A typical training flight in the airplane runs about $450 — one hour, one chance to get it right. On our FAA-approved, full-motion Redbird FMX, fly as much as you want for $349 a month — unlimited. Rep approaches until they're automatic, log instrument currency, knock out your IPC, and stack loggable time toward your ratings without paying runway prices for every mistake. Memberships from $249/mo, or book intro hours at $85/hr with no commitment.
Redbird FMX · full-motion AATD
Log real time. Fail cheap. Fly sharp.
Training costs keep climbing, fees keep stacking up, and the places that made aviation feel like a community are disappearing. Jaybird is our line in the sand: serious tools, fair prices, open door.
What flying costs you now
What you get at Jaybird
One flight lesson
$0
A typical dual lesson — airplane, fuel, and instructor — and the Hobbs keeps running whether the approach goes well or not.
A month at Jaybird
$0/mo
Unlimited time on a real full-motion sim. Fly every day if you want. Recurring memberships start at $249/mo, or book intro hours at $85/hr.
The FAA lets you log real simulator time toward your certificates. Here is the plain math, at a Falcon Field rate of $150 dual + $70 fuel (= $220/hr) in a 172.
PPL
FAR 61.109(k) · toward the 40 hr min
Save
$0
Drill flows, radios, and pattern work before the rental Hobbs starts ticking — then go fly the airplane.
IFR
FAR 61.65(i) · toward the 40 hr instrument
Save
$0
The single best use of a sim. Run approaches, holds, and IFR scans until the scan stops being the hard part.
COM
FAR 61.129(i) · toward the 250 hr commercial total
Save
$0
The big one. Up to 50 AATD hours total count toward your commercial 250 — and the sim time you logged for PPL and IFR counts inside that 50.
The journey-wide cap
Up to 0 AATD hours total can count toward your commercial 250.
FAR 61.129(i) caps simulator credit toward the commercial 250-hr requirement at 50 hours — the 2.5 hr you logged for PPL and the 20 hr you logged for IFR sit inside that 50, not on top of it. Cumulative max: $11,000 you do not write a check for at the FBO.
And the parts that aren’t about the logbooksave you money too.
FAR 61.57(g): six approaches, holding, intercepting and tracking — all loggable solo on the AATD. No safety pilot, no airplane bill.
Instrument Proficiency Checks knock out cleanly on the AATD. Stay legal without burning a half-day in the airplane.
Engine-outs, partial panel, lost comms, weather diversions, checkride flows. The mistakes get cheaper. The lessons stick.
AATD hours under FAR Part 61 with a current LOA. The 50-hour commercial cap (FAR 61.129(i)) is cumulative — sim time you log earlier in the journey counts within it. Rating-loggable simulator time still requires your CFI in the room; the airplane is still where you earn the rating. Aircraft cost is illustrative; your school may quote it differently.
Tools to keep you sharp. People who actually show up.
Your code, your hours
Keypad entry. No front desk to negotiate with.
FAA-approved
Current LOAs on the AATD and BATD.
Live booking
Phone open, slot locked, code in the invite.
Bring your people
Hangouts, debriefs, the occasional pizza.
Stay a while
A lounge, not a transaction.
Reps that compound
Sessions tracked. Currency reminded. Scenarios saved.
A full-motion Redbird AATD, a Gleim BATD, and a Garmin R50 golf bay — calibrated, LOA-current, and bookable from one place. Serious training tools you would normally only find at a big-budget academy.
Sign the waiver, get your member code. Five minutes, then back to flying.
Live availability across every bay. The invite carries everything you need.
Keypad in, lights on, coffee hot. Train, debrief, leave sharper than you came.
Not ready for a monthly plan? Book a Redbird intro hour at $85/hr. When your flying picks up, Currency ($249/mo) and Proficiency ($349/mo) are one click away.
Plans pull straight from the same records as checkout and the portal — what you read here is exactly what members get.
Join the Jaybird aviation community for $49.99 per month. Attend member socials, networking nights, career-development events, industry presentations, and community activities while helping us keep general aviation accessible, active, and affordable at Falcon Field.
The default membership for active pilots — 10 Redbird, 10 Gleim, and 10 golf hours each month.
Unlimited Redbird, Gleim, and golf time for serious flyers — book 30 days out with priority access.
Recurring plans: 3-calendar-month initial term · Pause billing where your plan allows · Stripe Customer Portal for changes after the term — see Terms.
I was burning cash repeating approaches in the airplane. Here I can fail, fix it, and laugh about it with other pilots on the couch — then go nail it for real.
Marcus W.
Instrument pilot · Phoenix
My students finally get reps we would never justify in a rental. Jaybird is the study hall and the lab — they show up sharper and less stressed about money.
Sara K.
CFI · Mesa
It feels like the airport used to feel — people sticking around after, talking checkrides, sharing ForeFlight tricks. And it costs me almost nothing to keep current.
Devon R.
Commercial student · Arizona
Missing something? Send a note — we usually reply within an hour during business hours.
Ask us anythingLock the founding rate, or come try the Redbird first for $85. Either way, the kettle is on.
Or plan a visit — Tuesdays and Thursdays are quiet around 4 PM.
