Flight Training prices?

FloridaPilot

FloridaPilot

Pattern Altitude
Joined
Mar 10, 2014
Messages
2,456
Location
Florida
Display Name
Display name:
FloridaStudentPilot
Hello,

I'm looking into Flight training and I wanted to have an idea of what all of the students are paying out there. At the airport around where I work it's about $15,000 (Including everything, books, videos, flight instructor..etc) Is that the going rate or can I find a place less expensive? (I am aware that flying is an expensive hobby).


Thank You
 
Yea, you can find cheaper. It may or may not be close to where you're located. You'll just have to do some research.
 
I took a little under 60 hours for my private, ran right around $11k in the Southwest Ohio area renting 172SPs. Depending on what rental costs are like in your area, $15k doesn't sound too far off, but you could come in under $10 if you work your butt off and can find a cheap 152 to rent (if you can fit it / don't mind being crammed in).
 
$15k is a bit much for the private.

I budgeted for $9k, and then used the advice found here and other forums to wind up spending about $8k.

There are many people and organizations that will prey upon your lack of knowledge and oversell you on a large box of items when all you needed was the low cost desiccant and styrofoam.
 
I believe you're right over the bay? At KPIE (St. Pete-Clwtr), I rented a C-172M 150HP for $120/hr, which was their cheapest plane. The instructor was $40/hr, increasing to $45/hr about 2/3 of the way through. I took 70-something hours over a 3.5 year period.

I believe I broke $12k total costs.
 
There's a company on eBay that put up a ppl for bid and it usually goes for like 4k and is for minimum thinjnits in Florida u can hundre percent get much under 15knthsts insane what does that even include?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You should be spending around $8-$10 thousand. $15k seems a little much.
 
Where in Florida? You can get a C-172 in the Orlando area for $100 wet. Instructors are running $40 per hour. There's a LSA school that's doing about the same per hour cost here too.
 
59 hours to private, Approximately $8500 including all books etc... minus headset.
 
Ouch!
Those prices look terribly high.

Best way to do it in my opinion is to find a pilot with a little experience to help you buy a Cessna 150. Look for one with less than 1000 hours SMOH. I bought one with around 400 SMOH for around $14,000. We flew it for a couple hundred hours then sold it for about what I paid to buy it.
Lets see...
Around 6 gph x ? $5.50/gal = $33/hr fuel consumption.
Say you take 60 hours for private:
60 hrs x $33/hr = $1980
Add insurance around $700:
$1980 + $700 = $2680
Add instructor $45/hr x say 40 hours = $1800
$1800 + $2680 = $4480

Of course with your own plane you can get more experience and have more fun going further than with the rental plane.
Also, you might get a FREE CFI by working a deal with him to allow him use of the plane in exchange for the flight instruction.
 
On Long Island I budgeted $10k and came in at about $7,500 plus tests, misc items and a headset, about $9k in total
 
Definitely shop around a bit. The total may help somewhat, and there's a chance they're just giving you worst case, but I'd focus on the hourly cost of training. Compare the hourly cost at various schools and how you feel about the people when you go chat with them. Since people learn at their own rate and have various plans for the ground school portion the total can vary a lot. I'm confident there will be a place that can get it done cheaper than 15k within an hour's drive.

FloridaPilot said:
Hello,

I'm looking into Flight training and I wanted to have an idea of what all of the students are paying out there. At the airport around where I work it's about $15,000 (Including everything, books, videos, flight instructor..etc) Is that the going rate or can I find a place less expensive? (I am aware that flying is an expensive hobby).


Thank You
Click to expand...
 
Where I am in central New Jersey a plane runs $133 to $144 for a trainer (Piper Warriors at my school, slight price change depending on equipment installed) per hour wet, and $48 (at least at my school) per hour for the instructor. In general I end up at about $185 per hour on paper, but they offer cash and check dicounts of 5%. I am figuring about $8000 to $9000 by the time I am done. This takes into account the "reduced" rate of only renting the plane when doing the required solo time. There was one cheeper school where you could get a 152 at $95 per hour (with $2000 block payments) and an instructor was $40, but that required joining a aviation club at $45 per month, and would require alot more commuting on my part. You do also have to figure about another $800 for testing, insurance, and medical, regardless of location.

My school also does block payments. If you pay in $1000 blocks, they deposite $1150 into my account, for what amounts to a 15% discount. If you want to ajust that 185 by 15%, I pay about $160 per hour. Or 0.9 free hours when payed in blocks. This is the way I normally do things.
 
Here in Davis CA, where it'll be 82 degrees this weekend, I pay $102 wet for a 172N and $32/hr for the CFI. I'm still working on my PPL and refuse to add up how much I paid. I'm loving every minute of it...except studying the weather. I keep waking and no pages have turned.

http://www.calaggieflyers.com/
 
FORANE said:
Ouch!
Those prices look terribly high.

Best way to do it in my opinion is to find a pilot with a little experience to help you buy a Cessna 150. Look for one with less than 1000 hours SMOH. I bought one with around 400 SMOH for around $14,000. We flew it for a couple hundred hours then sold it for about what I paid to buy it.
Lets see...
Around 6 gph x ? $5.50/gal = $33/hr fuel consumption.
Say you take 60 hours for private:
60 hrs x $33/hr = $1980
Add insurance around $700:
$1980 + $700 = $2680
Add instructor $45/hr x say 40 hours = $1800
$1800 + $2680 = $4480

Of course with your own plane you can get more experience and have more fun going further than with the rental plane.
Also, you might get a FREE CFI by working a deal with him to allow him use of the plane in exchange for the flight instruction.
Click to expand...
Where did you store the plane, your backyard? A hanger on LI is $500/mo or so with a tie down being about $175/mo

You also have maintenance you have to worry about if you own said plane. Not necessarily as cheap as you're trying to make it out to be
 
Last edited:
Wow, I'm glad I managed mine for around $3,000. These prices are just scary.
 
Mine's on track to be around 10-12k in a 152 so you're a little high but definitely in the ballpark at 15.
 
$7,500 if I count every penny, in an old ass 172
 
asechrest said:
I believe you're right over the bay? At KPIE (St. Pete-Clwtr), I rented a C-172M 150HP for $120/hr, which was their cheapest plane. The instructor was $40/hr, increasing to $45/hr about 2/3 of the way through. I took 70-something hours over a 3.5 year period.

I believe I broke $12k total costs.
Click to expand...

Hello,

Did you book through CAMS?
 
bqmassey said:
Yea, you can find cheaper. It may or may not be close to where you're located. You'll just have to do some research.
Click to expand...

Yeah,

I noticed that prices are drastically different from Airport to Airport.
 
There are three questions to ask...

How much was the total cost (books, checkride, study, ground, everything).
What year did you finish?
How many years did it take you?
Where was most of your training done?


Big variances of any of those will cost you $$$?
 
ja_user said:
There are three questions to ask...

How much was the total cost (books, checkride, study, ground, everything).
What year did you finish?
How many years did it take you?
Where was most of your training done?


Big variances of any of those will cost you $$$?
Click to expand...

For me
$7,500 (Club, not FBO)
2010
4 Months
OJC, Olathe KS
 
asechrest said:
I believe you're right over the bay? At KPIE (St. Pete-Clwtr), I rented a C-172M 150HP for $120/hr, which was their cheapest plane. The instructor was $40/hr, increasing to $45/hr about 2/3 of the way through. I took 70-something hours over a 3.5 year period.

I believe I broke $12k total costs.
Click to expand...

I live right next to 48X (Manatee Airport) which is about 40 min drive from Kpie. I checked CAMS at KPIE and they wanted 12-15k.

I'm not a small guy either maybe that is why the price is different? I'm 260 solid
 
tehmightypirate said:
Wow, I'm glad I managed mine for around $3,000. These prices are just scary.
Click to expand...

That is probably why there are shortages of new pilots who just want to fly around. 15k or more right out of the gate is pretty expensive IMO.

There is an actual school I looked up that only trains Commercial, (You will get your PPL as a first step). You have to take out a loan for $60,000 minimum. And they mentioned they would place you in a job. I mentioned to them I just wanted my PPL and possibly my Instrument rating. They only train Commercial pilots.
 
I found a guy with an old C150. $55/hr wet for the plane. $30/hr for the instructor, both billed off the Hobbs only. He's gone up $5/hr since then. I've seen one guy who'll let PPL hopefuls use his C150 for free. Yes, better deals can be had if you know where to look. Hang out at the airport.
 
I think my dad paid around 4,500-5000 back in 2003 or so.

Crazy how the training equipment gets older, and prices go up;)

The school I trained out of just raised prices again. Not really the best way to get an aspiring aviator started on and through their primary training.

I suppose at the end of the day, the 8500 I paid is a reasonable price to pay for a private pilot's license... But I love flying, so even at double that it would probably be worth it to me....
 
FloridaPilot said:
I live right next to 48X (Manatee Airport) which is about 40 min drive from Kpie. I checked CAMS at KPIE and they wanted 12-15k.

I'm not a small guy either maybe that is why the price is different? I'm 260 solid
Click to expand...

Not sure. I liked CAMS and found an instructor that stuck with me for three years of training on a pretty inflexible schedule (basically most of it after 5:00 on weekdays).
 
FloridaPilot said:
That is a good price. Did you learn how to fly over mountains? That is probably a difficult place to learn especially with quickly changing weather patterns.
Click to expand...

Exactly. The weather here in Colorado... ugh. Especially this winter I've had about 50% of my IR training flights cancelled due to crosswinds >30 knots at my home base. Summertime is full of high density altitudes and fun, high-based thunderstorms that put out downdrafts but no moisture. It makes things quite challenging for sure. As for mountain flying, I actually have never ventured west of the foothills of the Front Range. I intend to do so once I have more time and a mountain flying course under my belt but until then, I just point the nose any direction but west. :)
 
If you do the following:
1.) Go to the right part of the country
2.) Find the right instructor and airplane
3.) learn fast

You'd have a shot at getting it done for under $7k-ish. YMMV. It takes the perfect scenario to do so.
 
Last edited:
kingmattj said:
3k? Where do you get flight training for that price?! Mine was around 10k in 2003!
Click to expand...

Civil Air Patrol mostly. Back in 2003 the planes rented from the CAP were about $50/hr dry/tach for an IFR rated 172 that was hardly used. Got a scholarship from the squadron (a previous generous member set it up) that got me to solo for free. CAP also offers some free instruction here and there if you can get up in a plane with an instructor on a ferry flight and he lets you fly it around. Once out of solo I used my solo rating to fly regular flights down to an instructor in a different CAP squadron 60 nm away. CAP doesn't allow instructors to charge for other CAP members so he volunteered his time for me. Some other instruction was done with rentals and their instructors. Took my practical and passed with around 45 hours.

What I did was extraordinarily on the cheap, but I didn't exactly go out of my way to find these deals and I wouldn't say I was that lucky. It can be done, even with the prices today. However, you really have to have a good combination of waiting for the right moment (took me 3.5 years), good luck, and working hard. I'd say the biggest trick is finding those inexpensive planes, CAP helped me a lot on that front. Also, finding that scholarship to solo was really the biggest reason I didn't spend $5,000 to $6,000 on mine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top