Thread: The Price of Flying

I'm pretty sure at least one person here takes to the air occasionally, so maybe this is a good place to ask.

Does about 275 USD sound like the right price for an hourly rental of a small aircraft plus instructor, or is that a rip off?

Hello, Coelacanth. That's definitely a rip-off.

Current rates range between $90/hr and $120/hr wet for a 172, and instructors charge between $35 and $50 an hour. Call it $110 + $45, or $155/hr for both, with $170 being on the high side.

If they're charging more, they're operating off the "you get what you pay for" fallacy.

Here's a typical rate sheet for comparison, and their instructors come with some rock-solid certifications and experience. Just so I don't appear like I'm plugging that particular school, here's another school's site.

If you hunt around, you can find rural airfields with smaller aircraft (C-150, PA-38, etc.) and rates closer to $80 + $35 for $115/hr.

Are you interested in going for your private pilot's license? Instrument rating? I'd be happy to share with you how I approached training when I had just six weeks to get them both.

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

Does about 275 USD sound like the right price for an hourly rental of a small aircraft plus instructor, or is that a rip off?

What is it you wish to do, Coelacanth? Do you want to take flying lessons or just rent a plane to take you somewhere?

Harbinger Aviation has an intro flight for $150 and the course is priced at $175/hr wet <good for the rest of the year> but I don't know how many lessons are needed to get your ticket.

Just found out the total cost would be around $14.5 - $15.5K...good luck....

Originally Posted by David E. Eaton Sr.

[COLOR="sienna"][I][B]What is it you wish to do, Coelacanth? Do you want to take flying lessons or just rent a plane to take you somewhere?

The former, but I keep bumping up against the fact that flying is a rather expensive hobby.

OK, thanks to both for the information, I thought it sounded kind of high. There is no "rural" here, only urban the rural is in a different country.

The type of aircraft they have is apparently a "Socata TB-9C Tampico Club". There's a picture, but it's not very good . . .

They're also about 15 km from one of the ten busiest airports in Asia, so that should make it exciting also.

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

The former, but I keep bumping up against the fact that flying is a rather expensive hobby.

Doesn't have to be. I cranked out my private pilot's license for about $5k, and that was just six years ago. Rental rates are a little higher (30%) due to gas, but they're not 3x (300%) higher! Instructor rates haven't changed. We're still coming out of the recession and there's a glut of instructors.

There is no "rural" here, only urban the rural is in a different country.

That would explain a lot. Gas in some countries is double what it is here in the U.S. Insurance is sometimes wacky, and many places have horrendous airport fees. Can you imagine paying $100 just to land at an airport in a light aircraft?