If you are a pilot seeking to train and solo or rent in our Cirrus aircraft, you will need to possess a Cirrus Transition Course Completion Certificate and have any appropriate differences course certificates, if applicable, from Cirrus. You can learn more about these courses online at Cirrus LMS. The average course includes instructor-led training flights in addition to online instructional videos. Our Cirrus instructors can guide you further with any questions.

If you already have a Cirrus Course Completion Certificate, please provide us with any you have. We will additionally need you to take at least one flight with any of our Cirrus instructors to establish your proficiency before you may rent.

Once you determine the Cirrus course(s) you need, please create an account on the Cirrus Approach Learning Management System at https://learning.cirrusapproach.com. After logging in, you will be taken to the ‘Course Catalogue’. Please purchase the course specified by your Cirrus instructor. If you have any questions, wait before purchasing. We have no control if you purchase the wrong course.

Transition courses range in cost, but typically, the online transition course from Cirrus LMS is $700 and requires multiple flight lessons, typically at least 5. Final costs will vary by case, but if starting from scratch, you can expect at least $5,000 and 10 hours of flight time on the lower end.

On the plus side, completion of the course unlocks significant benefits into the Cirrus network, as the course is a common minimum requirement to rent at Cirrus flight schools/Centers.

How the process works at Santa Monica Flyers for individuals without a Transition Certificate:

1. SMF Cirrus instructors may provide the bulk of any instruction the Cirrus LMS course(s) require (this is not recognized as “official authorized cirrus training”) and ultimately refer ready pilots to an independent CSIP.
2. Once you are trained by SMF, you will need the LMS course to be signed off. SMF cannot complete this step, therefore, we will connect you to our independent Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot (CSIP).
3. The CSIP will invoice for his time. If your performance is sufficient, he will sign you off in your LMS course. It’s comparable to a checkride, only it’s not with an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner.
4. Finally, provide SMF with your Completion Certificate and you may fly the appropriate Cirrus airplane that your Completion Certificate is valid towards at SMF.
   1. In cases where you seek to solo/rent a variation of a Cirrus (different avionics or different airframe/powerplant than the transition completion certificate), a differences course certificate will be required appropriate for the variant.

Before starting your first lesson, I highly recommend downloading the Cirrus iFOM, an interactive book that expands on normal, abnormal and emergency operations in the Cirrus. You can also check out Flight Fix, Cirrus’s YouTube channel featuring a variety of videos from the landing profile to doing an Instrument cross check.

We look forward to seeing you soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions prior to your flight.