Frequently Asked Questions

Any current ERAU student can rent ERAU airplanes. Single engine airplane rentals require a Private Pilot Certificate and rental checkout from an ERAU Flight Standards Instructor. For multi-engine, complex or aerobatic airplane rentals, an ERAU Flight Instructor must accompany the renter on the flight due to insurance reasons. 

For current rates please call the flight supervisor at 928-777-4316.

All ERAU faculty and staff receive a 25% discount off the dry aircraft rate.

Yes. Embry-Riddle students and immediate family members are permitted to observe any flight training activity. Any person participating in a training flight must be in proper attire — long pants, shirt with sleeves, socks, and closed-toe shoes. Check in at Flight Dispatch in the Flight Operations building and inform the dispatcher that you wish to observe a training flight.

There is plenty of student parking available at the Flight Line, but for students who do not own a car there is a shuttle that runs from the dorms on campus to the Flight Line every half-hour. The shuttle is also available on-call for weekends and holidays when the Flight Line is still open.

New students should plan on purchasing a headset, flight computer (electronic and analog), navigation plotter, and a kneeboard. These items may be purchased through the ERAU Bookstore or other commercial sources. Headsets are available for checkout in Flight Dispatch before each flight, but students should plan to buy their own.

The flight courses required for graduation (up to Commercial Pilot Multi-Engine) are designed to be completed by the end of the junior year. Students who are highly motivated and available to fly extra activities each week, or stay through summer breaks, can easily finish in less time if they put forth the time and effort.

When flight students register for classes, they choose a flight block consisting of a three-and-a-half hour period of time when they have no other classes Monday through Saturday every week. Students can expect to be scheduled for a mixture of activities a minimum of three days a week within that flight block. Those activities may be ground orals, simulators or flight activities depending on the student’s progress through the course. Students may be scheduled for extra activities in a week if they have extra time and resources are available.

Yes. For safety reasons, any person occupying ERAU aircraft must wear long pants, a shirt with at least short sleeves (NO shirts with cut off sleeves or sleeveless shirts), socks, and closed-toe shoes. The same dress code applies to simulator activities. A jacket suitable for overnight temperatures is required for all flight activities from Nov. 1-March 31 due to the cold overnight temperatures during that time of the year.

Training Managers are experienced instructors who supervise a team of Flight Instructors. Training Managers are responsible for tracking student progress throughout their flight course and for solving any problems that may arise.

After you finish your Commercial Pilot Multi-Engine course, you may enroll in a Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI) course for issuance of CFI Airplane and CFI Instructor certificates. We also offer Extreme Attitude Recovery Training (XART) in our fully-aerobatic American Champion Super Decathlon aircraft. XART training is growing in the industry as a way of training pilots to recover aircraft from extreme attitudes that may result from aircraft malfunctions or bad weather.

Students who are not well enough to fly must call or report to the Health Services on campus to have themselves medically grounded at least 30 minutes prior to the activity start time for the absence to be excused. Students must also report to Health Services to be cleared when they are feeling better and ready to fly. Students also may be only restricted from flying in cases where they are well enough to do ground activities but not safe enough to fly. After two medically excused absences in a semester, a student will be required to present a doctor's note to a Training Manager to be excused.

Students who come to ERAU with a Private Pilot Certificate are enrolled in a transition course to familiarize them with the area, our aircraft, our operations, and to ensure that they can meet the same standards as a student who just finished getting their certificate from ERAU. We know that every student who gets their certificate before they come to ERAU had a different Flight Instructor, flew a different aircraft, flew at a different airport, and had their check ride with a different examiner. Our goal is to try to ensure that as they move on into other advanced courses, they have the same knowledge as any other student going into that course. The training time in the transition course also counts toward the FAA minimums for issuance of a Commercial Pilot Certificate.

Students may ground themselves using an online form, by submitting a paper form, or by speaking directly to a Training Manager. Students are limited to five self-grounding days in a semester before they start to lose a portion of their final grade. Exceptions are available for school-sponsored activities such as ROTC and sports.

You will have to file a FERPA release with the University. FERPA stands for The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. It protects the rights of students by controlling the creation, maintenance, and access to educational records including flight records at ERAU. It guarantees students' access to their academic records while prohibiting unauthorized access by others. Students must sign a FERPA release to allow parents to have access to their educational records. You can get information on FERPA from the University website. In order to provide access, you must fill out, sign,  and submit the proper form. All forms must be turned in to be kept on file at Campus Records.

You will need to provide proof of citizenship to Campus Records in order to begin flight training as per the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). A valid passport or a valid driver’s license and  original birth certificate serve as proof. If you do not have an original birth certificate, a certified raised seal copy from Vital Statistics will be accepted. Copies of your flight medical and current flight certificates (if applicable) must also be provided to Flight Records in order to start training.

Check-in for all flight activities (flight, simulator, or oral) is done at the Flight Dispatch counter in the Operations Building (F-3) at the Flight Line.

You will be assigned a Flight Instructor as soon as you turn in all the necessary paperwork during new student orientation and should expect to fly your first flight within the first two days of class. Necessary documents would include proof of U.S. Citizenship as required by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a flight medical with at least second-class privileges and copies of your current flight certificates if applicable. International Students have specific requirements regarding TSA clearance and that information can be found under the International Students section.

The management personnel at the Flight Department consists of the Department Chair, the Chief Flight Instructor, the Flight Standards Manager, and the Training Managers. Contact information is available on the faculty page.