How to Build Flight Hours Without Enrolling in a Flight School

March 24, 2026

You do not need to be enrolled in a Part 141 program to build the hours you need. Here is how independent hour-building works, who qualifies, and what it actually costs in the Phoenix area.

Somewhere along the way, a myth developed that building flight hours requires being actively enrolled in a structured flight school. It does not. The FAA has never required pilots to attend any particular training program in order to log flight time. What the FAA requires is that you be qualified to act as pilot in command of the aircraft you are flying.

For a lot of pilots, that is already the case. Private pilots with a valid certificate, student pilots with the right endorsements, instrument-rated pilots looking to stay current. All of them can rent a modern aircraft and build hours without signing up for a curriculum, paying enrollment fees, or following a school’s schedule.

This post explains how that works practically, who qualifies, and how Kodiak Aviation at Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ approaches it.

Who Can Build Hours Independently

The short answer is: any pilot who is legally authorized to fly the aircraft they are renting.

Licensed Private Pilots

If you hold a private pilot certificate and you have completed a checkout in the aircraft you want to rent, you can fly solo cross-countries, local flights, and instrument approaches (if instrument rated) without an instructor present. You log PIC time for every flight where you are the sole manipulator of the controls.

Student Pilots with Solo Endorsements

Student pilots who have been endorsed by a CFI for solo flight can rent aircraft for solo hour-building within the limitations of their endorsement. Cross-country endorsements allow solo flights beyond the local area. If you already have a CFI who has been working with you and is willing to provide endorsements, you can rent through Kodiak and continue your hour-building without being tied to that school’s fleet.

Instrument-Rated Pilots Staying Current

Pilots with an instrument rating need six approaches, holds, and intercepting and tracking courses within 66 days of flying in IMC or IFR conditions. Logging that currency time in a TAA aircraft like the Cirrus SR20 G6 is substantively better for your skills than logging it in a basic trainer. The avionics are closer to what you will encounter in the real IFR environment.

Pilots Bringing Their Own CFI

If you have a flight instructor you already work with and trust, you are welcome to bring them to Kodiak. You rent the aircraft, your CFI provides instruction or supervision, and your logbook entries reflect both the aircraft quality and the training structure you prefer. There is no requirement that you use a Kodiak-affiliated instructor for your flights.

What Does Independent Hour-Building Actually Cost

The SR20 G6 at Kodiak rents for $285 per hour wet, meaning fuel is included in the rate. For a pilot building hours under VFR in the Phoenix area, a typical two-hour local flight costs $570 and produces two hours of logged PIC time.

A 15-hour package brings the cost to $4,275 for 15 hours of logged TAA time. A 30-hour block comes to $8,550 for 30 hours. These are not the cheapest hours you will ever log. But they are some of the most useful, depending on what you are building toward.

For context: a private pilot who wants to reach the 250 hours needed for a commercial certificate is looking at approximately 210 hours beyond their private checkride. At $285/hr, building all of those hours in the SR20 would cost around $59,850 over that period. Most pilots mix aircraft types and do not log all 250 in a single plane. The point is to be strategic about where you spend your money.

Glass cockpit time in a TAA aircraft is worth more on an application than the same hours in a basic trainer. Factor that into your calculations.

Does Your CFI Have to Be Based at Falcon Field

No. If you are a licensed pilot flying solo, you do not need a CFI at all. If you are a student pilot operating under an endorsement, your CFI’s endorsement travels with you. There is no requirement that your instructor be affiliated with the FBO where you rent the aircraft.

Kodiak does have instructors available for pilots who need a checkout in the SR20 or who want occasional dual instruction. But the model is flexible. Independent pilots come here specifically because they want access to a specific aircraft without being locked into a structured program.

“We built the rental program around flexibility on purpose. A lot of our renters are already licensed pilots who just want access to a great aircraft without having to enroll somewhere. Some are working with outside instructors. Some are flying solo cross-countries. The common thread is that they want quality time in a quality aircraft.” — Kodiak Aviation, Falcon Field

The Checkout Process at Kodiak

Before flying the SR20 solo, all renters complete a checkout flight with a Kodiak instructor. This is standard practice at any responsible FBO. The checkout covers:

• Garmin Perspective+ avionics operation, including the autopilot and GPS flight planning workflow
• CAPS parachute system activation procedures and decision criteria
• SR20-specific airspeeds, normal and emergency procedures
• Local airspace familiarization including Falcon Field Class D operations and Phoenix BRAVO transitions

The checkout is not a re-training program. For pilots who already have solid fundamentals, it is a systems familiarization flight. Most take one to two hours. After that, you have access to the aircraft for solo operations.

Why Falcon Field Makes Sense for Hour-Building

Falcon Field (KFFZ) sits in the east Phoenix metro area in Mesa. The airspace is Class D, which means you are working with a control tower every flight. That matters. ATC communication, proper position reporting, and towered airport procedures are skills that get sharper the more you practice them. Pilots who built all their hours at uncontrolled fields sometimes struggle when they first encounter busy towered operations. Flying out of KFFZ eliminates that gap.

The Phoenix area also offers some of the best cross-country terrain in the continental US for building diverse experience. Sedona and Prescott offer high-elevation operations. Tucson puts you in a busy Class C environment. Show Low and Holbrook take you into high-desert mountain terrain. All within a two-hour flight.

And with over 300 days of VFR weather per year, you are almost never grounded by weather when you should be flying.

Start Building Hours on Your Schedule

If you are a licensed pilot, an endorsed student, or a pilot who wants to bring your own CFI, Kodiak Aviation at Falcon Field is set up for you. No enrollment, no curriculum, no school schedule.

Inquire About Rental Availability | kodiakaviation.com | Falcon Field Airport (KFFZ), Mesa AZ

Reach out to discuss whether the SR20 is the right aircraft for your current stage of training and what a realistic hour-building plan looks like at your price point.