How much does a flight instructor cost per hour? Published rates of 13 US schools and 5 in Europe

An hour of flight training is two bills: the aircraft and the instructor. This guide is about the second one. We collected the hourly instructor rates that 13 US flight schools and FBOs publish on their own sites, what three US member clubs say their instructors charge, and the lesson and solo rates of five flying clubs and schools in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. We also added each school's Cessna 172 rate to price one full hour of dual instruction.

Short answer: A flight instructor costs $59 to $110 an hour at the 13 US flight schools and FBOs that publish a rate for primary instruction, with a median of $75 (rates read on each school's own site, re-read 29 October 2026). At US member clubs the instructors set their own rates: about $50 an hour at TSS Flying Club and Mitchell Flying Club, and $40 to $50 at International Flying Club. With the aircraft included, one hour of dual in a Cessna 172 costs $204 to $345 at the 10 schools that publish both rates, with a median of $254.50. At five European clubs and schools a lesson costs €36 to €70 or £42 to £60 an hour more than flying solo. The FAA minimum of 20 hours with an instructor for a private pilot certificate comes to $1,180 to $2,200 in instructor fees alone.

Flight instructor per hour at 13 US schools: $59 to $110, median $75

School or FBO	Instructor	C172	Dual hour
Journeys AviationBoulder, Colorado	$59	$184	$243
The Flight School Inc.Spring, Texas	$60	$155	$215
Dragonfly AviationWinder, Georgia	$60	–	–
Orlandi Flight CenterBlairstown, New Jersey	$65	$179	$244
Wisconsin AviationMadison, Wisconsin	$65	$139	$204
Kachemak Bay Flying ServiceTemple, Texas	$70	$195	$265
St. Charles Flying ServiceSt. Charles, Missouri	$75	$199	$274
Sweet AviationFort Wayne, Indiana	$75	–	–
Long Island AviatorsFarmingdale, New York	$80	$190	$270
AeroDynamic AviationSan Jose, California	$85	$141	$226
Aces High AviationLong Beach, California	$90	$190	$280
Regal AirEverett, Washington	$95	$250	$345
Clipper AviationVan Nuys, California	$110	–	–

What US flight schools charge

Of the 13 schools and FBOs, the cheapest standard rate is $59 at Journeys Aviation in Boulder, Colorado, for primary students ("Introductory Flights/Private Pilot"; its membership dues of $35 a month are listed separately), and the highest is $110 at Clipper Aviation in Van Nuys, California ("$110/Hr Standard"). Eight of the 13 charge $75 or less. All three California schools charge $85 or more: AeroDynamic Aviation in San Jose ($85), Aces High Aviation in Long Beach ($90) and Clipper ($110).

The rate in the table is each school's lowest standard rate for a primary student. At three schools that rate depends on the instructor:

• By instructor grade. Orlandi Flight Center: "Flight Instructor ..... $65 per hour Senior Instructor ..... $75 per hour Asst. Chief / Chief Instructor ..... $85 per hour".
• By named instructor. AeroDynamic Aviation lists a rate per instructor, from $85 to $120.
• A range. Dragonfly Aviation: "Instructor, Our Aircraft $60-$100/hour".

Others charge more for training after the private licence: Journeys Aviation $64 an hour for advanced ratings, and Wisconsin Aviation "Primary / Cirrus SR20 $65 Advanced / Cirrus SR22 $75 Professional / Senior / Twin $85".

Two schools charge members less: Regal Air ("Premier Member Regular Rate All Instruction (Ground or Flight) $85.50 $95.00") and Clipper Aviation ($100 for members, $110 standard). Several charge the same rate on the ground as in the air: Regal Air, Long Island Aviators ("Instruction Rate Flight & Ground $80/Hour"), St. Charles Flying Service ("All Dual Instruction (Using Either Our Aircraft or Yours), Ground School, and Pre- and Post-Flight Briefing $ 75.00 per hour") and The Flight School Inc. ($60 for flight and one-on-one ground instruction).

One hour of dual: the aircraft plus the instructor

Ten of the 13 schools also publish a Cessna 172 rate. With the instructor on top, an hour of dual costs $204 at Wisconsin Aviation ($139 + $65) to $345 at Regal Air ($250 + $95), with a median of $254.50. The aircraft is the larger part of that hour: the instructor's share runs from 24% (Journeys Aviation) to 38% (AeroDynamic Aviation).

So the instructor rate matters less than it seems when you compare schools. A cheap instructor in an expensive aircraft can cost more per hour than the reverse — Journeys Aviation has the lowest instructor rate of the 13 ($59) but, with its $184 Cessna 172, its dual hour ($243) costs more than Wisconsin Aviation's ($204). For what a rental hour costs by type and country, see how much it costs to rent a plane.

What the instructor adds to a private pilot licence

Under 14 CFR 61.109, an applicant for a private pilot certificate on single-engine airplanes "must log at least 40 hours of flight time that includes at least 20 hours of flight training from an authorized instructor and 10 hours of solo flight training". At the 13 published rates, those 20 instructor hours cost $1,180 (at $59) to $2,200 (at $110), or $1,500 at the median of $75. That is a minimum. Most students fly more than 40 hours, and ground instruction comes on top at the schools that charge for it by the hour.

What the full licence costs, aircraft and dues included, at ten schools and six clubs, is in flying club vs flight school.

Instructors at flying clubs

At a member club the instructor is usually a member or an instructor the club approves. At these three clubs the instructor, not the club, sets or negotiates the rate:

• TSS Flying Club: "Instructors set own rates, but current average is $50/hr."
• Mitchell Flying Club: "Most instructors charge $50/hr."
• International Flying Club budgets "$1500 - 30 hours instruction @$40-$50/hr", and "Members negotiate their own fees with the individual flight instructors."

That is roughly $25 an hour below the median school rate — though TSS adds: "At this time, primary students will not be considered for membership." The FAA's Airport Compliance Manual, in its guidance for the rules an airport sets, lets a club instructor be paid in money or in credit, but not both at once: "a flight instructor may receive monetary compensation for instruction or may be compensated by credit against payment of dues or flight time". Oregon State Flying Club takes the second route: "Club instructors have their joining rates and monthly dues waived". What the FAA allows a club to do with instruction is in FAA flying club rules.

Europe: the instructor is in the lesson rate

Three of these five European clubs and schools publish a lesson rate with the instructor included; KLM Aeroclub adds a surcharge and Skytrek charges a separate fee. Where a club publishes a solo rate next to its lesson rate, the difference is what the instructor adds. The rates are for members.

What the instructor adds per hour: five clubs and schools in Europe

Club or school	Solo	Lesson	Instructor
Fliegerclub NürnbergGermany · Cessna 172 TDI; the lesson rate includes the instructor, plus €15 per lesson for the briefing	€189	€225	€36
KLM AeroclubNetherlands · a surcharge on the rental rate for a lesson	–	–	€40
Bristol Aero ClubUK · solo hire against dual instruction; self-employed instructors	£190	£232	£42
Skytrek Flying School (Civil Service Flying Club)UK · a fee for the instructor and the administration of the training, per brakes off/on hour, VAT included	–	–	£60
Wings over HollandNetherlands · Cessna 172; rental on pure flight time, the lesson rate on block time, so a lesson costs more than this	€196	€266	€70

• Fliegerclub Nürnberg (Germany): "D-ERPL Cessna 172 TDI Piloten: 189,00 Euro / Stunde Schulung: 225,00 Euro / Stunde" — €36 an hour more for a lesson, plus a €15 briefing fee per lesson ("Briefing-Pauschale in Höhe von 15 Euro"), and "Bei den Preisen für Schulung und Einweisung sind die Gebühren für den Fluglehrer bereits enthalten" (the instructor's fees are already included in the training rates).
• KLM Aeroclub (Netherlands): "Voor vlieglessen geldt een opslag van €40,- op bovenstaande huurprijzen" — a €40 surcharge on the rental rate for a lesson.
• Bristol Aero Club (UK): "Solo Hire £190/hr Dual Instruction £232/hr" — £42 more, with "no paid staff (except for our wonderful self-employed instructors)".
• Skytrek Flying School, which trains the members of the Civil Service Flying Club at Rochester (UK): a fee "for their instructor plus administration of the training" — "This is currently £60 per brakes off/on hour (incl VAT)".
• Wings over Holland (Netherlands): "€196,- Huurtarief per uur €266,- Lestarief per uur" for its Cessna 172s — €70 an hour more, but the rental rate is charged on pure flight time and the lesson rate on block time, so a lesson costs more than €70 above flying solo.

Which hour you pay for

An instructor's hour is not always the same hour. Four operators say how they count it:

• Logged instruction time. Aces High Aviation: "Billed on logged instruction time only."
• All the time with the instructor. Journeys Aviation: "Flight Instruction may be billed for the total time spent with CFI and not just flight time".
• Brakes off to brakes on. Skytrek: "£60 per brakes off/on hour".
• Block time. Wings over Holland charges its lesson rate on block time: "Op het lestarief geldt nog bloktijd." — and "Wij rekenen de bloktijd van de vlucht (motor aan – motor uit)" (engine on to engine off).

Block time and brakes off/on time include taxiing, so they are longer than the time in the air. The same difference decides what an aircraft hour costs — see Hobbs vs Tacho for how the meters differ.

Before you book

• Ask for both rates. Compare the dual hour, aircraft plus instructor, not the instructor rate alone.
• Ask which instructor you get. At Orlandi Flight Center a senior instructor costs $10 an hour more and a chief instructor $20 more than a flight instructor.
• Ask how ground time is charged. Briefings before and after each flight add up over 20 or more lessons.
• At a club, ask the instructor. The club publishes the aircraft rate and the dues; the instructor's rate is between you and the instructor.

Sources

Instructor and aircraft rates were read on each operator's or club's own page (linked from the figure data) and re-read on 29 October 2026; US amounts are standard rates as published, without membership discounts unless stated; the European rates are members' rates, and VAT is as each page states it (Regal Air: "Rates do not include taxes"). The rule quotes are from 14 CFR 61.109 (eCFR) and the FAA's Airport Compliance Manual, Order 5190.6C, chapter 10.