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Part 61 flight school · KAND · Anderson, South Carolina

Learn to fly over
the Upstate.

Palmetto Sky is a flight school at Anderson Regional Airport, with full-time career instructors and a fleet of identical Cessna 172s. You don’t need any experience to start. Your first lesson is a Discovery Flight.

No experience needed. A Discovery Flight is one flight, one instructor — nothing to commit to.

CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF ▾

A white Cessna 172 on a taxiway centreline, facing the camera under a blue sky with scattered clouds Cessna 172 · on the centreline

The numbers we fly by.

You’ll learn to fly by your instruments. These are ours.

$200
Discovery Flight
7
Days a week of flight training
C172
Identical, same-year trainers
Part 61
FAA flight training

Take a Discovery Flight

A Discovery Flight is a real first lesson in a Cessna 172. You take the controls over the Upstate, with a Certificated Flight Instructor beside you the whole time.

You’ll fly with a person, not a company.

Flight01
SeatRight
Discovery Flight · Anderson $200
  1. :01Before you fly — Meet your instructor and walk around the airplane.
  2. :02In the air — You take the controls with an instructor beside you.
  3. :03Back on the ramp — Debrief, log the time, then decide in your own time.
No experience needed

Same panel, every lesson.

Consistent airplanes, a syllabus built for this school and instructors who teach full time make training steadier. Whether you fly for fun or for a career, the aim is to keep you moving forward.

A fleet that keeps you flying

Every airplane is a Cessna 172 of the same model year with the same modern avionics, all in excellent condition. If one is down for maintenance you move to the next one and the lesson goes ahead.

A syllabus built here

Training follows a syllabus the school wrote itself, which took hundreds of hours to develop. Each student’s progress is actively monitored, so you always know where you stand.

Full-time career instructors

The school has several full-time career flight instructors. For them, teaching is the job, not a way to pass the time.

Built by an instructor who stayed

The founder turned down the airlines to stay home with family and keep training students in Anderson. This school is the result.

More about Palmetto Sky →

Every rating is a higher altitude.

Start with a Discovery Flight. Every rating after it is flown from the one before — the same field, a higher floor each time.

Flight planPalmetto Sky Flight School
KAND → KCZL5 stops · 119 NM
Leg 1 of 4 · KAND → KTOC10 NM
  1. 01 · KANDAndersonPrivate Pilot License
  2. 02 · KTOCToccoaInstrument Rating (IFR)
  3. 03 · KGVLGainesvilleCommercial Pilot License (CPL)
  4. 04 · KCNICantonFlight Instructor (CFI/CFII)
  5. 05 · KCZLCalhounFlight Reviews & Currency

Identical Cessna 172s, so your lesson doesn’t wait on one airplane.

Palmetto Sky trains in Cessna 172s of the same model year, all with the same modern avionics. Switching from one to another is easy because the cockpit is the same.

  • Cessna 172s, same model year
  • Identical modern avionics
  • Switch airplanes with nothing new to learn
  • Fleet growing
A white Cessna 172 parked on an airfield apron in front of a weathered wooden building
Cessna 172 SkyhawkPrimary trainer, private through commercial
A high-wing Cessna passing overhead, seen from directly below against a pale overcast sky
Cessna 172 SkyhawkAn identical twin, so lessons go ahead

It adds up one hour at a time.

Discovery Flights are $200. For a certificate or rating we quote you individually, because how often you fly is the biggest factor in what training costs.

Private Pilot License based on how often you fly Quoted to you
Discovery Flight no-commitment intro $200
Advanced ratings per rating Quoted to you

Financing available — details on the pricing page.

Get My Flight Plan

See the full pricing breakdown →

Common first questions

The questions every first-time student asks before they book.

01 Do I need any previous experience to start?

No. Most students arrive having never flown an airplane. Your first lesson is a Discovery Flight, and a Certificated Flight Instructor is beside you on dual controls the whole time.

02 What is a Discovery Flight?

A Discovery Flight is a real first lesson in a Cessna 172 from Anderson Regional Airport. You take the controls with an instructor beside you. It costs $200, the time goes in your logbook, and you don’t have to sign up for anything afterward.

03 Is it safe?

Yes. The Cessna 172 is one of the most widely used and forgiving training airplanes in the world, and ours are kept in excellent condition. Your instructor sits beside you with a full set of controls on every training flight until you’re ready to solo.

04 How much does it cost to earn a Private Pilot License?

It depends most on how often you fly, so we quote each student individually instead of publishing a best-case number. The first step, a Discovery Flight, is $200. Call 864-720-3163 for a quote based on your schedule.

05 How do I get started?

Call 864-720-3163 or send us a message, and we’ll call you back to talk about your goals. The first step in the airplane is a $200 Discovery Flight.

Everything else is on the full FAQ page →

This field was dark when you left it.

Fly over the Upstate this weekend?

Book a Discovery Flight, or call first and we’ll help you figure out where to start.

Take the seat

$200 · it counts in your logbook

Get My Flight Plan Book a first flight — $200

or call 864-720-3163

You’re back over Greenville · Clemson · Hartwell

Get My Flight Plan Book — $200