Pilots are the cowboys of the air, roaming the wide-open skies and herding children’s runaway balloons. Giddy up, up, and away with today’s Groupon: for $169, you get an introductory flight package from Empire Flight Academy in Farmingdale (a $379 total value). The flight package includes:

• One hour in a Frasca SR-22 simulator (a $60 value).
• One hour of live flight in a Cirrus SR20-GTS (a $179 value).
• Two hours of guided instruction throughout (a $110 value).
• A complimentary souvenir digital photo emailed to students.
• A six-month subscription to AOPA Flight Training magazine (a $30 value).<p>

With high-tech, modern flight simulators and a fleet of advanced aircraft, Empire Flight Academy trains novice pilots in the art of airborne travel. The private introductory lesson begins with a one-hour session in the Frasca SR-22 simulator. The simulator accurately emulates in-flight conditions as a Cirrus-certified instructor walks students through basic functions such as climbs and turns and navigational principles such as keeping a safe distance from the sky’s many plane-eating clouds. Once educated in the simulator session, patrons take to the air in a Cirrus SR20-GTS, a glass-cockpit, general-aviation airplane. Pilots-to-be pirouette through the stratosphere at speeds of up to 150 knots under the guidance of a sky sherpa, practicing maneuvers mastered in the simulation.

A photo-op during the experience ensures that tenderfoot aeronauts have visual proof of their first flight to show to friends, skeptics, and future employers. The six-month subscription to Flight Training magazine transports the opinions of aviation experts far and wide to your doorstep, ideal for aspiring pilots or cubicles in need of airplane collages.