Non-credit Certificate in Professional Aeronautics

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Why Aeronautics

Pilot and co-pilot in cockpit.

Black Hawk College and Quad Cities Aero are partnering to offer a Professional Aeronautics Certificate (PAC). This certificate program is designed for students who seek a fast-track pathway to a pilot career in the aviation industry. Specifically, this non-degreed program is three consecutive semesters in length whereby students will attend one class per semester to earn progressively higher pilot licenses:

Private pilot license (PPL) in semester one.
Instrument flight rating (IFR) in semester two.
Commercial pilot license (CPL) in semester three.

An optional fourth semester will allow graduates to become certified flight instructors (CFIs) in semester four.

Each license will be issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and all educational materials and activities will be regulated by the FAA. This is a cooperative program with Black Hawk College providing aviation theory via ground-school courses on campus and Quad Cities Aero providing practical training via their flight school.

Program Details

Meets Wednesdays starting Jan. 26, 2026 through May 6, 2026.
Location: Quad-Cities Campus, Building 2, Room 206

Learn More and Register

Classes are facilitated and taught by Quad Cities Aero in cooperation with Black Hawk College.

Quad Cities Aero

Locations

Business Training Center

Formats

On-campus

Number of Credits

45 hours

Next Start Date

January 2026

Financial Aid Eligibility

Employment Prospects

Single-engine airplane on tarmac.

PAC graduates will complete the program with 250-300 total flight hours, and they can expect to be immediately employable by private or charter aircraft operators or by flight schools as instructors. Some graduates will finish after earning their commercial pilot license in the third semester and enter the workforce flying commercial charter or corporate aircraft, but most graduates will complete the fourth and final semester to become instructor pilots then build their hours as instructors before applying for an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, which requires 1500 hours of total flight time.