Where luxury meets
aviation.
Blue Horizon Aviation is a family-owned flight school at Grand Strand Airport, flying Cirrus SR-series aircraft and Cessna 172s seven days a week. You fly the airplane from your first lesson, with a certified instructor beside you — no experience required.
No experience needed. A Discovery Flight is one flight, one instructor — nothing to commit to.
CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF ▾
The numbers we fly by.
You’ll learn to fly by your instruments. These are ours.
Take a Discovery Flight
A Discovery Flight is a real lesson, not a sightseeing ride: you fly the airplane yourself, with a Certified Flight Instructor in the seat beside you the whole way. Pick the everyday Cessna 172 or the premium Cirrus SR20 — either way you are at the controls on day one.
- :01 Before you fly — Meet your instructor and walk the airplane
- :02 In the air — You fly it — hands on the controls
- :03 Back on the ramp — Log the time, get the number in writing
Pat Talty
You’ll fly with a person, not a company.
$99–$199 · Discovery Flight
About an hour · you take the controls · it counts in your logbook
Fly with confidence.
Flying is not just about taking to the skies — it is about how you are trained to get there. We are a family-run academy at Grand Strand Airport with modern Cirrus aircraft, a simulator that keeps your costs down, and a complete path from a first Discovery Flight to an airline career.
The newest Cirrus SR-series aircraft
Four Cirrus SR-series airplanes — every one of them fitted with CAPS, the whole-airframe parachute system — alongside three well-maintained, IFR-certified Cessna 172s.
Learning, not renting
Every flight is planned to move you forward. Our simulator takes the expensive weather and emergency work out of the airplane, so the hours you pay for in the air are the ones that count.
Elite Cirrus instruction
The only CSIP-certified Cirrus instruction in the Myrtle Beach area — standardized, professional, and safe from your first lesson to your checkride.
Family owned and operated
You are not a number here. We are open seven days a week at Grand Strand Airport, which means less time waiting on the ramp and more time actually flying.
“I trained under Pat Talty for my pilot’s license — his teaching style is engaging and effective, making complex concepts easy to understand. His experience and attention to detail make you feel safe and confident above all else. I highly recommend Blue Horizon to anyone aspiring to take their aviation path forward.”
Every rating is a higher altitude.
Seven aircraft, and the newest Cirrus SR-series fleet.
- Four Cirrus SR-series aircraft, every one fitted with CAPS
- Cirrus Perspective+ and Avidyne glass panels
- Three IFR-certified Cessna 172s
- An advanced flight simulator for weather and emergency work
N667DG Cirrus SR20 G6 · The Cirrus most students train in Straight answers on cost.
Blue Horizon quotes your training rather than advertising a headline figure — how often you fly is the biggest thing that moves the number, and the simulator is there to keep it down. You pay as you fly, one lesson at a time — there is no program fee up front.
Get My Flight PlanCommon first questions
Do I need any previous experience to start?
No — none at all. You need to be at least 17 to hold a Private Pilot certificate and able to speak, read and write English; that is the whole list. Most of our students start with a $99 Discovery Flight having never touched an airplane.
What is a Discovery Flight?
It is your first real flight lesson, and it costs $99 in a Cessna 172 or $199 in a Cirrus SR20. A Certified Flight Instructor flies with you and you take the controls yourself — this is not a sightseeing ride. The time is loggable toward your license, and there is nothing to commit to afterwards.
Is it safe?
Yes. Every training flight has a Certified Flight Instructor beside you with a full second set of controls, and our four Cirrus SR-series aircraft are fitted with CAPS — the whole-airframe parachute system that can bring the entire airplane down under canopy. We also fly the simulator hard so that weather and emergencies are things you have already handled before they ever happen in the air, and we do not launch into weather that is not right for the lesson.
How much does it cost to earn a Private Pilot License?
We quote it rather than advertise it, because the real number depends on how often you fly. The FAA minimum is 40 hours, but almost nobody finishes at exactly 40 — flying twice a week gets you close, and long gaps push it up. Ask us on your Discovery Flight and you will leave with a transparent estimate for your situation.
How do I get started?
Send us your name and number, or call (843) 360-3690 — an instructor will get back to you, and five minutes on the phone is usually enough to know whether this is for you. The first thing almost everyone does is book a Discovery Flight.
This field was dark when you left it.
Ready for your first flight?
Book a Discovery Flight, or call first — an instructor answers, and five minutes is usually enough to know.
Take the seat
$99–$199 · about an hour · it counts in your logbook
Get My Flight Plan Book a first flight — $99–$199You’re back over Myrtle Beach · Little River · Conway