Training programs

Licenses, ratings & endorsements

Name: Watch Me Fly Academy
Address: 1807 Airport Dr., San Marcos, TX, 78666, US
Telephone: 737-256-7305

Watch Me Fly Academy is a Part 61 flight school at San Marcos Regional Airport (KHYI), serving the greater Austin area. Students train across two glass-cockpit Technically Advanced Aircraft and an FAA-approved Redbird LD simulator under fixed-price Smart Path packages covering Private, Instrument and Commercial certification.

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▸ Start here

Private Pilot License

Smart Path Private Pilot students learn and practice nearly every major maneuver in both our glass-cockpit Cessna A150M Aerobat and our glass-cockpit Cessna 172: normal and crosswind takeoffs and landings, short- and soft-field landings on an actual grass strip, slow flight, stalls, spin training and upset recovery, ground reference maneuvers, emergency approaches, navigation and cross-country procedures.
The package is a fixed $12,845 and includes 60 hours of training — 25 hours in the Aerobat, 20 in the Cessna 172 and 15 in the Redbird simulator — plus 30 hours of instructor time, the Sporty’s Learn to Fly course, FAA written-test preparation and endorsement, a final mock checkride, and the aircraft rental for your FAA practical test (up to 3 flight hours).
Start with a Discovery Flight, or call 737-256-7305 and we will walk you through what the package covers before you commit to anything.

Book a first flight — $215 Map my path
02 / 06 All-weather precision

Instrument Rating (IFR)

Training covers instrument scan technique, holding procedures, course intercepts and tracking, instrument approaches and missed approaches, partial-panel operations, lost communication procedures, IFR emergencies, weather and aeronautical decision-making, and workload management.
Professional pilots do not learn instrument flying solely in the aircraft, and neither do our students. We maximize the FAA-allowed simulator credit in Dexter — the FAA permits up to 20 hours of Instrument Rating training in an approved AATD — then fly real-world IFR in the glass-cockpit Cessna 172. The Smart Path Instrument package is a fixed $8,845 for 45 hours of training.
Live air traffic control simulation in The Flight Lab™ means you practice clearances, departures and arrivals with real people acting as ATC before you ever key the mic for real.

Ask about Instrument Rating (IFR) →
03 / 06 Fly for a career

Commercial Pilot License (CPL)

Commercial students are held to a higher standard: consistent Commercial ACS performance alongside the judgment, discipline and professionalism expected of professional aviators. Training focuses on precision aircraft control, energy management, commercial maneuvers, risk management, aircraft systems and advanced cross-country planning.
Maneuvers are flown in both aircraft — chandelles, lazy eights, eights on pylons, steep spirals, power-off 180 accuracy approaches, precision landings and emergency operations. Both are Technically Advanced Aircraft, and ten hours in a TAA help qualify pilots for the commercial rating.
The Smart Path Commercial package is a fixed $7,614 for 35 hours, with discounted time-building rates available to enrolled students to keep the cost of building hours down.

Ask about Commercial Pilot License (CPL) →
04 / 06 Teach what you fly

Flight Instructor (CFI/CFII)

After earning your commercial certificate, top-performing graduates have a direct track to become a Certificated Flight Instructor with Watch Me Fly Academy: teaching new students, building high-quality flight hours and sharpening your own flying in a professional, safety-focused environment.
From there the pathway continues to Sky Tour Adventures, our aerial sightseeing division, flying revenue commercial operations inside the same family of aviation companies — under the same safety culture and standard operating procedures you trained under.
Ask about our CFI/CFII and airline placement programs: call 737-256-7305 or email michael@watchmefly.academy.

Ask about Flight Instructor (CFI/CFII) →
05 / 06 Sharpen the fundamentals

Endorsements & Add-ons

Spin awareness, spin recovery and upset prevention and recovery training are flown in Roxanne, our Cessna A150M Aerobat — firsthand experience of recovering from situations most pilots only discuss in a classroom. We also offer complex endorsements.
Proficiency training and instrument currency are available in Dexter, our FAA-approved Redbird LD, where you can log instrument approaches and maintain IFR currency in accordance with FAA regulations, prepare for an IPC, or run mock checkrides and oral exams.
The Flight Lab™ is not only for our own students: Dexter is available to pilots from any flight school and any experience level, and we offer mobile deployment to flight schools, aviation organizations, businesses, airports and events across the region.

Ask about Endorsements & Add-ons →
06 / 06 Theory, radio work and outreach

Ground School & Youth Workshops

Ground School Programs cover the theory behind the flying: airspace, weather, aerodynamics, regulations, navigation and aeronautical decision-making, taught in the classroom and online to support what you are doing in the airplane. Every Smart Path package includes the Sporty’s Learn to Fly course, FAA written-test preparation and the written-test endorsement.
Radio work and clearances are rehearsed in The Flight Lab™ with live air traffic control simulation, so you have keyed the mic and worked a clearance before you do it for real.
Youth Aviation Workshops are hands-on learning days for kids and teens exploring aircraft, instruments and flight. They run alongside the Watch Me Fly Foundation’s outreach, mentorship and scholarship work for young people who might not otherwise get near an airplane. Call 737-256-7305 for the next workshop date.

Ask about Ground School & Youth Workshops →
A complete pathway from student pilot to professional aviator.

How it works

Curriculum that meets you where you are

Fixed Smart Path package pricing — $12,845 Private, $8,845 Instrument, $7,614 Commercial — with aircraft, simulator, instructor time and the FAA practical-test aircraft rental (up to 3 flight hours) all inside the price.

See how pricing works → Meet the instructors who teach it →

What students ask before they enroll

Do I need any previous experience to start?

No. Most of our students arrive with no flight experience at all, and a Discovery Flight is built for exactly that — you fly with a Certified Flight Instructor beside you and no prior training, license or hours are required. What you need is the wish to find out.

Is it safe?

Yes. You fly with a Certified Flight Instructor who has a full set of controls and takes them the moment anything needs it, in aircraft maintained to professional standards. Beyond that, we deliberately train for the day something goes wrong — spin awareness, spin recovery and upset recovery in our Cessna A150M Aerobat, and engine failures, electrical and vacuum failures, instrument malfunctions, lost communications and deteriorating weather rehearsed in our FAA-approved Redbird simulator until the correct response is second nature. And when the weather is not right, we reschedule.

How long does it take to get my license?

Mostly it comes down to how often you fly. Students who train consistently finish soonest, because they spend less time relearning skills — and with flight operations from 6am to 10pm seven days a week and availability kept ahead of demand, a consistent schedule is achievable here. Our focus is never on rushing you through, but on making sure you have mastered each skill before moving on, so we would rather talk about your schedule than quote you a number we cannot stand behind.

Do I need a medical certificate?

You do not need one for a Discovery Flight, but you will need at least an FAA medical certificate before you fly solo, so it is worth starting that process early. It is issued by an FAA-designated Aviation Medical Examiner and sits outside the Smart Path package price.

What aircraft will I train in?

Both of ours, plus the simulator. Students fly N5094R “Romeo”, a 1974 glass-cockpit Cessna 172M, and N8195V “Roxanne”, a glass-cockpit Cessna A150M Aerobat — both Technically Advanced Aircraft — and train in Dexter, our FAA-approved Redbird LD. Most schools train you almost entirely in one airplane; we think real pilots fly more than one.

Are you a Part 61 or Part 141 school?

Part 61. That gives us the flexibility to build training around your schedule and your pace, while the Smart Path packages supply the structure — a milestone-based curriculum at a fixed, published price.

Can flight training be a career?

Yes, and here it is a mapped route rather than a hope. You train Private, Instrument and Commercial with us; top-performing graduates have a direct track to become a Certificated Flight Instructor with Watch Me Fly Academy, building high-quality hours while getting paid to fly; and from there the path continues to flying aerial sightseeing for Sky Tour Adventures, our sister operation. Instead of competing with thousands of outside applicants for a first flying job, you have a pipeline right where you trained.

How do I get started?

Call 737-256-7305 or email michael@watchmefly.academy and we will talk through where you are headed and what it takes to get there. Most people begin with a Discovery Flight — $215, one flight, one instructor, and nothing to commit to afterwards.

Will I train in the same airplane every lesson?

No, and that is the point. Smart Path students learn and practice nearly every major maneuver in both the glass-cockpit Cessna A150M Aerobat and the glass-cockpit Cessna 172, and rehearse emergencies in the Redbird simulator. Pilots who only ever fly one airplane are comfortable in exactly one cockpit; we would rather you were comfortable in more than one.