How much does a flight review cost? What seven US operators charge, and what the rule asks

The flight review, still often called the biennial flight review or BFR, is the training a US pilot needs within the past 24 calendar months to act as pilot in command, unless something in the rule replaces it. Few operators publish what it costs. We read the pages of US schools and instructors on 2 November 2026 and found seven that print a price or a rate for one, and we worked out the sum from the instructor and rental rates we already publish.

Short answer: few operators print a total. One charges $150 in your own aircraft and $325 in its own, and another's hourly rates add up to $295. The FAA's minimum is one hour on the ground and one hour in the air, with a logbook endorsement. At the median instructor rate of $75 and the median Cessna 172 rate of $184, that minimum comes to $334. A review that needs more time costs more, and the instructor decides how much time it needs.

What does a flight review cost?

The prices below are not like for like, because each one covers something else. Final Approach Aviation charges $325 in its aircraft and $150 in yours. ATA Flight School's hourly rates add up to $295 for one hour of each. Flyit Academy prints $330 to $375, though its own lines add up to $230 to $275, so ask.

Published flight review prices in the US

Operator	Price	What it covers
Final Approach AviationMurray, KY	$325 with their aircraft; $150 in yours	Bundle price
Flyit AcademyCamas, WA	$330–$375 as printed	The absolute minimum in a Cessna 150; its own lines add up to $230–$275
ATA Flight SchoolPembroke Pines, FL	$295, our sum	$60 ground + $60 instruction + $175 Cessna 172, wet, per hour
Texas TailwheelDallas Executive	$240 plus aircraft	Instructor, three-hour block; Super Cub $225 an hour, wet
Eagles’ WingsPence Springs, WV	$80 plus aircraft	Rates as of 20 March 2025
Chiota AviationNot stated	$75 an hour	Instructor rate for a review or IPC
Alexander Wolf CorpNot stated	$2,000 plus aircraft	A full day in a Cirrus

The extremes show the spread. Eagles' Wings charges $80 plus the aircraft. Texas Tailwheel asks for a three-hour block at $240 for the instructor. For a Cirrus, Alexander Wolf Corp says "A flight review is an all day event", at $2,000 plus the aircraft. An Angle of Attack guide tells instructors what to bill: "Flat $150–$300 per BFR is the typical 2026 range. Higher in major metros, higher for complex aircraft." We read that as the instructor's fee, with the aircraft on top. The same guide says: "Combined BFR + IPC packages run $300–$500 typically."

What does it add up to if nobody prints a price?

Most schools publish only hourly rates, so do the sum: the instructor for ground and flight, the aircraft for the flight. We use the median of the 13 US schools in our instructor table, $75 an hour, and the median of the US operators in our rental table, $184 an hour for a Cessna 172.

What a flight review adds up to, by length

• rented Cessna 172
• your own aircraft

Length	Rented, median	Own aircraft, instructor only
The legal minimum1 h ground, 1 h flight	$334 $150
An hour and a half in the air1 h ground, 1.5 h flight	$464 $188
A longer review2 h ground, 2 h flight	$668 $300

The legal minimum comes to $334. At the lowest rates in those two tables, $59 and $139, it comes to $257. One Miami-area school, Flight Center International, plans a minimum of one hour of ground instruction and an estimated 1.5 hours of flight instruction; at our medians, that is $464. Two hours of each is $668. A flying club with a lower hourly rate brings the total down, and so can your own aircraft, where you pay the instructor plus what the hour costs you.

What does the FAA require?

14 CFR 61.56 says "a flight review consists of a minimum of 1 hour of flight training and 1 hour of ground training". The ground part reviews the general operating and flight rules of part 91. The flight part covers the maneuvers and procedures the instructor picks to show you can safely use your certificate.

Two hours is a lower limit. The FAA's advisory circular on the subject, AC 61-98E, reminds instructors that "a flight review may require more than 1 hour of ground training and 1 hour of flight training" and that "it is the flight instructor that ultimately determines the total training time required for a flight review". An advisory circular does not have the force of law, but it tells you how instructors are told to work. So book more than two hours in your calendar, and don't treat the figures above as a fixed price.

Can you fail a flight review?

No, not in the sense of a test. The FAA writes that "the flight review is not a practical test, but rather a training event in which proficiency is evaluated", and "There is no provision in the regulation for the failure of a flight review". If it does not go well, the circular tells the instructor to log the flight as "dual instruction given" and offer more training. You pay for that time. If your last review is still inside its 24 months, you can keep flying as pilot in command.

What happens if your flight review has expired?

You keep your certificate, but you lose the right to act as pilot in command. The FAA's words are that "a pilot may not act as PIC of an aircraft if that pilot's flight review has elapsed". So agree with your instructor who is pilot in command on the review flight. The window runs from the 24th calendar month before the month of the flight, so a review in March 2026 is good through March 2028.

What replaces a flight review?

Two things replace a review, and a third lets you combine it with other training:

• A new rating or check. Under 61.56(d), passing a pilot proficiency check or practical test conducted by an examiner, an approved check airman or a U.S. Armed Force, for a certificate, rating or operating privilege, replaces the review.
• FAA WINGS. Under 61.56(e), completing "one or more phases of an FAA-sponsored pilot proficiency program" also does. A phase has its own requirements; check them in the WINGS program.
• Combining it. Under 61.56(h), the review may be combined with the recent experience requirements of 61.57, at the instructor's discretion. Some packages combine a review with an IPC; an IPC with an instructor is not on the list in (d).

Outside the US the rules differ. In the UK and EASA countries a single-engine rating is kept alive by experience or a proficiency check; see SEP revalidation by experience.

What this means for a club

You need a current review to rent a plane as pilot in command, and a club's own rules can ask for more when you join. Next to it stands the medical, with its own expiry date. If your club has instructors, ask them what a review costs in the club's aircraft before you book elsewhere.

Prices change. Each one is from the page linked in its table or text, read on 2 November 2026.