Poll for CFIs or those who use CFIs

Rate: Ground vs Air

  • I am a CFI and I charge the same rate for ground time as I do flight time

    Votes: 28 28.3%

  • I am a CFI and I charge a reduced rate for ground time compared to flight time.

    Votes: 5 5.1%

  • I am a CFI and I don't charge for ground instruction

    Votes: 2 2.0%

  • The CFI(s) I use charge the same rate for ground time as flight time

    Votes: 38 38.4%

  • The CFI(s) I use charge a reduced rate for ground time compared to flight time

    Votes: 8 8.1%

  • The CFI(s) I use don't charge for ground instruction

    Votes: 14 14.1%

  • Other: Day rate, flat rate, etc...

    Votes: 4 4.0%
  • Total voters
    99
EdFred

EdFred

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Ground rates vs flight rates - what say you?
 
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I voted reduced rate for ground.
I haven't instructed in many years, but last time I did that was the school's policy. I believe it was $20 flight, $16 ground. Again I'm showing my age!! :D
 
30/hrs contact time. If I am available to teach something, then the location of the teaching doesn't matter
 
JOOC why should I charge less for my expertise just because we are not in an airplane?
 
I'm somewhere in between.

I have my students self study and use the King videos, I do 3 full on long ground sessions, a ground for weight and balance, for the initial cross country and a mock oral.

I don't charge for these if the student picks it up within a normal pace, which most do.

If I have to repeat any of those three, or someone needs a abnormal amount of time during one, or they need me to hold their hand for ground, I charge.

For the short pre and post flight brief, I don't charge and I don't spend much time, if I tell you were going to do turns around a point, you should have already read up on the maneuver, know the tolerances and the basics behind it.


$50 air / $50 ground. Cash or trade only.
 
The guy I used charged $30/air, I tried to pay him for ground and he wouldn't take it. Instead I bought him a nice restaurant gift card when I passed the ride. And I almost had to force that on him.

He was a crusty old guy who had a good pension and could give a rip about money, he just liked to teach and fly.
 
I have seen and used both. My Private Pilot CFI never charged for ground time. Most CFI's I have worked with since charge their standard rate both for ground and in the air. I don't think I have ever been charged a CFI fee (ground or in flight) for time in warbirds (but the fee is assumed to be added to the per hour aircraft rate).

Then there was the one time I did an 'accelerated' IFR finish up that was fixed price. That was a ripoff. If I had paid the CFII's hourly rate for all ground/flight time, I would have saved a lot of money.
 
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I voted that I charge the same rate for both, and I sort of do, but think the question is a bit irrelevant.

I've had students who have insisted I only charge for Hobbs time (because it's what they are used to). I have accommodated them. Of course, the Hobbs-only rate is higher to make up the difference so I am being paid what I consider to be a fair rate for my time either way. Yes, of course I tell them that in advance.

(I suspect those who say they of their CFIs who "don't charge for ground" are pretty much doing the same thing and just don't charge separately for ground).
 
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I picked other, because "CFIs charge way too much money for driver's education" wasn't an option.
 
The school I work at charges the same rate for ground and flight.
 
James331 said:
I'm somewhere in between.

I have my students self study and use the (((King videos,))):rofl: I do 3 full on long ground sessions, a ground for weight and balance, for the initial cross country and a mock oral.

I don't charge for these if the student picks it up within a normal pace, which most do.

If I have to repeat any of those three, or someone needs a abnormal amount of time during one, or they need me to hold their hand for ground, I charge.

For the short pre and post flight brief, I don't charge and I don't spend much time, if I tell you were going to do turns around a point, you should have already read up on the maneuver, know the tolerances and the basics behind it.


$50 air / $50 ground. Cash or trade only.
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OMG you profit from good old Martha :nono:
:rofl::rofl:
 
My current flight instructor charges full rate for ground. But he's so much cheaper than the going rate around here (like, below half the low end), that I really don't mind at all. He's also very efficient and diagnosis oriented. He doesn't charge a premium for instrument instruction like some of the CFIIs around here do.

The last one was three times as expensive by the hour, half as good (on a good day), and didn't charge for ground. I know she meant well, but she was not at all good at diagnosing problems, so she was much more expensive than this stat would imply.

My BFR instructor charged for everything, on the expensive side, and he was very thorough and I felt I learned a lot. But he was also a windbag, which is why he's not my instrument instructor. That was a 5 hour BFR, with about 2 hours of good stuff in it. Prohibitively expensive.

Ed, I think you'll get my drift that diagnosis and efficiency are FAR more important than whether or not ground is charged for. But then, I'm not a primary student, and their perspective is likely to be different.
 
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$38 for ground or air that was for my last flight review. When I took my PPL the instructor never charged for anything but air time but honestly we didn't do a lot on the ground.
 
SkyHog said:
I picked other, because "CFIs charge way too much money for driver's education" wasn't an option.
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That is an interesting view point. Do you plan on getting any further ratings or a flight review?
 
My CFI charges $45 an hour for instruction whether it's in the air or on the ground.
Then $60 to $70 and hour for plane rental depending on the plane.

Also most of my groung school studying is done at home.
 
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I pay the same for air or ground BUT the way my school does ground is they simply add 0.5 hours of CFI time to each flight. So even if we talk for an hour pre/post, it's still the same price.

$35 an hour in the air + $18 to each flight for ground (flat rate)
 
In my area all of the CFI's charge the same for both ground or air which is $45 an hour. All of us add about .5 to each lesson for pre flight and post flight briefings which usually are longer then that. Some instructors charge from the time they say hello to the time they say goodbye. A typical 2 hour lesson can easily stretch to 3 hours + by from the time the student gets there pre-flights and leaves. I'm an independent part time instructor so a lot of my training is done in club or privately owned aircraft. I typically have between 8-10 lessons per week with people on a waiting list. Most of the independent instructors I know have a similar type schedule.
 
When I was more active I started charging for a 2 hour block at $50/hr. and I tried to avoid doing anything unnecessary on the student's time. Never had any real complaints. If I went 15 minutes over I'd not charge for it, but I'd also try to avoid booking too close back to backs. Often you end up really working for about 2.5 for a 2 hour lesson if you are really trying to do your job and prepare for the student and write down notes for your records afterwards.
 
my CFI charges $65/hr, handshake to handshake time. No differentiation between ground/air/pre or post flight chat. All my lessons so far have been in 2 hrs blocks. 172N rentals are ~$110 / hobbs hr.
It sounds like CFI rates in San Diego is higher than the national average?
 
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ybitz said:
my CFI charges $65/hr, handshake to handshake time. No differentiation between ground/air/pre or post flight chat. All my lessons so far have been in 2 hrs blocks. 172N rentals are ~$110 / hobbs hr.
It sounds like CFI rates in San Diego is higher than the national average?
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Yes, rates here are higher than most of the country, though yours seem even higher than normal at least for independent instructors. I pay $50/hr and fly out of CRQ
 
I had one who charged me 30/hr solely on the hobbs meter. We could talk for an hour before and an hour after and would never charge me for it. Hell we met at McDonalds a couple times to mock orals and briefings a few times and wouldn't charge me and half the time wouldn't let me buy him a drink.

My other instructor charged me hobbs +.5 at 30/hr which was always reasonable as we nearly always spent a bit more than that between before and after.
 
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