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The How Much Checklist
The best ideas come from visitors and here is another example of just that. A future pilot called from Washington DC and asked if we had a ‘check list’ for all the items to ask when determining the cost of learning how to fly. Gee, what a good idea! Proving that some good things really can come from inside the Beltway!
The purpose of this chart really is not to compare prices, and it will be very tempting to use it that way. A word of wisdom here, don’t do that. Buying flight training is not like buying other products. Buy quality, and you will save money in the long run. Really!
So here is the flight training cost checklist as of this moment. Did we forget something? Contact Us. See the explanations in the notes at the bottom. Want to print this out?
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Description |
School A |
School B | |
1. Airplane cost per hour |
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2. Does this include fuel? |
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3. Fuel Surcharges |
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4. Taxes on airplane and/or Flight instructor fees |
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5. Flight Instructor Cost per hour |
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6. Cancellation fee and how much notice |
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7. Insurance fees (and deductibles) if any. |
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8. FAA Written Exam Fee |
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9. FAA Flight Test Fee |
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10. Headset |
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11. Books |
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12. Charts and books that ‘expire’ |
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13. Admission Fees |
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14. Early Termination Fee |
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15. Landing Fees |
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16. Parking Fees (at large airports) |
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17. Credit Card Surcharge Fees |
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18. Loan processing fees |
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19. Aviation Medical Exam |
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20. Apples |
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Notes:
1. Airplanes are usually priced ‘wet’ meaning with fuel included
3. With aviation fuel changing in price so much some flight schools will add a fuel surcharge on to the rental rate.
4. Usually labor charges are not taxable; this might depend in your area.
5. Some schools and flight instructors charge different rates for ground and flight time.
[Note: I think they should be the same]
6. If you must cancel a lesson, how much notice must you give and what is the fee.
[Note: It is common for good schools and instructors to charge $50 with less than 24 hour notice, and we agree with this policy]
7. Some schools include insurance; some charge an additional fee per hour. Also you can purchase airplane renters insurance. You may want to copy the Certificate of Insurance or Proof of Coverage for your records.
12. Charts and books in this item ‘expire’ some are good for 120 days, some for 56 days and others may vary
13. Some schools charge a one time admissions fee like a college.
14. This is very important if your school requires any deposits or up front cost. You must know in writing what percent they might keep should you decide to stop taking lessons. [Note: I strongly advise against paying large deposits over $1000 for Sport Pilot or Private Pilot training]
17. Most credit card companies actually prohibit the merchant charging a fee for the use of a credit card, so they might have a discount for cash policy.
18. If you apply for student loans, there maybe a processing and/or application fees.
19. Not required for Sport Pilot.
20. You are going to bring an apple to the teacher aren’t you? 
{jomcomment}
Talk about this in the Pilot Forums
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