Multi-Engine Training Near Kansas City in 2026

Our multi-engine trainer is a Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche, tail number N7664Y. It's a real light twin, the kind pilots actually own and fly.

Sit in the left seat and you'll find six engine levers: two throttles, two propeller controls, and two mixtures. The PA-30 has two Lycoming engines, constant-speed propellers you can feather, and retractable gear, with Garmin avionics and autopilot in the panel. If you learned in a fixed-gear trainer with one throttle, that's a big step, and our post on moving from a Cherokee to the Twin Comanche walks through each change.

The biggest change is what happens when an engine fails. The FAA's Airplane Flying Handbook notes that losing one engine costs about half your power but can cut climb performance by 80 to 90 percent or more, which is why so much of your training goes to engine failures. You can see the airplane and its panel on our N7664Y fleet page.

Part 61 is the set of FAA rules most flight schools, including ours, train under. For adding a class rating, 14 CFR 61.63 sets no minimum number of training hours. You need an authorized instructor's endorsement that you're proficient, then you pass the practical test, called the checkride.

Most pilots adding multi-engine to a certificate where they already hold an airplane rating don't take an FAA written test. Your checkride endorsement also has to show training logged in the two calendar months before the month of your test, so plan to fly with our instructor before you're signed off.

You fly the checkride to the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) for the certificate you hold, private or commercial, including multi-engine tasks such as the Vmc demonstration. Our Part 61 multi-engine requirements guide covers the rule in detail.

Our multi-engine package starts at $4,950. It includes up to 8.5 hours of flight time in the Twin Comanche, simulator time, instructor services with checkride prep, non-owned insurance, and optional continuation toward MEI training.

Travel, lodging, and meals sit outside the package, so add your trip, your hotel nights, and food for the week. Pilots who skip the pre-study or arrive rusty can need extra time. Examiner fees vary, so ask us what your week includes before you book. Our multi-engine cost guide lists the questions worth asking any school.

If you'd rather not pay all at once, financing may be available to qualified applicants through the lenders we work with. See our financing page and start early, so your funding is in place before you travel.

Your checkride is given by a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE), a pilot the FAA authorizes to give practical tests. The oral covers multi-engine aerodynamics, Vmc, Twin Comanche systems, regulations, emergency procedures, and risk management. Expect to explain what makes Vmc move and how you'd handle an engine failure in each phase of flight.

In the air, you fly the required maneuvers to ACS standards, with the weight on safe single-engine operations and emergency procedures. If you're instrument rated, come proficient on instruments, since your checkride can include single-engine work by reference to instruments. We can set up an instrument proficiency check (IPC) in one of our single-engine airplanes before your week if you need one.

Our multi-engine prep checklist covers what to study, and our free add-on study guide is on our multi-engine resources page. Coming in with that homework done lets your week go to flying.

You train in one structured week at KLXT, with ground lessons, a simulator session, and flights planned before you arrive. A mock oral and a mock checkride with a second instructor come before the real one, so checkride day isn't the first time someone else grades you.

Both of our founders, Jeremy Davis and Levi Self, hold CFI, CFII, and MEI ratings. Our fleet is maintained in-house, with Levi, an A&P mechanic, overseeing the work. We train under Part 61 with no fixed cohort calendar, and we're open seven days a week.

After the checkride, you can keep flying the same Twin Comanche you trained in, subject to checkout and currency, and the package includes optional continuation toward the MEI. If one focused week fits your schedule, our multi-engine rating program has the dates and package details.