for their visas. 

Freeway Airport

Visit Us

  • 3900 Church Road
  • Bowie, MD 20721
  • Flying@freewayaviation.com

OFFICE HOURS

  • 8 AM - 6 PM Daily
  • Closed New Years, Thanksgiving, and Christmas

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